Unilever Acquire Dermalogica

Multinational consumer goods powerhouse Unilever has solidified its plan to move into the luxury market, signing a deal to acquire high-end salon brand Dermalogica this week. Nadia Stennett reports. 

With over 400 brands under its belt and annual sales of over $1 billion, when consumer goods giant Unilever sees something they want, they have it.

So when the company made the decision to march into the luxury personal care market this year, it wasn’t long before sights were firmly set upon high end salon brand Dermalogica.

With a long-standing reputation in the prestige skincare space worldwide, the brand name has become synonymous with beauty professionals and consumers alike in the past three decades.

Founded by UK veteran skin therapist Jane Wurwand, who identified a distinct lack of continuing skincare education when she first arrived in Los Angeles in 1983, the brand began as a small classroom in California, where Wurwand and her then-boyfriend, now-husband, Raymond Wurwand hosted skin therapy education sessions under the banner, the International Dermal Institute, and set about developing a product line that provided students with skincare solutions free from common irritants.

Now a multi-national powerhouse with major operations in the U.S, U.K, Australia, Ireland, and Canada, and sold in more than 80 countries worldwide, Wurwand’s brainchild will fortify Unilever’s strategic re-positioning, with cult natural ingredient focused REN Skincare and independent prestige brand Kate Somerville Skincare both coming under the company’s masthead in the past six months.

Best known for producing supermarket brands including Flora margarine, Sunsilk, Lipton Tea and Rexona, Unilever has been looking to expedite growth in its portfolio by increasing personal care goods sales to two-thirds of its total, currently up from 37 per cent.

Purchased this Wednesday for an undisclosed amount, Dermalogica’s acquisition is expected to significantly boost the company’s profile in the high-end space.

“Dermalogica enjoys an outstanding reputation and incredible awareness among skincare professionals and consumers alike, and has a clear positioning as a superior skin health brand that perfectly complements the rest of our prestige offering,” Unilever CEO Paul Polman said of the move; a sentiment echoed by Dermalogica Australia’s general manager, Suzette Cassie.

“Today is a very exciting day in Dermalogica’s journey. Our partnership with Unilever, one of the most respected names in global personal care, offers new resources and expertise that will bring multiple benefits, particularly for new product development in the professional and retail arena.”

The deal comes just a week after luxury beauty products manufacturer Coty signed a $12 billion agreement with Procter & Gamble to acquire its beauty assets, which Unilever was rumoured to have had its hat in the ring for.

“Unilever is placing enormous emphasis on building their business in prestige skincare and we are joining forces to become the category leaders in this space,” emphasised Cassie.

Unilever is placing enormous emphasis on building their business in prestige skincare

And as for how the consumer goods giant’s acquisition will affect Dermalogica’s profile in salons down under, the brand says it’s business as usual.

“Under Jane and Ray’s continued leadership we will operate as we always have and remain committed to professional skin therapists through all our current channels. As part of the Unilever Prestige Division, Dermalogica will continue to manufacture, operate and work out of our Global headquarters in Los Angeles, California; and locally we will continue to work out of our head office in Crows Nest,” explained Cassie.

“We have an action packed second half of the year with over 2,500 skin therapists coming together for our biggest ever congress in Las Vegas as well as some exciting new professional and retail product launches to be shared with our salon partners over the coming months…It’s business as usual for us in Australia and our international markets.”

Watch Dermalogica: Behind The Scenes

Jane Wurwand gives us an exclusive glimpse into what makes the cult brand tick.