Unilever to Acquire Murad Skincare as It Continues to Grow Personal Care Prestige Portfolio
July 02 2015 - 1:35PM
Business Wire
Unilever announced today that it has signed an agreement to
acquire Murad, a leading clinical skincare brand. This follows the
recent acquisitions of Dermalogica, Kate Somerville and REN, which
jointly position Unilever as a key player in the personal care
prestige segment.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150702005754/en/
Murad Environmental Shield(R) Family
(Photo: Business Wire)
Founded in 1989 in Los Angeles, Murad is the first modern doctor
brand, with a mission to provide proven, efficacious products.
Howard Murad MD, a dermatologist, pharmacist, and UCLA professor,
developed a unique recipe of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and
hydrators to address virtually every skin care concern, from acne
to anti-ageing. Murad has a significant presence in the US through
professional salons and spas such as Massage Envy, and specialist
retailers such as Sephora, Ulta and Nordstrom; as well as through
direct sales. It also has a regional hub for Europe located in the
UK, and the brand can be found in over 42 countries, in department
stores, pharmacies, spas and salons.
Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome
Murad to our portfolio of Prestige personal care brands. As an
expert ‘Doctor brand’, Murad offers products in a differentiated
clinical and holistic well-being segment. It has a loyal following
that gives it excellent potential for expansion, and wonderfully
complements the brands recently acquired. We look forward to
working with Dr Murad and his team to continue to grow the
brand.”
Dr Howard Murad added: “We’ve always looked for opportunities to
reach more people with our message of Inclusive Health and to touch
more lives with our targeted, high-performance products. With
Unilever, we can broaden our reach and significantly grow our brand
while remaining faithful to the founding principles of Murad. There
is a very bright path ahead and I am excited to work with Unilever
to share our products with the world—together we can inspire every
person that the Murad brand touches to live life beautifully.”
Murad’s heritage and success is grounded on the
principle that beauty and good health are vitally linked and
best achieved through an Inclusive Health lifestyle. Murad products
combine a unique recipe of high performance ingredients that
deliver solutions for healthy, beautiful skin. The brand,
which had a turnover of US$115m in 2014, will be incorporated into
Unilever’s Prestige division, which is exclusively dedicated to
select distribution and premium personal care brands.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject
to customary regulatory approvals.
About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home
and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and
reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 172,000 employees and
generated sales of €48.4 billion in 2014. Over half (57%) of the
company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever
has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including
Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips,
Ben & Jerry’s, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) commits to:
- Decoupling growth from environmental
impact.
- Helping more than a billion people take
action to improve their health and well-being.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions
of people by 2020.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2014 Dow
Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the
highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global
Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2015
GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the fifth year running,
and in 2015 was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage
company in Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Scorecard.
Unilever has been named in LinkedIn’s Top 3 most sought-after
employers across all sectors.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit
www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP:
www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
Cautionary statement
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements,
including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Words such as ‘will’, ‘aim’, ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’,
‘looks’, ‘believes’, ‘vision’, or the negative of these terms and
other similar expressions of future performance or results, and
their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current
expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and
other factors affecting the Group. They are not historical facts,
nor are they guarantees of future performance.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and
uncertainties, the material or principal factors which cause actual
results to differ materially are: Unilever’s global brands not
meeting consumer preferences; Unilever’s ability to innovate and
remain competitive; Unilever’s investment choices in its portfolio
management; inability to find sustainable solutions to support
long-term growth; customer relationships; the recruitment and
retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply chain;
the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe
and high quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure;
successful execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business
transformation projects; economic and political risks and natural
disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical
standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters. Further
details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group
are described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock
Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, including in the Group’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for
the year ended 31 December 2014 and the Annual Report and Accounts
2014. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or
regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in the Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150702005754/en/
UnileverMedia Enquiries:Helen Dodd, +44 (0) 7920
254 650helen.dodd@unilever.comorTreeva Fenwick, +44 (0) 7917
271819Treeva.fenwick@unilever.com
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024