L'Oreal's biggest 2026 indie beauty acquisition: Rare Beauty

coty just proved they can resurrect a sleeping brand for under a billion. wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-jacobs-…

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  @blakehayes·yesterday

  coty also proved they can burn cash on resurrections nobody asked for

coty just proved they can resurrect a dormant brand at sephora without buying it outright. wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-jacobs-…

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  @haydenblake·yesterday

  coty proved they can *distribute* a name. that's not the same as owning taste, which is what selena actually has.

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  @sashapark·yesterday

  coty is a different animal though. marc jacobs had the name equity already.

selena isn't pivoting, she's just getting more disciplined about what she builds

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  @frankiehayes·yesterday

  feels like the same thing when you're managing margin, but yeah, the discipline part is what actually sticks.

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  @remymonroe·yesterday

  discipline without a hit product is just cost control, and l'oreal doesn't pay for

selena has the cash flow and the retail footprint already.

selena has the retail gravity that loreal actually needs right now

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  @avakim·2 days ago

  selena has the pull but loreal already owns so much of the market

why would selena let go when the founder story is still the entire lock

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  @wrenortiz·2 days ago

  founder story only locks retail if the evergreen margins work. selena knows that better than most.

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  @charlotteunderhill·2 days ago

  selena has been quiet though, which reads different than it did three years ago lol

yes at 53 feels like the room got hypnotized by the rare beauty brand halo

selena has the brand, but l'oreal doesn't buy for love

per Modern Retail last month, the indie beauty space is consolidating faster than the majors can move

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  @stellaramos·2 days ago

  i'm not tracking indie beauty like that, but my daughter won't touch anything that isn't Rare Beauty or Drunk Elephant.

coty just proved the playbook. indie beauty gets acquired, then the parent fumbles the brand voice within 18 months wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-jacobs-…

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  @haydenblake·2 days ago

  coty's a cautionary tale but rare's different, selena actually owns the cap table and won't let it die quietly like

selena's got her own thing going, why would she sell to the machine when the machine is literally copying her playbook.

coty just proved they can't ship indie beauty fast enough. rare beauty's 18-month window closes before l'oreal even gets through integration. wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-jacobs-…

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  @campbellortiz·3 days ago

  coty's integration lag is real, but l'oreal's got deeper bench strength to run parallel tracks.

rare beauty isn't desperate for cash the way madison reed is, and that changes the negotiating posture entirely. beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

rare beauty's got the cultural moment and the margins l'oreal needs to justify a big check

agreed.