ACG Management, a French multi-regional financing specialist that invests in small to medium enterprises, has invested €2.2m in French cosmetics company Parlabo to help develop the company both internationally and at home.
For 10 years, Parlabo has marketed Sampar, a brand aimed at 30-50 year olds, which is the second-best-selling exclusive brand in Sephora. “Parlabo is involved in the cosmetics sector, which we wish to develop, and is an SME that is still of an accessible size,” Philippe Rénaud, a spokesperson for ACG told Cosmetics Business. The cosmetics sector is part of ACG’s future strategy, he added.
The two companies collaborated after Patrick Sounigo, owner of Parlabo, circulated a dossier in search of inward finance and ACG was immediately very taken with both his project and his marketing strategy, said Rénaud: “Simply, Patrick Sounigo wanted to work with us, from among the offers he had,” he said.
Parlabo has a very strong position internationally, and a presence in Southeast Asia, including Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the financing will be used chiefly to consolidate this position abroad.
Meanwhile, back in France, the company will prioritise a new vector of distribution, which will require some negotiations with Sephora: “Having spent 10 years on the image of Sampar in the context of exclusive distribution via Sephora, the time had come to look at other distribution networks,” said Sounigo. “Pharmacies quickly established themselves as the natural circuit that would allow us to significantly increase the presence and visibility of Sampar on the French and international markets.”
Parlabo is ACG’s first cosmetics investment but the company has a history of investing in biotechnology companies and the health and wellbeing sector.
