L’Oréal snaps up parent company of Korean brand Stylenanda

L'Oréal has fully acquired Nanda Co., parent company of Stylenanda and its makeup brand 3CE. Stylenanda currently has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand, on top of Korea and Japan. This comes shortly after Unilever forked out US$2.7 billion to buy South Korean cosmetics company Carver Korea from Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital Private Equity, in a bid to build a global beauty business.In fact, in recent years, many global companies have been eyeing the Korean cosmetics market. Simultaneously, Korean brands have been looking overseas, following its headway in China and Southeast Asia. They are now said to be moving to more mature markets such as US and Japan. Yann Le Bourdon, president of L'Oréal Korea said in a statement that with the acquisition, L'Oréal Korea will substantially reinforce its presence in the accessible makeup market. Through the acquisition, L'Oréal plans to expand the sales of 3CE internationally.  The transaction is expected to be completed in the next two months after customary regulatory approvals.Korean lifestyle makeup and fashion company Nanda Co. was first founded by CEO Kim So-Hee in Seoul in 2004. Its flagship brand Stylenanda began as a fashion business, and has since become a company spearheaded by its make-up brand 3CE which today represents more than 70% of the business. It had a turnover of 127 million euros in 2017 and nearly 400 employees.The statement added that Stylenanda is a highly desirable brand among Korean and Chinese millennials. Stylenanda's multi-channel distribution model includes e-commerce, speciality retailers, point of sales in department and duty free stores."We strongly believe that this transaction will be a landmark breakthrough for Nanda Co. Grounded on L'Oréal's solid support and global platform, we envisage to expand Stylenanda's footprints internationally, becoming a world-renowned brand to lead global trends in beauty,” Kim said.“We are thrilled to welcome this cool Korean brand in the L'Oréal family. Stylenanda captures Seoul's vibe, edge and creativity. It is perfectly positioned to nourish the growing appetite for make-up of millennials in Korea, China and beyond,” Alexis Perakis-Valat, president of L'Oréal's consumer products division, said.