Shiseido goes into the year having completed the purchase of the trademark of Serge Lutens as it looks to expand in the luxury fragrance and cosmetics market with the French brand.
The collaboration was initiated in March of last year and with negotiations complete, the purchase of the trademark rights will enable Shiseido to invest more in the brand with better focus.
According to the Japanese cosmetics maker this will include opening up directly managed boutiques in major cities worldwide, and gradually increasing the points of contact while keeping the brand’s prestigious image.
At present Serge Lutens has expanded to around 2000 outlets in 35 countries.
35 years of collaboration
In order to maintain the brand’s concept and direction, Shiseido will also keep its founder, Serge Lutens himself, directly involved in steering it in his own style, stating that “it would be the best way to purchase the brand while maintaining its concept, ‘Rare and Lux’.”
Lutens has been in the cosmetics industry for over 45 years having worked as art director for make-up product development at Christian Dior, for over 12 years, before signing onto an image development project with Shiseido in 1980.
This was conducted in line with the company’s full-scale launch of its European business and continued the collaboration over the next 20 years as Shiseido’s global image and visual identity.
Shiseido says that it was largely thanks to this collaboration that the company was able to successfully break into European markets and accelerated its globalisation.
In 2000, confident of his own experience in perfumery and supported by the Shiseido group, the French creator decided to create his own brand: Parfums Beauté Serge Lutens, later renamed as ‘Serge Lutens’.
Last March, the two companies entered into a Memorandum Of Understanding that this deal would take place, with Serge retaining a role as creative director, aiming to advance the brand to what Shiseido calls ‘the next level’ with these new plans.