L'Occitane buys Florentine luxury home fragrance brand Dr. Vranjes (updated)
04/01/2024 11:44
(Adds details)
By Elisa Anzolin
MILAN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Beauty manufacturer and
retailer L'Occitane Group 0973.HK has bought luxury home
fragrance brand Dr. Vranjes Firenze from Bluegem, the European
private equity firm said on Thursday.
The deal values Dr. Vranjes at around 150 million euros
($164 million), according to a person with knowledge of the
matter, or nearly 12 times its core profit.
Bluegem acquired the majority of Dr. Vranjes in 2017 and
presided over its international expansion, especially in Asia
and the Middle East, while also lifting its online sales to more
than a quarter of total group sales.
Bluegem said the business had more than tripled its sales
since it took control, with revenue topping 42 million euros
last year and a core profit margin of more than 30%.
Dr. Vranjes Firenze currently commands 13% of the 536
million euro high-end home diffuser market, second only to Dutch
beauty chain Rituals, it added.
The company was founded by Paolo Vranjes in 1983 in
Florence, a city with a long tradition of perfume making which
blossomed during the Renaissance, when the town's wealthy
merchants started wearing costly fragrances to mark their
status.
With 28 monobrand stores and 650 points of sale, Dr. Vranjes
distributes across 75 countries its products, mainly diffusers
of home fragrances such as Rosso Nobile, which is inspired by
Tuscany's famed red wines and retails at 98 euros for half a
litre.
While Bluegem introduced new product lines such as personal
fragrances and scented candles, home fragrances still account
for 90% of total sales.
Bluegem, which targets businesses with stable consumer
demand and "premium yet affordable" products, has nearly tripled
the number of Dr. Vranjes's employees, of which a majority are
women, in line with social responsibility goals that include
also preserving a local supply chain.
The deal is expected to close at the end of the first
quarter.
Rothschild & Co, BPER, Deloitte, New Deal Advisors and law
firms Latham & Watkins, Studio Galgano, DLA Piper, Gattai Minoli
worked with the sellers.
The buyer was advised by Legance, Skadden and Lempriere
Wells.
($1 = 0.9128 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Valentina Za and Susan
Fenton)
((elisa.anzolin@thomsonreuters.com; 0039 0266129692;))