On November 18, 2019, The Estée Lauder Companies announced it will acquire Korean beauty company Have & Be, the parent company of skincare label Dr Jart+ and men’s grooming label Do The Right Thing. Estée Lauder has held a minority stake in the company since 2015. Since then, Have & Be has grown significantly and is expected to hit $500 million in net sales by the end of calendar 2019. Have & Be’s total enterprise is valued at approximately $1.7 billion. Estée Lauder expects to fund the deal with debt, and is subject to certain closing conditions including regulatory approvals. This is the company’s first acquisition of an Asia-based beauty brand.
Dr Jart+ is skin care brand founded in 2005 by CEO Chin Wook Lee in Seoul, offering products such as Cicapair (a dermagreen solution to strengthen and protect the skin) and Ceramidin (a cream to moisturize and repair dry skin). The brand appeals to a broad range of consumers – with a devoted following among millennials in Asia and the US. The brand is sold through specialty-multi channels, travel retail, freestanding stores, high-end department stores and e-commerce sites in more than 35 countries globally, with a wide range of moisturizers, masks, cleansers and serums with innovative, breakthrough formulations.
At Estée Lauder’s annual stockholders’ meeting on November 15, 2019, CEO and President Fabrizio Freda said skincare is a growing category for the company, and that while all categories grew, “skincare was the star,” growing at 21%, saying “in skincare, our brand’s best-selling hero franchises and innovation attracted a diverse range of new consumers and strengthened loyalty with existing users.”
