Cart Curator #19 - in collaboration with Hannah Collingwood English
Why it seems like so many Aussie brands are being acquired, Hannah shares her wishlist cowboy boots and, finally, a chic deodorant.
Hi CC friends,
We are so excited to introduce this week's CC collaborator, Hannah Collingwood English. Hannah is a long-term friend of ours, who has crossed our paths many, many times over the many years we’ve worked in PR.
If you aren’t already familiar with Hannah, she’s basically the matriarch of SPF, because we all know that cool girls wear sunscreen. Aside from her beauty roots, Hannah’s style and vocalness on ADHD sets her apart in the creator space.
In her own words:
“I’m Hannah English and I’m an author, creator, consultant and former scientist. Nice to meet you! You might have seen me on your socials, probably reminding you about sunscreen. If you haven’t found the right one yet I’ve got you - shoot me a DM at @hannahcollingwoodenglish”
Enjoy,
Jess and Nicole x
Popshop
Our favourite pop culture or industry moment of the week.
Before we jump into today’s Popshop, we quickly wanted to flag today’s breaking news that Afterpay has not renewed its sponsorship of Australian Fashion Week. It will be interesting to see what this means for Fashion Week down under, however, nothing further to report at this stage.
Ok, now on to today’s topic of discussion - the corporate sale of every homegrown Australian brand (okay not all, but it’s a decent amount).
If your only knowledge of the word acquisition comes from binge-watching Succession, DW we’ve got you covered. Essentially, it is the act of a company purchasing all, or a part of, another company. They are mutually beneficial arrangements for both sides, as the acquiring company can provide funding and growth support and the acquired expands their portfolio.
To start with the most recent example you’re probably across, you may have heard that bohemian darling Zimmermann became Australia’s first fashion brand to be valued at over 1.5 billion dollars. Switching focus to the beauty world, Aesop, the cornerstone of any put together adult’s apartment, was snapped up by L’Oreal for 3.7 billion in April this year and any tan-aholic’s favourite, Bondi Sands, was sold to Tokyo-listed chemicals and cosmetics giant Kao Corporation for an estimated 450 million.
To help break it down further, friend of CC and Investment Analyst (ex Goldman Sachs), Sophie Carran shares her thoughts.
“Aesop was the largest acquisition made by beauty powerhouse L’Oreal to date. For context, this almost rivals Estee Lauder’s acquisition of Tom Ford (~$4.3bn) and is more than double what Puig (the Spanish owner of Charlotte Tilbury) paid for Byredo last year (~$1.7bn).
Italian based Style Capital has been the driver behind Zimmermann’s European success, having acquired its stake in 2020 and in the course of three years almost tripled the valuation from $600mn to $1.75bn… not a bad investment! With Zimmermann firmly positioning itself as a rival to global luxury brands, and their new owner Advent famously known for its success in turning Lululemon into what it is today - I’m expecting big ambitions for the brand.
We also saw Japanese beauty giant Kao acquire Bondi Sands for a rumoured $450mn. Kao can be credited with the recent success of haircare brand Oribe, of which it acquired in 2018, and if that track record is anything to go from to it will also mean big things for Bondi Sands.”
Shameless Podcast have a quick explainer on the sale and Zimmermann’s growth, and how a brand goes from a stall at the Paddington Markets to becoming Australia’s most valuable fashion brand.
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“It is no small feat to see an Australian brand really ‘make-it’ overseas - only a handful of brands have really cracked the global market despite countless trying to sell the dream to investors… I hear it all the time!” shares Sophie.
That being said, “both the Zimmermann and Aesop deals achieved pretty impressive valuations, even on a global scale.”
So, how did Aesop go from a haircare brand to Australia’s largest luxury brand acquisition? And why are Aussie brands on the radar of investors?
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Sally Branson, Crisis Authority and Reputation Specialist and industry veteran gives us her insight into why they seemingly have the special sauce.
“They’re all brands that have iconic Australian connections and have built their reputations on their Antipodean identity - trailblazers, unique, interesting, and young. And that’s an attractive proposition for an overseas buyer. Just like a nice Australian wine goes gangbusters overseas, so does a fashion label.”
You might be thinking along the same lines as we were - why is the interest in luxury beauty and fashion when we’ve only been hearing that consumer spending is tightening up?
Well, Sophie shares that she’s not surprised to see recent deal activity centred around this category. “It has proven to be one of the most resilient consumer sectors - you only need to look at the LVMH share price as an indicator. The French conglomerate has managed to double its market value since 2020 to become the largest company in Europe.”
Still want to hear more about acquisitions? The LMVH episode of the Acquired Podcast is a great exploration of how they (CEO Bernard Arnault) used this strategy to become the world’s largest individual fortune. Disclaimer, it’s over 3 hours long.
That’s it from us! Passing the CC baton over to Hannah.
Add to Cart
What’s sitting in carts, or what’s been checked out.
Hannah
Idea “Sorry I Don’t Work Here” Hat
The thing about looking after your skin is that your wardrobe helps too, but I’m not carrying a clunky wide-brimmed hat around. London book store IDEA make these portable and fun slogan caps - I also “No Idea.” There’s something hysterically funny about “I Don’t Work Here,” given how hard we all work and how often we talk about burnout. Comes in a few colours, great with virtually any outfit to protect your scalp and give your hair a break from heat styling.
St. Agni Asymmetrical Neck Top - Grey Heather
It’s giving Jennifer Lawrence press tour fashion renaissance, it’s giving The Row, it’s giving quiet luxury, it’s giving day to night. Love at first sight. I like structure in a garment and I’m obsessed with the combination and contrast of the masculine fabric, the femininity of the waist and the cool cutouts. Obsessed. I’ve been wearing it with a fitted leather jacket, pinstripe suit pants and Sambas.
Beauty Counter
Prod of the week.
Hannah
Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad in Disco Dust
I’ve certainly been more minimal with makeup this year, and by that I mean… I use literally one eyeshadow palette. Every day. Zero changes. This is it. Tom Ford eyeshadow quads are portable, they’re always a cohesive colour story and you’ll use every shade. The suede-y mattes and heavenly sparkles will never make your eyelids look dry. They just melt into your skin and they’re perfect every time. I wore Disco Dust on my wedding day. I’m particularly taken with the seemingly boring taupe on the top left - it really brings my whole face to life.
One to Try
Recent openings and discoveries of the food and beverage kind.
Here in Melbourne we love love love a new restaurant, but this one is going to be extra special. It’s the latest from the Nomad group, it’s French food, it’s a heritage-listed space inside the original Melbourne stock exchange building, not to mention incredibly beautiful… and it’s already booking up.
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Lottery Win
A girl can dream.
I think it’s true that you’re either a bag person or a shoes person and I’m a shoe person. I have this thing with cowboy boots. Not authentic vintage cowboy boots. Slick designer approximations of cowboy boots. I’m not getting on any horses, thanks. So tell me, have you ever seen a pair more perfect than these Givenchy Shark Lock Cowboy Boots? I cannot. I’m speechless. I can’t stop thinking about them. I do understand that the stamped leather is labour-intensive and it’s so, so gorgeous, but at $4750 for shoes… lottery win indeed.
IYKYK
Super specific recs and niche hyper-fixations.
I have a problem in my day-to-day life - if I can’t see something I’ll forget it exists. This becomes difficult when you love a tidy surface, because the personal care products have to be out and visible and can create clutter. The compromise? Pretty trays and pretty products, but one category in particular was more difficult than it needed to be: deodorant. My issue is that you can get a deodorant in beautiful packaging, and you can get an antiperspirant that works, but never (ever!) in the same product. And I’m not interested in aluminium-free because it doesn’t work for my lifestyle (and they tend to perpetuate misinformation). Enter Clarins Gentle Care Roll-On Deodorant. She’s perfect. Pleasant, mild fresh aquatic scent. Tick. Effective at controlling sweat and odour. Tick. Cute bottle that doesn’t make me want to hide it in a drawer and forget about it forever. Tick. Problem solved!
