The company says that the move is an attempt to expand its perfumeries business, which it sees as having stronger growth prospects and “attractive opportunities” compared to other retail sections.
In the long run, Douglas aims to strengthen its position to gain a leading market position in all major European countries.
According to Bloomberg, Nocibe has a market value of about €500m, whilst Douglas had total sales of around €680m Euros in 2012.
The combined companies would be the second largest perfumer in France, behind market leader Sephora, which produced almost €2bn revenue in 2012.
Growing European perfuming
The perfumery division is a major focus of Douglas’ strategy, with the company planning to invest as much as €500m growth capital in improving the division according to a statement released in June.
Perfume was noted as being the company’s most profitable division by Dr Kreke, CEO of Douglas, who also acknowledged the company’s expertise and strong branding in this area.
Douglas also made a commitment to re-branding itself through expansion, building the franchise through targeted organic and external growth, as well as sophisticated trend scouting which will allow it to become involved with developing tendencies in the world of cosmetics.
The acquisition of Nocibe marks a significant step in the firm’s aim to re-brand itself as the “epitome of beauty” in European markets.
In a conference call with Bloomberg, the Douglas CEO called the acquisition: "a big opportunity to build-up our position in the perfumery market in Europe," with France being a particularly important market.
Boosting bricks-and-mortar presence
After acquiring Nocibe, Douglas would have 625 store locations and around 4,000 employees the company said yesterday, marking a significant boost to its footprint.
The acquisition would make the firm the largest overall perfume retailer in France in terms of numbers of locations and staff.
The company is also planning to expand its other channels of retail, for example by investing more heavily in e-commerce.