Shiseido enters MOU for acquiring French luxury fragrance trademark
The deal, entered into with French Creator Mr Serge Lutens, sees the cosmetics maker take over the trademark of a name synonymous with luxury fragrances and cosmetics.
Shiseido and Mr Lutens, who is acknowledged by the industry for his unique creations, started their partnership in 1980, and the Tokyo-headquartered firm says it was was largely thanks to this collaboration that the company was able to successfully break into European markets.
In a company statement released today, Shiseido says it is enthusiastic to advance the brand to the next stage by way of further investments such as opening free standing brand boutiques in major cities world-wide while keeping its prestigious image.
Mr Serge Lutens has agreed to continue as Creative Director of the brand, which is a big asset for all, and he will also support the development of the next step of the brand.
History
In 1992, Shiseido opened a boutique named Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido (later renamed Les Salons du Palais Royal Serge Lutens) in Paris and commenced sales of cloche-bottled fragrances created by Serge Lutens.
Seven years later and square-bottled fragrances were added, allowing for broader distribution of the line, and the brand is now expanded to around 2,000 outlets in 35 countries.
For the future prospective of the brand, Shiseido and Mr Lutens have agreed that it is best for Shiseido to acquire the trademark and then to invest further on the brand while enhancing the strong relationship.
Experience
Serge Lutens, the man, has been in the industry for over 45 years and prior to the Shiseido partnership beginning, he worked as art director for make-up product development at Christian Dior, for over 12 years
In 1980, the collaboration with Shiseido was signed for an image development project conducted in line with the company’s full-scale launch of its European business and Lutens continued the collaboration over the next 20 years for Shiseido’s global image and visual identity.
