L’Oréal offloads these two cosmetics brands to newly formed Cospal Group

Beauty giant L’Oréal has confirmed selling two of its lesser-known cosmetics brands, Decléor and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to French group Cospal for an undisclosed sum.

Cospal was established earlier this year by Matthieu Lesieur, whose aim is to expand in the growing beauty and wellness market. Lesieur is the Co-founder of smartphone repair chain WeFix, which has since been sold to the Fnac-Darty group.

Lesieur has long-standing family links to Decléor in particular. His father acquired the brand in the late 1980s before selling it to Shiseido.

This comes after L'Oréal announced it had stopped the commercialisation of aromatherapy skincare brand Decléor in October 2023.

Founded in 1974 by Solange Dessimoulie, Decléor is known for blending premium essential oils to provide proven skincare solutions. The brand was acquired by L’Oréal from Shiseido in 2014 as part of a deal which also included the acquisition of French beauty brand Carita.

At the time, L'Oréal said: "L’Oréal has a portfolio of complementary brands. The group’s strategy is to acquire and, sometimes, exit brands, to keep a very strong portfolio and the complementarity it needs to thrive over the long term.

"The success of L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty is based on a strategy and a business model focused on brands prescribed by healthcare professionals. Under these conditions, the division has decided to stop the commercialisation of Decléor."

Now, Lesieur has snapped up the brand, along with Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc’s spa and skincare license. Inspired by the French alpine, Saint Gervais Mont Blanc is a skincare brand which promises to preserve health, beauty and vitality. The European spa centre welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year.

"With this double acquisition, the Cospal group has reached a major milestone in its growth strategy, affirming its intention to become a key player in the beauty sector. Rejuvenating two iconic brands like Decléor and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc is a unique opportunity to preserve their heritage while breathing into them a new, innovation-driven impetus," Lesieur, President of Cospal, told Fashion Network.

"Decléor needs to be reinvented from scratch. We must redefine the product range, tell the market that the brand is back, restructure its distribution. We will capitalise on the investments made by the previous owners, and on the synergy between the spa centre and the Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc skincare brand."