Unilever is pursuing a healthier lifestyle, investing more and more in personal care, and pulling back on food. Yesterday the consumer goods giant signed an agreement to acquire upmarket skincare brand Murad, the fourth specialist skincare line Unilever has bought recently following the purchase of Dermalogica, Kate Somerville and REN. The move means the company is positioning itself as a key player in the personal care prestige category.
Murad has a large presence in the US through professional salons and spas as well as specialist retailers including Sephora, Ulta and Nordstrom.
Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Murad to our portfolio of Prestige personal care brands. As an expert ‘Doctor brand‘, Murad offers products in a differentiated clinical and holistic well-being segment. It has a loyal following that gives it excellent potential for expansion, and wonderfully complements the brands recently acquired. We look forward to working with Dr Murad and his team to continue to grow the brand.”
Dr Howard Murad added: “With Unilever, we can broaden our reach and significantly grow our brand while remaining faithful to the founding principles of Murad. There is a very bright path ahead and I am excited to work with Unilever to share our products with the world—together we can inspire every person that the Murad brand touches to live life beautifully.”
The brand had a turnover of US$115m in 2014 and will now be incorporated into Unilever‘s Prestige division, which is exclusively dedicated to select distribution and premium personal care brands.
