Ambitious Beauty Tech Group is working with investment bank Berenberg on plans to float the business on the main London market later this year.
The owner of CurrentBody, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser brands is plotting a £350 million IPO, reported Sky News. However details, including the size of any primary share sale, have yet to be finalised, insiders said, with the £350 million figure an estimate.
Manchester-based The Beauty Tech Group, which is run by co-founder and chief executive Laurence Newman, is owned by its management team including fellow co-founder and chief technology officer Andrew Showman and finance chief Sam Glynn together with “a group of high net worth individuals”, the reports said.
The group saw a major increase in revenue last year, with sales passing the £100 million for the first time, up from £80m in 2023. Its revenues comprise just under a quarter from the UK and 77% internationally. Since the beginning of this year, it has been exclusively focused on own-brand sales.
The report says the beauty technology market is projected to grow from £2.7 billion in global sales in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of up to 17% until 2026, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In a statement to Sky News, Newman said: “2024 was another significant year financially and strategically for the group. We delivered revenue of over £100 million and successfully acquired Tria Laser while also completing the integration of ZIIP Beauty.
He added: “These acquisitions have diversified and increased the group’s product offering across the rapidly growing beauty tech market and, in line with our strategic ambitions, the group is now focused exclusively on own-brand products. I am confident that 2025 will be another record year.”
The business, which describes itself as a global industry leader in home-use beauty technology, is focused on products which use LED, radio frequency, microcurrent and laser treatments. It counts Harrods among its retail partners, while its products are also sold on more than 20 direct-to-consumer websites around the world.
Stuart Trevor will be the headline designer for Source Fashion, the upcoming Olympia London sourcing show (18-20 February). The founder of the AllSaints label, Trevor will be showcasing bespoke designs from his signature collection on the Source Catwalk.
After five years mentoring start-up brands “with a positive social and environmental impact”, he launched his Stuart Trevor label in 2023 “to incredible acclaim”.
A sustainable brand founded on the question ‘What about a clothing brand that doesn’t produce any clothing?’, he set out “to create the world’s most sustainable brand with a mission to make buying sustainable products easier and more fun and create non-destructive clothing from other peoples’ waste”.
Trevor said: “It’s a critical moment for our collective future – we should have done it years ago, but given we can’t turn back the clocks, now is the time to act. There are too many clothes that already exist, and too many clothes still being produced – continuing on this trajectory just doesn’t make sense, for the industry or for the planet. Creativity to me has always been about doing more with what we have already – which is exactly the basis of Stuart Trevor.
“The synergy between our brand and Source Fashion was a no-brainer, I’m excited to showcase some of our designs on the Source catwalk and show what fashion can produce with the tonnes of stock that’s already in circulation.”
Trevor’s designs will headline the Source Catwalk show, which will also present the latest womenswear edit “brought to life to show visitors how to build looks and ranges”.
Visitors will also be able to hear from Trevor on Wednesday 19 February at 1.30pm during a ‘fireside chat’ presentation.
Puma SE is shipping far fewer Chinese-made sneakers to the US as the trade war between the countries heats up.
Puma
The German sportswear brand is sourcing only about 10% of its US shoe imports from China now, down from 30% in the past, Chief Executive Officer Arne Freundt said in an interview. Puma is increasingly relying on suppliers in places such as Vietnam and Indonesia for the US market, he said.
The change is one of several that Puma ushered in since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in November roiled an already volatile sportswear industry. Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated, with Trump slapping 10% tariffs on China and Beijing responding with its own levies and export restrictions.
Agility has become essential to navigate the uncertain trade landscape and its knock-on effects on consumer behavior, the Puma chief said. This week, he held a staff meeting to dig into consumer sentiment in the US, to discuss how rivals are responding and make sure Puma’s product sourcing teams are receiving information directly from staff on the ground.
“You need to be very close to things which are happening, and have a constant information flow, and reflect if your plans are still accurate under that environment or if you need to change things,” said the CEO.
Upbeat Forecasts
Puma is benefiting from its strategy of sourcing goods from multiple countries, Freundt said. “Other competitors may not be able to react that fast. It might lead to certain price increases.”
Even so, Puma has faced setbacks in recent months. On the day after Trump’s election in early November, it reported upbeat third-quarter results and Freundt affirmed his financial forecast for 2024. In hindsight, that was a mistake, he said.
Puma had seen strong demand in October for all sorts of products, including the soccer-inspired Palermo sneakers and Suede XL skater shoes, Freundt said. As November progressed, however, consumer demand slowed, especially in China and Latin America, where the company was already dealing with warehouse constraints.
As a result, Puma shocked investors in January when it reported preliminary fourth-quarter results that missed estimates and full-year net income that was shy of Freundt’s forecast. The company also pushed back a key profitability target by two years. Shares fell by the most in more than two decades.
It didn’t help that cross-town rival Adidas AG had reported better-than-expected results the day before, citing strong momentum across all regions and divisions.
Nor was it the first time that Freundt had surprised investors with bad news. In July 2023, he had suggested that if business continued to develop favorably Puma might raise its forecast for the year — but then it didn’t do so, angering some investors.
The 45-year-old took over as CEO in November 2022 after serving as Puma’s chief commercial officer. He has worked for the company since 2011, overseeing strategy, retail and e-commerce channels as well as the Europe, Middle East and Africa division.
Since taking the top job, Freundt has tried to give a “very realistic” financial outlook, he said. But given how volatile the industry is, he intends to alter his approach. “For me, the message is loud and clear: we need to be more cautious on communicating our expectations,” he said.
Brand Elevation
Puma announced a cost-cutting program last month that’s designed, in part, to counteract the expected drag on earnings from a stronger US dollar once its currency hedges expire in 2026.
While Puma isn’t looking to reduce headcount, Freundt sees potential for streamlining in some areas — such as material procurement or IT and logistics. “We are a growth company, but we want to grow more efficiently going forward,” he said.
Freundt insists that Puma’s new effort to elevate the brand is working. Until recently, the focus was on maximizing sales growth, even if much of that progress came from selling relatively cheap shoes and apparel. Now, Puma wants to increase its presence in higher-end channels for sports and lifestyle products, such as sneakers that sell for more than $100 a pair and help build hype.
Puma has made progress in the past year, especially with products selling at hip streetwear stores such as Kith and End., Freundt said. The company has been building buzz around the Speedcat, a thin-soled sneaker that originally debuted in 1999 and has recently appeared on the feet of celebrities like actor Jennifer Lawrence.
While Freundt may become more cautious on his financial forecasts, the CEO appears as optimistic as ever about the prospects for the Speedcat after Puma began ratcheting up supplies in preparation for a marketing blitz around the product. This approach to managing a product cycle will help Puma usher in its next era of profitable growth, the CEO said.
“What we have done the last 12 to 18 months is really to build up a new silhouette, a new trend,” Freundt said. “We are very confident that this can be one of the hottest shoes in the summer.”
Dover Street Market Paris, renowned for its strong connections with designers and textile innovators, is collaborating with Parley for the Oceans, the environmental organisation dedicated to combating plastic pollution in marine ecosystems, to introduce Parley, a new brand focused on eco-innovation in fashion.
The partnership is being described as “a bold step in transforming the fashion industry by setting new standards in eco-innovation and design,” according to Dover Street Market Paris Brand Development (DSMP-BD) and Parley for the Oceans.
Adrian Joffe and Cyrill Gutsch – Photography by Valentin Folliet
Founded by Cyrill Gutsch over a decade ago, Parley for the Oceans has been at the forefront of raising awareness about ocean plastic pollution while promoting sustainable alternatives. The organisation has collaborated with artists, media, and top fashion brands like G-Star and Adidas to drive positive change. Now, with Dover Street Market and its Paris-based creative division, Parley is launching a new brand under the same name, aimed at creating the next generation of sustainable materials for the fashion industry.
“After more than a decade of fighting plastic pollution and intercepting waste across the globe, we are entering a new phase with the launch of the Parley Future Material initiative,” said Cyrill Gutsch. “This project will fund and accelerate eco-innovations aimed at replacing plastic and other harmful materials. Together with our friends and allies at Dover Street Market, a creative epicenter of the fashion world, we are launching Parley—a permanent, collaborative experiment designed to explore, celebrate, and drive forward the development of new materials.”
This long-term partnership will introduce its first products in March, ahead of the official collection launch in June.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Parley for the Oceans. Cyrill is a visionary, and his mission to restore the oceans—the heart of our planet—is crucial to our collective future,” said Adrian Joffe, CEO of Dover Street Market. “In these uncertain times, Parley’s work serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration. We are honoured and excited to contribute to this initiative.”
Entertainment8 years ago