The deal has Interparfums SA (IPSA) acquiring 25% of Divabox capital through a transaction called a reserved capital increase, where capital or shares are issued expressly for a particular investor. In this case, that investor is, of course, Interparfums.
The fragrance company, founded in 1982, makes fragrances under license for fashion brands such as Anna Sui, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Spade New York, Oscar de la Renta, Paul Smith, and Repetto. Most recently, Interparfums signed a deal with Moncler to create that brand’s first fragrance, as CosmeticsDesign.com reported.
Adding an ecommerce channel to the Interparfums business
All industries and all facets of the cosmetics, personal care, and fragrance industry are getting more digital more quickly as the Coronavirus pandemic wears on. And ecommerce is a key piece of that.
For instance, in June, Sephora partnered with the beauty ingredient sourcing platform Novi to help streamline the raw materials procurement process for brands eager to meet that retailer’s chemical policy or attain the Clean at Sephora seal. And also last month, Shopify teamed up with Livescale to help brands here in North America connect with shoppers via livestream.
Now, Interparfums is making moves in the ecommerce space too. “With online sales for perfumes and cosmetics growing every year, a trend that has been accelerated by the health crisis, IPSA has been on the lookout for an opportunity to integrate an e-retail dimension since 2019,” says Jean Madar, Chairman and CEO of Interparfums, in the company’s press release announcing the deal with Divabox.
“This partnership,” he says, “fits perfectly with this strategy.”
Competing for market share in the world of ecommerce beauty
For Divabox, the deal with Interparfums is an opportunity to build on the Origines-parfums business. “Our goal is to exceed the milestone of €100 million in sales and become a European ecommerce leader for perfumes and cosmetics,” says Jean Philippe de Peretti, Chairman and CEO of Divabox, in the press release.
“This partnership with IPSA,” he adds, “provide[s] us with substantial operational and financial resources to maintain the pace of our strong growth.”
Origines-parfums is just one of nine businesses that makeup the Divabox corporation. The business began as a perfumery in Corsica in 1947. Today, Divabox comprises four perfumeries, one drug store, one hair salon, and the ecommerce platform that—on its own—counts over 1 million repeat customers and €40m revenue last year.
The site specializes in fragrance, particularly luxury and designer fragrance but also features color cosmetics, sun care, and more.
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Financial dealings, ecommerce, and beauty tech are just a few of the beauty industry areas that Deanna Utroske reports on as Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com. She writes daily news about the business of beauty in the Americas region and regularly produces video interviews with cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and packaging experts as well as with indie brand founders. And over the years, hers has become a leading voice in the cosmetics and personal care industry as well as in the indie beauty movement.
