L’Oreal Aquires Hair Care Brand, PureOlogy

One of the salon industry’s hottest hair care brands—PureOlogy—is now in the hands of L’Oreal, which purchased the Irvine, Calif.-based company for an undisclosed amount of cash today.

PureOlogy Research LLC, which generated $207 million in retail sales for the most recent 12 months, will relocate to New York, where L’Oreal is headquartered, and join the L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Matrix, Redken and Mizani brands.

L’Oréal expects that the acquisition will not affect corporate earnings for the financial year that will end Dec. 31. In addition, it is expected to add to earnings, starting in 2008.

PureOlogy took salons by storm in 2001 when it was introduced with formulas specifically designed for those with color treated hair. Jim Markham, founder of PureOlogy, pinpointed a gap in the marketplace for luxury, high-priced hair care goods that would meet the needs of color treated hair, which tends to fade and be more dry. At the time, industry estimates calculated that more than 50 percent of women colored their hair, and now the percentage has risen to 65, further bolstering PureOlogy’s potential customer base. Packaging innovations were intended to instantly gave PureOlogy a spotlight: custom-molded containers were designed to fit in the corner of a bathtub; easy-to-pour grips fit in a woman’s hand and bottles were color-coded to help differentiate between products. Prices were in the $16-$20 range, unusually high for an unknown brand. What further separated PureOlogy from other hair care launches is that despite being a premium-priced brand, it reached a breadth of salons, not just the most exclusive outposts.