Aesop (brand)

Aesop (stylised as Aēsop) is an Australian luxury cosmetics brand that produces skincare, haircare and fragrance products headquartered in Collingwood, Victoria[2] owned by French cosmetics company L’Oréal since August 30, 2023.[3]

For other uses, see Aesop (disambiguation).

Aesop
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryCosmetics
Founded1987 (1987)
FounderDennis Paphitis
Headquarters
Melbourne
Number of locations
400 stores
Key people
Michael O’Keeffe (CEO)
ProductsSkincare, bodycare, haircare, fragrance and homeware
RevenueIncrease R$1.9 billion (2020)[1]
Owner
Websiteaesop.com
Aesop in Emporium Melbourne, Australia

Overview

Aesop was established in 1987 by Dennis Paphitis in Armadale, Victoria, where Paphitis owned and operated a hair salon named Emeis in which he blended essential oils into hair products.

After continued success, he rebranded to Aesop, naming the brand after the Greek fabulist and storyteller as an intentional ploy to mock the puffery exhibited in the advertising in the cosmetics industry. He eventually sold the brand to Natura & Co in 2012 while maintaining a role as advisor.[4]

Each Aesop store has a unique interior design developed in collaboration with various architects, interior designers and artists. As of 2023, the brand had nearly 400 points of sale across 27 countries.[5] As of 2017, Aesop produced 83 product formulations and three shaving accessories.[6]

Four months after agreeing to pay A$3.7 billion for the company, L'Oréal completed the purchase of Aesop on August 30, 2023.[7] Michael O'Keeffe will remain as CEO as Aesop.[8]

History

Aesop was founded by hairdresser[9] Dennis Paphitis[10] in 1987 in Armadale, Melbourne.[11][12] Suzanne Santos, whose current job title is Chief Customer Officer,[13] was instrumental in the founding and growth of the company.[14] She was Paphitis's first employee.[6]

In 2010 Harbert Australia Private Equity bought a minority stake in the company; Aesop used the capital injection to fund growth.[15] In December 2012, Aesop sold a 65% stake in its business to Brazilian direct-sales cosmetics company Natura Cosméticos for US$71.6 million[16] (approximately A$100 million).[17] Natura took total ownership in December 2016.[6]

As of 2017, Aesop produced 83 product formulations and three shaving accessories.[6] In September 2018, Aesop launched a luxe homewares product.[18] In 2020, Aesop introduced their first candle product line with three new scents titled Ptolemy, Aganice, and Callippus.[19]

For the company's national and international experience in sustainable development, and eco-friendly products, the Environment Possibility Award conferred the "Award of Green-Trend Leader" to Aesop in 2020.[20] Aesop also became a certified B Corp in 2022.[21]

In April 2023, it was announced that L'Oréal intended to buy the brand for A$3.7 billion;[5][22][23] the acquisition was completed in August.

Corporate identity

The brand has been noted for following a modern approach to prestige branding.[24] This includes not using traditional advertisements or discount sales to promote its products but rather getting noticed and talked about for the design of its products, stores, events and communications.[25][26]

Name, logo, and branding

According to founder Dennis Paphitis, the brand's name was inspired by Aesop, the Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables. Originally named "Emeis" - which in Greek means "us", and the namesake of Paphitis's hairdressing salon at the time, the brand's name was changed to Aesop in response to the sometimes exaggerated claims made by competitors about their products.[4] Aesop has a minimalist approach to branding, with their logo being a simple transcription of the brand's name in Optima font. Their brand image is described by social entrepreneur and writer Tony Kearney as the key behind its success who credits Aesop with having crafted one of the most beautiful brand programs in existence.[27] After 20 years of operation, the brand retained digital strategist Work & Co to redesign the online experience. The website redesign was critically acclaimed, winning three awards.[28]

Store design
Aesop in Hibiya Chanter, Tokyo, Japan

Aesop retail stores are considered to place local relevance and understatement as a priority in their design.[29] Marianne Lardilleux, the Global Head of Store Design at Aēsop, stresses the importance of creating a store that blends in seamlessly with its surroundings[30].The brand consistently uses authentic materials in store construction projects, with this described as a “sensible use of the existing space and façade”.[29] Notable designers and architects have been involved in the creation of Aesop stores. In 2008, British designer Ilse Crawford designed the first London-based store for the brand, located in a Victorian Grade II listed mansion block in Mayfair.[31] The store was noted for its restoration of a historic building with modern additions with brass and ceramic while maintaining original fittings such as the pitch pine floor.[32] In 2021, Odami, a Spanish-Canadian design studio was retained by Aesop to design a new store in Yorkville.[33] Odami described the project as one which paid homage to the history of Yorkville, which retains many homes of Victorian design.[33] The Victorian-style finishing's were noted, as was the design's minimalist approach.[34]

Internal culture

Aesop has a distinct internal company culture consisting of minimalism and order. Aesop employees are referred to as "Aesopians" and are subject to certain unique company rules and guidelines, such as using only black Moleskin notebooks and black pens and sending all emails with a greeting or pleasantry at its beginning and end.[35] Its offices have been described as "minimal...upmarket prison cell[s]", and employees are not permitted to eat food at or keep personal items on desks.[35] This order is said to stem from Paphitis's inclination for control over Aesop, who has acknowledged "[Aesop] labour[s] over seemingly inane decisions...to make things appear effortless...there's a great deal of energy involved".[15] Other elements of the internal culture include keeping mobile phones on silent inside offices and using Aesop's brand colours on company documents. Former General Manager of Marketing Lisa D'Amico has stated, "the colours used on PowerPoint presentations are really, really important, particularly to the board. If [one is] not OK with that, [they] just won't enjoy [working at Aesop]".[6] Such edicts have been described as "specific yet vague" that make being a potential employee stressful.[6] D'Amico acknowledged Aesop takes "cultural alignment to the nth degree" and noted cultural fit between Aesop and its employees ought to be mutual.[6]

Points of sale

Aesop has over 235 company owned signature stores across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, US, Taiwan, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Hong Kong, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Belgium and the UK.[36][37] In the US, it is also available at Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. In Canada, Aesop's products can be found at Holt Renfrew, Ogilvy, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Its largest store in 2017 was its 100.8 m2 (1,085 sq ft) space in the Broadway Theater District in Downtown Los Angeles where the walls are lined with reclaimed cardboard tubing from fabric rolls discarded by the nearby fashion district.[38] Other elements of the store's interior are made entirely from recycled paper.[38]

Management

Michael O'Keeffe has been CEO of Aesop since 2003.[6]

See also

References
  1. "2020 annual report Natura & Co". p. 15. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. "Aesop finds a new home in Collingwood office tower". Australian Financial Review. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. "L'Oréal completes acquisition of Aaesop/". L’Oréal Groupe. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  4. Niven-Phillips, Lisa (20 October 2019). "The label of fable: tales from Aesop skincare". the Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  5. Yun, Jessica (4 April 2023). "L'Oreal snaps up Australian skincare brand Aesop in record $3.7 billion deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. Strickland, Katrina (25 April 2017). "Aesop's fable: the skincare company that puts culture first". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  7. "L'Oréal Closes Acquisition Of Luxury Beauty Brand Aesop". ESM Magazine. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  8. LaFrenz, Carrie (13 April 2023). "Aesop chief to remain at helm as L'Oreal eyes new markets". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. dezeen.com Interview with Aesop founder 2012/12/10
  10. Fairs, Marcus (10 December 2012). "Interview with Aēsop skincare founder Dennis Paphitis on retail design". Dezeen. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  11. "Aesop Australia".
  12. Hattie Crisell. "Aesop: The Cult Beauty Brand That Tries Not to Be". New York.
  13. Annabel Ross, The Age Melbourne Story: Suzanne Santos 21 March 2012
  14. Amelia Chia, I'm with the brand: Aesop Buro 24/7 18 December 2015
  15. Rachel Wells The man behind the Aesop brand The Sydney Morning Herald 23 February 2012
  16. Glazer, Emily (21 December 2012). "Brazil's Natura Buys Aesop Majority Stake". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  17. "Natura Announces Strategic Investment in Aesop". Business Wire. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  18. "Aussie brand Aesop have launched homewares". Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  19. "Aesop Enters the World of Candles".
  20. "Olous Aromatique Room Spray won the 2020 Award of Green-Trend Leader". A.A. Environment Possibility Award. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  21. Walker, Gaelle (11 November 2020). "Aēsop achieves Certified B Corporation status as it seeks to become a more powerful force for good". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  22. Gross, Jenny (4 April 2023). "Aesop, the Cult-Favorite Skin Care Brand, Will Be Acquired by L'Oréal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  23. Murdoch, Scott; Spencer, Mimosa (4 April 2023). "L'Oreal buys luxury brand Aesop with eye on China". Reuters. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  24. "Aesop; a refreshingly different and sustainable approach to retail". Davidson Branding. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  25. Kuehlwein, JP. Aesop – Fabled Brand, Fabulous Marketing. 12/2012
  26. Schaefer, Wolf and Kuehlwein, JP. 2015. Rethinking Prestige Branding: Secrets of the Ueber-Brands. Kogan Page. pp.106. ISBN 9780749470036
  27. Kearney, Toni (5 December 2019). "How This Luxurious Australian Beauty Brand Dominates by Distribution". LinkedIn. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  28. "Aesop Case Study". work.co. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  29. Teufel, Prof Philipp; Zimmermann, Prof Rainer (1 September 2015). Holistic Retail Design: Reshaping Shopping for the Digital Era. Frame Publishers. ISBN 978-94-91727-65-8.
  30. BranDay (10 April 2023). "Aēsop is Putting Roots Down in Shanghai". BranDay. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  31. "Aesop store by Studioilse". Dezeen. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  32. "Aesop by Studioilse". David Report. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  33. "Aesop Yorkville". Odami. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  34. Tucker, Emma (9 August 2022). "Aesop's latest Toronto store echoes the Victorian architecture of Yorkville". The Spaces. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  35. Elder, John (25 February 2017). "Inside the office culture of Aussie skincare company Aesop". The New Daily. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  36. Anna Winston, Dezeen's top 10 Aesop store designs Dezeen 17 December 2014
  37. "Find your nearest store". 27 October 2016.
  38. Lizzie Fison, Brooks + Scarpa recycles cardboard tubes and paper for Los Angeles Aesop store interior Dezeen 21 March 2017
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