Is Puig Readying an IPO?
PARIS — Is Puig readying an IPO?
Speculation has swirled around the subject for decades, but the buzz is rife this week, with reports suggesting that the Spanish, family-owned beauty and fashion company is preparing for a possible public listing soon.
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Reports indicate that the owner of brands such as Paco Rabanne and Carolina Herrera plans to launch an IPO in 2024, with an estimated valuation of 8 billion euros, market conditions permitting.
A Puig spokeswoman reached Friday said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.
In March, when asked by WWD about whether there could be an IPO in the near term, Marc Puig, chairman and chief executive officer of Puig, said: “If you have very healthy brands, like I think we have — we define ourselves as a home of love brands, and we really are very proud of the quality, personality and reasons to be in the story that each of these brands can tell because they are very particular — we are very careful to make sure that each of these brands maintains their own autonomy and their own lives, so we don’t kill these personalities. That’s what makes, I believe, our propositions strong.
“So when you have a strong portfolio of brands and you have a healthy business, in our industry you generate a lot of cash — that is why you grow organically and inorganically,” he continued. “In our case, now we have to refill a little bit the balance sheet, but there’s no need, to continue growing, to call [on] others [to] change the solution. We have been able to grow the business both organically and inorganically in a very healthy manner, and we’re happy with that solution so far.”
Puig in 2022 sped past its 3 billion-euro sales goal and lassoed a 10 percent market share of prestige fragrances worldwide.
The company registered net sales of 3.62 billion euros in the 12 months, a 40 percent rise in reported terms and a 30 percent increase on a like-for-like basis on year, driven by each of its product categories, which posted double-digit sales gains.
Puig had in March 2021 unveiled a three-year plan with an aim to reach sales of 3 billion euros in 2023 and 4.5 billion euros in 2025. However, due to strong growth during the past two years, the group already doubled its net revenue a year ahead of plan and is on track to triple its revenues by 2025.
Business in 2022 was spurred by a strong performance of Puig’s own brands amid a rise in consumer spending — especially in perfumes — and despite headwinds, such as the geopolitical environment, inflation and rising interest rates.
Puig’s reorganization of its business structure, into three divisions — Beauty and Fashion, Charlotte Tilbury and Derma, starting Jan. 1, 2021 — has borne fruit.
Other changes have been afoot, too. Earlier this year, Puig confederated all its activities together under a public limited company, called Puig Brands SA. The change allows the company to have a larger board of directors, under Spanish law.
Puig wouldn’t be alone in considering an IPO. Coty Inc., for instance, in May said it is exploring a listing in Paris, alongside the company’s existing listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Johnson & Johnson’s consumer health business went public in May, when it was given a roughly $42 billion valuation.
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