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NEW DELHI: L'Oreal India is in talks to take a majority stake in Innovist , parent of direct-to-consumer brands Bare Anatomy and Vinci Botanicals, as the French cosmetics giant looks to revive growth in India amid rising competition, people familiar with the matter said."Discussions have been ongoing for about a year and negotiations are in advanced stages," an industry executive aware of the development said. Valuation of a potential deal couldn't be independently verified, though some media reports pegged it at around Rs 4,000 crore.Offices of L'Oreal and Innovist did not respond to ET's requests for comments until press time Thursday.The move indicates a shift among global beauty firms toward acquiring fast-growing digital-first brands to stay relevant with younger consumers. It also highlights the urgency for L'Oreal's new India chief executive Jacques Lebel, who has been tasked with reviving momentum after a consistent slowdown."The India unit of L'Oreal has a mandate to step up flagging market share of the company," the executives cited above said.L'Oreal India's sales growth slowed to about 5% in FY25, down from 14% in FY24 and roughly 30% in the two preceding years, reflecting increasing competitive pressure in a market once seen as a high-growth engine for the maker of Garnier and Maybelline.Founded in 2018 by Rohit Chawla Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola, Innovist operates a house-of-brands model spanning Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play and Sunscoop. The company focuses on science-backed personal care products and has built a presence across online marketplaces and quick-commerce channels.The startup posted a 182% jump in revenue in FY25 to ?301 crore, with net profit of Rs 12.5 crore. In FY24, it had revenues of ?106 crore with net loss of Rs 11.9 crore.Despite more than 25 years in India, L'Oreal's local business remains under Rs 6,000 crore in revenue, a modest scale for a market of India's size and a sign that the company has struggled to fully capitalise on the country's beauty opportunity.In a recent investor call, the company's global chief executive officer Nicolas Hieronimus acknowledged the underperformance, saying India is "not meeting expectations" after delivering only high single-digit growth with little to no market share gains.