LVMH sheds Hard Candy, Urban Decay
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Miami, Fla.-based Falic Group, owner of Duty Free Americas chain, acquired niche prestige cosmetics brands Hard Candy and Urban Decay from LVMH in December, luxury goods manufacturer says. Hard Candy has had difficulty defining its position in the market and registered a revenue decline of about 20% in 2002, while Urban Decay sales increased about 20% (1"The Rose Sheet" Dec. 23, 2002, p. 6). LVMH picked up Hard Candy in 1999, followed by the acquisition of Urban Decay in 2000. Divestiture of the two smallest brands in LVMH's portfolio does not presage a large-scale sell-off of brands, LVMH states. During a Jan. 23 fourth quarter, year-end sales call, CFO Patrick Houel said LVMH will continue to sell-off "non-core" brands in 2003, but will not divest any major businesses. While LVMH has said it has no plans to sell Sephora, the company also has called the retailer a "non-core" business (2"The Rose Sheet" Dec. 3, 2001, p. 4)...