Last week in beauty Boots has a new owner while Amorepacific accelerates in India.
WITTINGTON TO BUY BOOTS IN $8.9 BILLION DEAL
Toronto-based Wittington Investments, the Weston family holding company, has agreed to acquire Boots from Sycamore Partners in a deal valued at US$8.9 billion including assumed debt, partnering with Stefano Pessina and Fairfax. Wittington will take Boots’ UK and Ireland retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses, with Galen Weston as chairman and the deal expected to close in Q1 2027.
E.L.F. ENTERS FRAGRANCE AND BODY CARE WITH POP
E.l.f. Brands has launched e.l.f. POP, an own-brand fragrance and body care line debuting with Tromsø, a limited-edition spicy gourmand collection for autumn/winter inspired by the Norwegian city. The move into fragrance, the fastest-growing beauty category globally, follows the success of the company’s H&M perfume collaboration and responds to community demand.
SOUTH KOREA LAUNCHES K-BEAUTY IP PROTECTION DRIVE
South Korea has established a joint government initiative to protect small and medium-sized businesses, including K-beauty brands, from overseas counterfeiting, trademark squatting and IP infringement. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office created a joint council linking 22 Global Business Centres in 14 countries with 10 overseas IP centres covering 40 countries, following reports of counterfeits on Amazon and TikTok Shop.
PINTEREST LAUNCHES AI-POWERED BEAUTY GUIDES
Pinterest has introduced beauty guides, an AI-powered feature that adds “Get the Guide” how-to instructions, salon talking points, shoppable products and step-by-step tutorials to hair, make-up and nail pins. Launching October 8 for iOS users in the US, the tool draws on Pinterest’s more than 80 billion monthly searches and will expand to more regions and product categories over time.
AMOREPACIFIC INDIA FORMS PREMIUM BEAUTY DIVISION
Amorepacific India has created a new Premium Division combining Laneige and Sulwhasoo under one business structure, appointing Vidushi Goyal as Business Head to lead integrated strategy across online and offline channels. Goyal brings over 15 years of consumer brand experience from Mamaearth and Swiss Beauty, as the restructuring aligns India with other strategic markets in Amorepacific Group’s global portfolio.
ARGOS EXPANDS MARKETPLACE K-BEAUTY OFFERING
Argos is expanding its Trusted Seller platform to include K-beauty brand Medicube, Unilever-owned Dermalogica and family-owned Clarins, growing third-party products from 70,000 to over 130,000 by year-end following a July 2026 trial with 40 partners. Sellers fulfil orders while shoppers earn Nectar points, with MD Graham Biggart calling it the retailer’s biggest range expansion ever as it enters health and beauty.
L’ORÉAL HIRES ADVISERS OVER US TALC CLAIMS
L’Oréal has appointed restructuring advisers Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Ducera Partners to explore options for managing mounting US legal liabilities tied to talc and other chemical ingredients in its cosmetics. The group’s US subsidiary faces mass lawsuits alleging illness from talc products, while L’Oréal is also among beauty companies facing separate claims that hair-relaxing products caused cancer.
MARY KAY DEBUTS K-BEAUTY EDIT IN 40 MARKETS
Mary Kay has launched a limited-edition K-Beauty Texture Edit across 40 markets, featuring three Korea-made products: a Melt-In Cleansing Balm with PDRN, Snail Gel Face Patches with snail mucin, and a Collagen Moisturizing Gel. Sold via Mary Kay’s website and Independent Beauty Consultant network, the launch supports its digital expansion through My Shop e-commerce, a social creator network and an AI-powered Foundation Finder, targeting younger consumers.
MERIT BEAUTY LAUNCHES SECOND FRAGRANCE NEW WAVE
Merit Beauty is launching New Wave L’Extrait de Parfum, its second fragrance, created by perfumers Dominique Ropion and Meabh McCurtin as an “unconventional amber” reimagining the classic Ambre 83 structure without citrus, powder or aldehydes. Priced at £79, it follows 2024’s Retrospect and arrives as Merit marks its fifth anniversary, launching on the brand’s website and at Sephora on October 22.
DIOR PARFUMS OPENS ILLINOIS DISCOVERY BOUTIQUE
Christian Dior Parfums has opened a discovery beauty boutique at Oakbrook Center in Illinois, featuring fragrance, skincare, makeup, accessories, customizable trunks and a dedicated service suite. The permanent store, anchored by La Collection Privée Christian Dior, follows an August pop-up at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California.
CREED OPENS FIRST UK BOUTIQUE OUTSIDE LONDON
L’Oréal-owned fragrance house Creed has opened its first standalone UK boutique outside London, a 525 sq ft store in a Grade II listed building in Manchester city centre. General Manager UK&I for L’Oréal Luxe Rory Jordan said the aim is to establish the boutique as a Manchester fragrance destination and deepen customer relationships, calling the city a natural next step in reaching more UK customers.
OLEHENRIKSEN OPENS SCANDILAND POP-UP IN NEW YORK
Olehenriksen is opening a Scandinavian-inspired Scandiland pop-up in New York on October 9 and 10, celebrating the launch of its Scandi Candy Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment with candy-themed installations and exclusive merchandise. The activation draws on the brand’s Nordic heritage and the Swedish “Saturday Candy” tradition, which VP of Global Marketing Rachel Berg said reflects Olehenriksen’s 40-year approach of making clinical skincare feel joyful.
BIRKENSTOCK ENTERS INDIA’S PERSONAL CARE MARKET
Birkenstock has launched its Care Essentials foot and body care range in India, including a foot scrub, foot balm, dry oil, pumice stone, hand and body wash and lotion. The vegan, COSMOS Natural certified range, made in Germany and introduced globally in 2024, was showcased in Mumbai alongside Birkenstock’s Autumn/Winter 2026 footwear and 1774 line collaborations.
RITUALS PLEDGES €20M TO YOUTH MENTAL WELLBEING
Rituals will allocate €20 million between 2026 and 2028 to youth mental wellbeing partnerships and programmes through its 10% Profit for Impact initiative, part of a wider ambition to contribute €300–400 million over a decade. The brand is a leading member of UNICEF’s Global Youth Mental Health Coalition alongside Spotify, Sony, lululemon and the Z Zurich Foundation, building on programmes like Super Chill, which has reached over 250,000 children across four countries.
UNILEVER INVESTS IN VASELINE FACTORY IN DURBAN
Unilever has invested R100 million (US$6 million) in a new Vaseline production line at its Maydon Wharf factory in Durban, raising the site’s share of global Vaseline Petroleum Jelly supply from 60 percent to 80 percent. The 1912-established plant employs about 350 full-time staff plus 200 freelancers, with local sourcing up from 40 percent in 2019 to 80 percent in 2025 and roughly 95 percent of Unilever’s South African sales made locally.
VICTORIA BECKHAM FUNDS HER DAUGHTER’S SKINCARE BRAND
Victoria Beckham has invested more than £2.3 million (US$3 million) into launching her 15-year-old daughter Harper’s skincare brand Harlo through H7B Ltd, set up in October 2024, with the teen brand still around a year from its first sale. Accounts to December 2025 show the company owes creditors US$3.39 million, with the venture run separately from Victoria Beckham Beauty and targeting teens after Harper’s own acne struggles.
H&M BEAUTY SIGNS ACTRESS SHARVARI FOR INDIA PUSH
H&M Beauty has signed actor Sharvari as its first brand ambassador in India, where she will front communications across make-up, fragrance, hair and body care. The move accompanies a new make-up assortment sold through H&M stores, Hm.com, Nykaa and Myntra, as the retailer expands beauty as a standalone category after its first year in the market.
VICHY BECOMES PSG SKINCARE AND HAIRCARE PARTNER
Vichy Laboratoires has partnered with Paris Saint-Germain as the football club’s Official Skin Care and Hair Care Partner, following an earlier deal with midfielder Vitinha. The L’Oréal-owned brand said the partnership blends PSG’s elite sporting environment with Vichy’s dermatological science, with Global Brand President Jamel Boutiba citing a shared commitment to science and performance.
ESTÉE LAUDER NAMES GAETANE BAUDRY BOBBI BROWN GLOBAL GM
The Estée Lauder Companies has appointed Gaétane Baudry as senior vice president and global general manager of Bobbi Brown, effective October 8, reporting to global president of makeup brands Lisa Sequino and based in New York. Baudry joins from L’Oréal’s Shu Uemura, where she was global brand president, after senior roles at Giorgio Armani Beauty, Helena Rubinstein and Lancôme, and will lead Bobbi Brown’s global strategy, innovation and digital evolution.
COTY NAMES KARA LANGAN US CONSUMER BEAUTY GM
Marks & Spencer and Sephora have formed a strategic partnership to launch “Sephora at M&S,” a beauty destination rolling out to 100 UK high streets and retail parks plus M&S.com from spring 2027. The shop-in-shop model will combine Sephora’s curated prestige brand mix and specialist Beauty Advisors with M&S’s national store estate and omnichannel platform, with the full brand line-up to be confirmed closer to launch.
