Aesop’s proposed A$3.7bn sale is a testament to its ‘hardcore brand intelligence’
Australian-founded luxury skincare brand, Aesop, is set to be acquired by French cosmetics company L’Oréal for US$2.5bn (A$3.7bn), in a record sale the advertising industry has attributed to its strong brand equity.
LinkedIn has been flooded with those paying tribute to the success of such an iconic Australian brand, with many praising it as a “class A example” of a brand as a contribution to business value.
“If this was just the sale of the goop inside the bottle, it would be commanding far less,” Thinkerbell co-founder and consumer psychologist, Adam Ferrier, told Mumbrella.
“I think Aesop, as a brand, practices hardcore brand intelligence, prioritising what the brand stands for above everything and that permeates right through the business.”
Ferrier said the brand’s leaders have prioritized “what the brand stands for” above everything else, with a holistic approach to brand that permeates through the entire business.
Aesop has created a distinctive look and feel that extends across product design, visual merchandising, retail experience and what Ferrier describes as “relentless sampling”.
FutureBrand’s Victoria Berry told Mumbrella that Aesop had “redefined what luxury means in skincare and beyond”.
“Timeless, utilitarian and effortlessly chic, they made what used to be about cultivating scarcity at expensive prices with exclusive marketing to quality, simplicity and a place where everyone is welcome. Bottega Veneta meets Apple, it’s aspirational but accessible luxury at its absolute best.”
She attributed the brands success on its consistency, and “meticulous attention to detail”, praising Aesop’s restraint as many other competitors have stretched and diversified “at every opportunity”.
L’Oréal’s will acquire Aesop from Brazillian cosmetics group Natura &Co, which purchased a 65% stake of the business for $68 million in 2012.
The business now has expanded significantly since it was founded in Melbourne in 1987, and now operates around 400 points of sale across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, turning over sales of US$537 million (A$794.08 million) in 2022.
Commenting on the sale, L’Oréal Groupe chief executive officer, Nicolas Hieronimus described Aesop as the “epitome of avant-garde beauty, whose products are not only made with great care and exceptional attention to detail; they are a superb combination of urbanity, hedonism and undeniable luxury”.
She continued: “Aēsop taps into all of today’s ascending currents and LOréal will contribute to unleash its massive growth potential, notably in China and Travel retail.”
Writing on LinkedIn yesterday, AfterWork Ventures investment principal Jessy Wu described the brand as “synonymous with aspiration, taste, and quality”, a “metonym for the kind of life you want to have, or want houseguests to think you have: put together, refined, environmentally conscious, socially progressive”.
According to Wu, the Aesop consumer wants to be seen as “someone who reads Haruki Murakami, has their own sourdough starter, and gets up bright and early on a Saturday to buy fresh produce from the local markets”.
This persona is importantly reflected in the brand’s in-store experience, which Berry described as “the epitome of purpose and experience in action”.
“By creating signature moments that span the functional, sensory and emotional, instore is where people really feel the full effect of Aesop’s quality, authenticity and generosity as a brand.”
As to whether the business will manage to hold onto its brand value under the watch of a global giant like L’Oréal, Ferrier said the brand understands itself so it could likely withhold the “forces of homogenization”.
“If I were a betting person, I would imagine the strength of brand, the brand intelligence and the brand muscle memory the organization has means it will continue to flourish under new ownership.”
