• Douglas and NICHE BEAUTY want to accelerate the dynamic growth of the online business for selected trend products
• The acquisition will strengthen Douglas’ luxury segment thereby advancing its open beauty platform, and enhance its position as one of Europe’s leading online beauty retailers
• Tina Müller, Group CEO of Douglas: “NICHE BEAUTY enables the Douglas Group to add a luxury offering that perfectly complements the top end of our multi-brand strategy.”

 

Düsseldorf, 31 July 2019. Douglas, one of Europe’s leading premium beauty retailers, is acquiring a majority stake in NICHE BEAUTY, an aspiring online business dedicated exclusively to exceptional international premium cosmetic brands. The acquisition will strengthen Douglas’ position in the attractive luxury segment and allow Douglas to leverage its own high-performance platform to selectively support NICHE BEAUTY’s rapid growth. Douglas will take a 51 percent interest in NICHE BEAUTY alongside the founding family, which will continue to run the company.

Tina Müller, Group CEO of Douglas: “We are always on the lookout for promising investments that improve our portfolio and fit our #FORWARDBEAUTY strategy. NICHE BEAUTY enables Douglas to add a luxury assortment that perfectly complements the top end of our multi-brand strategy. We look forward to working with the founders Laetitia von Hessen, Sarah von Doetinchem and Andreas Bechtolf to realise the full potential of their vision and bring even more innovative products to Europe.”

Unique collection of selected, luxurious speciality brands

NICHE BEAUTY, which is run by the founding family, offers customers a unique collection of selected, luxurious speciality brands, many of which are currently only known to insiders and were often only available abroad. The portfolio comprises more than 6,000 products from over 200 exclusive brands. Each of them is a hallmark for beauty based on the latest research findings, technological innovations and high-quality ingredients. “The NICHE BEAUTY team has successfully demonstrated an outstanding sense for meeting the desire of a growing number of customers for exclusive, high-quality cosmetics,” says Vanessa Stützle, Executive Vice President E-Commerce & CRM. “With the Douglas online shop, parfumdreams and NICHE BEAUTY, we are offering our customers a complementary product world in line with our platform strategy. In doing so, we can address different target groups even more precisely and efficiently.”

Experts in innovative niche products

NICHE BEAUTY was established in 2011 by sisters Laetitia von Hessen and Sarah von Doetinchem together with their father Andreas Bechtolf to give customers in Germany access to exciting beauty products from international markets. They travel the world to unearth the latest insider tips and product trends for NICHE BEAUTY’s 250,000 online shop visitors. Their growing community is testimony to the management team’s talent for identifying and introducing attractive lifestyle brands.

Douglas is the ideal partner for the future

“Our mission is to give our customers access to the world’s most exclusive cosmetic products. Teaming up with Douglas means we now have the support of one of the strongest and most renowned European beauty partners – this opens up completely new opportunities for us. Douglas is the ideal platform for NICHE BEAUTY to ensure that the next phase of our growth is even more successful,” says Laetitia von Hessen, founder of NICHE BEAUTY. Sarah von Doetinchem adds: “We see ourselves as a lifestyle brand. Together with a strong organisation like Douglas, we can focus on raising awareness for our business, thereby making it more accessible to customers throughout Europe in the future.”

 

ABOUT DOUGLAS:

Douglas is one of the leading retailers in the European beauty industry with about 2,400 stores and fast-growing online shops in 24 European countries. In the financial year 2017/18, the company generated sales of 3.3 billion Euros. Every day, around 20,000 dedicated beauty experts strive to make their customers more beautiful and thus happier. Douglas has a portfolio of some 50,000 high-quality products of more than 650 brands in the areas of perfumery, decorative cosmetics and skincare as well as food supplements and accessories. With around 40 million Beauty Card holders, Douglas has one of the largest customer loyalty programs in Europe. Providing excellent consultation and a range of unique services, Douglas is one of the leading companies in the beauty market – both online and in stores.

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PRESS CONTACT:

Dr. Phoebe Kebbel
Phone: +49 (0) 173 28 62 110
E-mail: p.kebbel@heringschuppener.com