Following their $4.7 billion deal, L’Oréal and Kering are planning a 50/50 joint venture that explores opportunities at the “intersection of luxury, wellness and longevity”
Time (or at least looking like you’ve rolled back the clock) has officially become luxury’s hottest commodity.
Kering and L’Oréal, two of the world’s most influential names in fashion and beauty, have announced a long-term strategic partnership that reaches beyond fragrance and cosmetics to explore what’s next in longevity.
The deal, valued at €4 billion ($4.7 billion) and expected to close in the first half of 2026, includes L’Oréal’s acquisition of the House of Creed, one of haute parfumerie’s most storied names, along with 50-year fragrance and beauty licenses for Kering’s Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga brands.
But perhaps the most revealing part of the deal isn’t about fragrance at all: it’s the two giants’ plan to explore opportunities at the “intersection of luxury, wellness and longevity” in the form of a planned 50/50 joint venture.
Although details have yet to be revealed, Kering CEO Luca de Meo is calling the deal a defining moment for the group’s ambitions.
“Together, we will venture into new frontiers of wellness, combining the unrivalled expertise of L’Oréal with our unique luxury reach,” de Meo said. “This partnership allows us to focus on what defines us best: the creative power and desirability of our Houses.”
During this week’s third-quarter 2025 earnings call with investors, L’Oréal Group CEO Nicolas Hieronimus remained somewhat mum, noting that it’s still too early to share specifics about the joint longevity venture.
“Of course, it’s an ambitious project,” Hieronimus said. “We’ve put joint resources into it and will bring our expertise in skincare and longevity — the longevity research that we have.”
The emphasis on wellness traces back to signals L’Oréal sent earlier this year, when it hosted its first longevity event in Paris. There, it unveiled L’Oréal Longevity Integrative Science, a framework that merges biotech, diagnostics and AI to shift from corrective care to prevention. In a post on its corporate site, L’Oréal noted that it has analyzed more than 260 skin longevity biomarkers to advance the development of new actives, supplements and advanced protocols.
It could offer a glimpse of where this new joint venture may be headed. L’Oréal has also already taken a stake in Swiss biotech company Timeline and partnered with epigenetic testing firm Tru Diagnostic, signaling that it’s thinking far beyond traditional skincare.
The deal lands as beauty and wellness grow increasingly inseparable. Beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, for one, has gone all in as it expands its in-store Wellness Shop to 370 locations nationwide. CEO Kecia Steelman recently told analysts she believes wellness can become a “billion-dollar business over time.”
