Updated 11:49 a.m. ET on May 29
The Estée Lauder Cos. was not Puig’s only suitor. It had another one: Kering.
Marc Puig, executive chairman of Puig, related that on Friday during the company’s annual general meeting, which was telecast live out of Madrid.
“Over the past few months, we have held discussions with two companies,” Puig said. “The first was Kering, which approached us about a potential long-term licensing agreement for its beauty brands in exchange for a minority stake in Puig and a cash consideration. Those discussions, however, did not result in a transaction.”
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Kering subsequently, in mid-October 2025, entered into a joint venture with L’Oréal.
“Later on, Estée Lauder approached us regarding the possibility of combining our two family-controlled companies,” Marc Puig said.
The Puig and Lauder families have known each other for generations. Lauder saw Puig as particularly strong in fragrances, while itself rather strong in skin care and makeup. The geographic fit was complementary, too, with Puig’s strength in Europe and Latin America, and Lauder’s in North America and Asia. Combined, Puig and Lauder would have created the world’s premium beauty leader.
“We made it clear, as we are not for sale, the combination that was being explored would have required alignment on three key aspects for the potential merger: governance, business leadership and economic terms that would appropriately value the company and be fair to all stake holders,” Puig said.
As previously reported, Puig and Lauder publicly confirmed on March 23 that they were in talks about a possible merger.
“We have the upmost respect and admiration for the Lauder family and for the Estée Lauder Companies,” Puig continued. “Ultimately, however, we were unable to reach an overall solution that satisfied both parties, and we therefore agreed that it was best to end the discussions.”
On May 21, Lauder and Puig announced publicly that merger talks had ended.
Marc Puig said the two conversations clearly demonstrated one thing: “the strength of Puig’s reputation across the sectors in which we operate, punching well above the weight of our business, and reaffirming our position as a highly respected player in the industry.”
“We remain a company with a family at its core, committed to guiding this endeavor with ambition, responsibility and a truly long-term perspective, willing to continue setting the direction of this project over the long term,” Puig said. “At the same time, being a public company gives us the discipline, transparency and checks-and-balances that help ensure this family guidance is matched by rigor and accountability. It also ensures adherence to the best-in-class corporate governance. For us going public was never about changing who we are.”
He said Puig has always been run with the same principles, that when a family has stood behind a company for more than 100 years certain convictions, behaviors and standards become deeply embedded in how the group thinks, functions and grows.
“We define Puig as a home of creativity, because creativity is the force that moves our company forward,” the executive said, adding much opportunity still lies ahead.
Puig underlined the group has been posting growth not just faster than the beauty market, but at a more rapid pace than any other listed multibrand premium beauty player over each of the last five consecutive years. Puig has registered a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent since 2021.
The company’s strategic plans have borne fruit.
“Over the past two decades, each strategic plan has sharpened Puig’s focus and expanded our capabilities,” Puig said. “Plan Director strengthened our category focus and growth discipline. Plan Apollo reinforced our shift toward prestige. Plan Centennial accelerated our move toward own brands. Plan Next deepened our prestige portfolio and established our early leadership in niche fragrances. Plan da Vinci broadened our vision and supported our diversification into beauty.
“All of this led to Vision 2025, which enabled us to build on these foundations and deliver the strongest growth in our history,” Puig said. “Together, these plans took Puig from less than 800 million euros in revenue in 2004 to more than 5 billion euros in 2025. And from a net profit of 1 million euros to more than 500 [million euros] in the same period.
“Standing on this foundation, our next plan will help shape the next decade of Puig with even greater ambition,” Puig said.
The company’s new five-year plan will be presented at its upcoming capital markets day, now scheduled for Oct. 28 in Madrid. Details of that plan were not released, but Puig’s new chief executive officer Jose Manuel Albesa said the future lies in scaling, including consolidating Puig’s three-axis brands, reinforcing its leadership in the niche segment, continuing to revolutionize prestige perfumery and positioning derma as the company’s fourth pillar of growth.
“Creativity that breaks norms and challenges established systems is not simply an option, it is our engine for renewal,” Albesa said.
Puig split the roles of chairman and CEO in March, when Marc Puig became executive chairman. He said the shift was “in line with governance best practice for a public company of our scale and ambition.”
“As executive chairman, I will continue to help shape the strategic direction of the company as I have since 2004, overseeing our mergers-and-acquisitions agenda, supporting the CEO on senior talent acquisitions, always with the objective of protecting Puig’s long-term future,” Puig said.
He said Albesa brings, strategic clarity, operational discipline and a deep understanding of the group’s culture and brands.
“I am fully confident in his ability to lead Puig successfully through this new stage of growth,” Puig said. “This leadership structure combines the continuity of family stewardship with the strength of a highly experienced executive team. It provides stability and continuity, while keeping execution sharp and accountable.”
Puig said leading the company for the past 22 years has been the greatest privilege of his professional life.
“What I see today is a company stronger than ever, but above all, I see a company with the confidence, the ambition and the values to build for generations to come,” Puig said. “Most important, we have a vision rooted in family values and designed for enduring global ambition.”
He reiterated: “We are not for sale.”
“The family has always been and will remain a long-term shareholder,” Puig said. “And this would have been the case even in the context of the proposed business combination. We have a highly compelling project, well-positioned brands, a winning team, a very strong balance sheet and a track record of more than 110 years that stands behind us.”
He said Puig looks “to the future with confidence and ambition.”
Albesa explained that as the environment continues to evolve, Puig is doubling down on what has made it strong: the combination of disruptive innovation and agility at scale. The group is moving from a more divisional structure to one that’s more integrated, built around three core pillars: global brands, global markets and global functions.
“Our brand will benefit from greater cross-functional collaboration, while preserving full creative autonomy,” Albesa said. “This allows us to both protect and amplify what has made each brand unique, while strengthening our focus on innovation in product and storytelling.”
Regarding global markets, Puig will leverage its scale as one company, while continuing to respect the distinctiveness of each local business model across EMEA, the Americas and Asia.
“Categories such as derma and brands like Charlotte Tilbury will continue to accelerate by leveraging our global footprint of 33 subsidiaries,” Albesa said.
For global functions, Puig is building an integrated one back office across headquarters and markets, spanning finance, human resources, legal technology, operations and procurement.
“This will allow us to simplify how we operate, increase agility and decision-making, and reinvest efficiencies back into our brands, supporting both growth and profitability,” Albesa said, adding reducing complexity helps gain speed. “And with this, we allow our teams to focus on what matters most: developing our brands and strengthening our competitiveness.”