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L’Oréal S.A. is a French cosmetic and personal care company and a leader in beauty product research and development and sales. The company owns 36 brands, including Maybelline, Garnier, NYX Professional Makeup, Redken, and CeraVe.
A multinational company, L’Oréal is headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, and was founded in 1909. L’Oréal manufactures a wide range of consumer and luxury products for sale in pharmacies and other retail outlets, including hair care, skincare, sun protection, makeup, and fragrances. The company also has a Professional Products division that manufactures products sold exclusively in beauty salons.
As of October 2024, the company registered 497 patents and has a market cap of $212.42 billion. Total sales in 2023 were €41.18 billion, an increase of 11% in like-for-like sales growth. The company posted earnings per share of €12.08, representing an increase of 7.3% over the previous year. This resulted in a net profit after non-controlling interests of €6.18 billion, for an increase of 8.4% over the previous year. Nicolas Hieronimus serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Barbara Lavernos serves as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and Christophe Babule serves as the Chief Financial Officer.
L’Oréal acquired Australian luxury natural skincare brand Aesop in August 2023 in a deal worth $2.5 billion.
Key Takeaways
- L’Oréal owns 36 brands and continues to acquire some of the world’s leading beauty brands.
- Maybelline New York, Garnier, NYX Professional Makeup, CeraVe, and Redken are some of L’Oréal’s top acquisitions.
- Since its founding, L’Oréal has focused on highly desirable brands designed to complement and increase the scope of its original product offerings.
CeraVe
- Type of Business: Skincare
- Acquisition price: $1.3 billion
- Date it was purchased: 2017
L’Oréal acquired skincare brands CeraVe, AcneFree, and Ambi in 2017. These three brands were purchased for $1.3 billion. Founded in 2005, CeraVe makes cleansers, moisturizers, sunscreens, and other related products. CeraVe products can be purchased in beauty retailers, drug stores, and online. The purchase also included AcneFree, a maker of over-the-counter skin cleansers and acne-removal products available without a prescription, and Ambi, a maker of generalized skincare products.
Maybelline New York
- Type of Business: Cosmetics
- Acquisition price: $758 million
- Date it was purchased: 1996
In 1915, Mabel Williams launched Maybell Laboratories with her brother. By the 1930s, the company was selling a variety of cosmetic products across the U.S. As a subsidiary, Maybelline is a key component of L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division.
NYX Professional Makeup
- Type of Business: Cosmetics
- Acquisition price: $500 million
- Date it was purchased: 2014
In 1999, the 25-year-old entrepreneur Toni Ko founded NYX Cosmetics. When the company first launched, it only sold makeup pencils, but it quickly expanded to include eye colors and lipstick sold at affordable prices. L’Oréal acquired NYX Cosmetics for $500 million in 2014. NYX Cosmetics, now known as NYX Professional Makeup, is headquartered in Los Angeles. At the time of L’Oréal’s acquisition, NYX Cosmetics products were available at retail stores such as Target and Ulta. The acquisition gave L’Oréal access to markets where sales of its own products had been slowing.
Garnier
- Type of Business: Skincare and haircare
- Acquisition price: Undisclosed
- Date it was purchased: 1965
Launched in 1904, Garnier is one of the largest brands in the L’Oréal family. L’Oréal acquired Garnier in 1965, adding the company’s reputation for natural, healthy beauty to its portfolio.
As a brand, Garnier focuses on both skincare and hair care products. In addition to being a crucial component of L’Oréal’s overall revenue stream as a part of L’Oréal’s Consumer Products division, Garnier is helping L’Oréal continue to develop its sustainability practices. Over the years, Garnier has committed to sustainably sourcing its ingredients, improving the biodegradability of its products, and lessening the environmental impact of its packaging.
Redken
- Type of Business: Hair care
- Acquisition price: Undisclosed
- Date it was purchased: 1993
Actress and entrepreneur Paula Kent Meehan founded Redken in 1960. The name Redken combines the last names of the actress and her stylist, Jheri Redding. Headquartered in New York City, the company was acquired by L’Oréal in 1993 for an undisclosed amount.
Why Does L’Oreal Buy Competing Companies?
Since the company’s founding roughly a century ago, L’Oréal has focused on targeted acquisitions designed to complement and increase the scope of its original product offerings. Today, L’Oréal enjoys one of the most diverse portfolios of any cosmetics company in the world. This is a key portion of the company’s long-term growth strategy.
What Other Companies Does L’Oréal Own?
L’Oréal has moved to acquire several new subsidiary cosmetics companies. In 2018, for instance, the company acquired La Roche-Posay, Modiface, and Giorgio Armani Beauty. L’Oréal views acquisitions as a fundamental part of its business strategy.
What is L’Oréal Worth?
L’Oréal’s strategic acquisitions have helped grow the company to a market cap of $210 billion, with annual sales of about $45 billion.In comparison, Estée Lauder is about a third the size of L’Oréal, with a market cap of $32 billion as of October 2024 and net sales of $15.61 billion for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Bottom Line
A leader in both the science and art of beauty, L’Oréal has targeted acquisitions that continually add the world’s best brands to the company’s portfolio. Overall, it owns 36 different brands.