Dolce&Gabbana and Shiseido Group have signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement under which Shiseido will develop, manufacture and distribute the Dolce&Gabbana’s fragrance, makeup and skincare lines.
The new collaboration will officially start as of October, 1st, 2016, subject to antitrust clearance.
“We are so proud to enrich our portfolio of prestige brands by such a beautiful luxury fashion Brand,” commented Masahiko Uotani, Shiseido Group CEO.
“The license agreement is aimed at strengthening our brand portfolio for the sake of future top line growth, which is a part of my VISION 2020 for Shiseido Group. The collaboration of our two companies, with their heritage rooted in such diverse cultures as Mediterranean style and Japan, opens excellent opportunities for creating new exciting values.”
“The standards, values, coherence and quality of Shiseido Group perfectly mirror the positioning and path that we have decided to take with Dolce&Gabbana. Hence signing the license agreement with Shiseido represents the ideal choice for the development of our future projects. We are sure that the level achieved by the Dolce&Gabbana fragrances thus far, already well-established and significant, will be further enhanced thanks to this partnership with Shiseido, and we anticipate that together we will be able to fully develop the potential we believe we have for growth in make-up and skincare,” say Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
“We are therefore very happy to announce this partnership, and enthusiastically look forward to collaborating on future projects.’’
The negotiations were carried out by Shiseido Group EMEA, Shiseido Group Fragrance Center of Excellence, led by Louis Desazars, President and CEO of Shiseido Group EMEA and President and CEO of Beauté Prestige International. Dolce&Gabbana’s beauty license will be managed from Paris, Shiseido Group EMEA HQ.
“I am very happy and very proud to welcome such a prestigious brand in our portfolio. For us it’s a unique opportunity to collaborate with an extraordinary and inspiring brand in order to bring to life unique creativity and new product experiences. We expect considerable synergy effects from this alliance as it will take full advantage of the organization scale of Shiseido Group EMEA HQ,” says Louis Desazars.
Philippe Lesné, President, Shiseido Travel Retail comments: “This is a game-changer for Shiseido Group and a very exciting development for our newly unified global business unit, Shiseido Travel Retail. By making full use of Shiseido Group’s tri-axis abilities, we anticipate to rapidly scale up Dolce&Gabbana’s beauty business across fragrances, make-up and skincare. Global Travel Retail will be a strategic channel for the brand, and we will be working in close partnership with Shiseido Group’s EMEA region, the Dolce&Gabbana team and our travel retail partners to maximize the exciting potential. We are witnessing another landmark in the progress towards Shiseido Group’s Vision 2020, as a mid-to-long term strategy for accelerating global success through organic growth, new licenses and acquisitions.”
Using Shiseido Group’s R&D ability, it is highly anticipated that Dolce&Gabbana will enhance its fragrance, makeup and skincare business (around 400 million euros turnover in the beauty activities in 2015). Shiseido Group will expand its position in the luxury beauty industry and will significantly increase international turnover.
