Aesop May be Sold, Which Just Opened Store in Shanghai
- Chaileedo Press
- Dec 3, 2022
- 2 min read
According to Bloomberg, Brazil's beauty giant Natura & Co is working with Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley to sell its shares in Aesop.
Aesop was founded in Australia in 1987 and was acquired by Natura&Co in 2012, the largest cosmetics company in Brazil. In March 2018, Aesop launched its Tmall overseas flagship store in China, followed by a WeChat mini-program and an official Xiaohongshu account to provide Chinese customers with purchasing services and online consultation through e-commerce.
It was not until July 30, 2022, that Aesop officially announced that the first physical store in mainland China would be located in Shanghai. On November 25, Aesop's first store was officially opened on Dongping Road, Shanghai.
In 2014, Aesop had net revenues of R$ 240 million ($45.983 million) and in 2021 it will have net revenues of R$ 2.60 billion ($500 million), nearly 11 times more than in 2014.
In the Aesop brand's third quarter 2022 financial report, its revenues amounted to nearly R$ 603 million ($115.5 million), representing an increase of 21.5% at constant exchange rates and approximately 7% of Natura's total net revenues. Compared to the two other brands in the same group, The Body Shop’s revenue fell by 19.5%, and AVON’s revenue fell by 8.1%, Aesop's performance was more impressive.
But looking at the parent company as a whole, Natura & Co's performance seems to be unsatisfactory. The latest third quarter report in 2022 shows that Natura & Co's net revenue in the first three quarters was R$ 25,959.4 million ($4973.8 million), down 9% year on year. Natura & Co's net loss in the first three quarters was R$ 1969.6 million ($377.3 million), down 658.7% year on year. The net income in the third quarter was R$ 9003.7 million ($1725.1 million), down 5.7% year on year. The net loss in the third quarter was R$ 559.8 million ($107.2 million), down 305.1% year on year.
It is possible that the decline in revenue of the business has led to a shift in Natura & Co's attitude toward Aesop. Natura earlier preferred Aesop's initial public offering, but now favors a minority sale due to an unfavorable stock market, people familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, said parties currently interested include private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, L'Occitane International SA, and Shiseido Co. “The discussions are in early stages and could end without an agreement, the people said.” Bloomberg wrote. Source：Bloomberg
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