Editors' Top Reads: News from Harvey Nichols, IM 8, The Body Shop and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.beauty team.
David Beckham’s wellness brand IM8 secures $1bn funding
There is no stopping the Beckhams. Days after David and Victoria Beckham were spotted cheering for the England team at the semi-finale for the World Cup (sadly it's not coming home), David today is the news once again – this time for further expanding his wellness business empire.
Beckham's wellness brand IM8, which he co-founded with health sciences company Prenetics, has raised $1 billion (£746 million) in growth financing from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF), as it looks to accelerate customer acquisition and global expansion.
The subscription-based brand, known for its supplements, now operates in 43 countries and has reached an annualised revenue run rate of more than $200 million, according to Prenetics. But its ambitions are much grander, with the goal of building a multibillion-dollar global consumer health brand, according to Danny Yueng, CEO of Prenetics and IM8's other co-founder.
Victoria Beckham is of course the key figurehead when it comes to building a beauty business empire. Her namesake beauty brand reported another year of growth last summer, with revenues up 26% to £112.7 million in 2024.
Camilla Rydzek, Senior News and Features Writer.
The Body Shop celebrates 50 years with ‘Grow Wild’ campaign
I found this campaign particularly interesting because The Body Shop has brought together four women who are known for using their platforms to speak out on issues beyond beauty.
Rather than relying solely on celebrity endorsement, the campaign features Jameela Jamil, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Paloma Faith and Ashley James because of their advocacy on issues including body image, women's rights and racial equality.
As celebrity partnerships become increasingly common across the beauty industry, this one caught my eye because it feels aligned with The Body Shop's longstanding values.
The brand has always positioned itself as more than a beauty retailer, and choosing ambassadors whose personal values reflect that heritage makes the anniversary campaign feel authentic. It will be interesting to see whether more brands take this approach by selecting ambassadors whose values and activism are as important as their reach.
Catherine Rowe-Kosary, Junior Writer.
Frasers Group enters Harvey Nichols group sales process despite supplier concerns
You can never rule them out, can you? Fresh from making a nuisance of themselves at German fashion giant Hugo Boss, whose board recently recommended a rejection of its takeover bid, Frasers has reportedly written to Harvey Nichols with a request to allowed into its bidding race.
Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon is inviting bids for the department stores group, which own the landmark London store as well as outposts across the UK and Ireland and in the Middle East.
Another British high street stalwart, NEXT, is also in the frame. It had previously been reported that Frasers (owner of the Frasers departments stores, Flannels and Sports Direct among othere) had only been interested in its regional stores, which include UK and Ireland stores in Manchester, Leeds, Dublin, Edinburgh and Bristol, along with a beauty store in Liverpool. Interest there was said to have cooled and Harvey Nichols has reportedly been telling suppliers that Frasers was not part of the sale process, but that has all changed.
To ensure a fair process, any bid from Frasers will have to be considered. As with Hugo Boss, whether it will be accepted is another matter. This is about to get very interesting.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
