Shiseido Co. Ltd. of Tokyo has come to an agreement to an agreement to acquire the Serge Lutens trademarks for his fragrance and color cosmetics brand, according to Carsten Fischer, corporate senior executive officer of Shiseido. The Asian beauty giant and Lutens have signed a memorandum of understanding. Lutens will remain head of the brand, which had been distributed by Shiseido.
The iconoclastic image maker, photographer and product developer has been a pioneer in the now-budding artisanal, niche fragrance movement. His relationship with Shiseido started in 1980 when he was hired to create an international image for the company, which was then little-known outside of Japan. He shot advertising, designed makeup and created packaging. In 1982, he was commissioned by the company to create Nombre Noir.
In 2000, Lutens created his own company, Parfums-Beauty Serge Lutens.
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According to market sources, Shiseido is considering plans to give the prominent brand more of a lifestyle positioning. Shiseido does not break out sales projections, but industry sources indicate that Shiseido could more than double the size of the business in 10 years. Sales are now estimated at more than $15 million at retail.
“I am happy that we can bring our cooperation with Serge Lutens to a new stage. The creativity and the style of the brand are unmatched,” said Fischer.