Parfum d'Image completes major US acquisition
Latitudes International Fragrance in order to become a major
presence in the US.
Parfum d'Image, which makes perfumes on contract, grew 27.7 percent in 2007 to €25.9m ($38.60m) after securing major contracts with several European retailers and making its first in-roads into the US market. The acquisition of the fellow contract manufacturer of fragrance Latitudes, which achieved sales of $22m and an EBIT of $4m for the 12 months ending September 30, moves the France-based company closer to its goal of achieving sales of €100m by 2010. Parfum d'Image made €1.1m worth of sales in the US last year and announced recently its desire to increase this figure significantly through acquisitions. Buying out Latitudes will equip Parfum d'Image with several major US clients including Old Navy, Ralph Lauren and Bath and Body Works. Latitudes produces fragrances for perfumes and personal care products as well as candles, potpourri and diffusers. "The synergies between the knowledge of Latitudes and that of Parfum d'Image are considerable and the presence of the company in America is now impossible to ignore," said Parfum d'Image CEO Gregory Mager. Parfum D'Image claims this acquisition pushes it into the top 100 international beauty and cosmetics companies. "We are happy to join a unique group which knows how to impose itself worldwide on a market niche that we have contributed to developing for almost 15 years," said Latitudes CEO, Jill Belasco, who will join the steering committee at Parfum d'Image.
