The historic and family-owned Spanish company founded in 1914, Puig, debuted on the markets today, Friday, May 3, 2024. And it does so with increases of more than 4% and despite debuting with its maximum price per share. Its price in the early stages has been marked by volatility and as is traditional in IPOs, the opening auction was held between 11:30 and 12:00, which was skipped with a price of 25.5 euros per share. The fragrance multinational has celebrated the traditional ringing of the bell at the Barcelona Stock Exchange. Its shares, in addition to Barcelona, will be traded on the Madrid Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges.
After entering this new stock market phase, the Puig family, founders of the brand, will maintain control of 71.7% of the company’s economic rights and 92.5% of the voting rights. The company’s IPO prospectus, published on April 18, received a good response in the market and the proposal was oversubscribed “multiple times in the entire price range”, according to the company then reported. The price per share was finally revealed at the maximum of the range set in the prospectus, of 24.50 euros per share and a valuation of 13.92 billion euros.
The company’s executive president, Marc Puig, has highlighted his willingness to manage the company “with the lights on,” according to what Europa Press and Efe report in his words after the ringing of the bell, which was attended by the CEO of BME, Javier. Hernani, the executive president of the Barcelona park, Eduardo Ansaldo, and the markets director of BME, Beatriz Alonso-Majagranzas. The company’s executive president considers that the multinational’s IPO is the “best” way to ensure the long term of the company and the sustainability of the project for the following generations.
Puig has assured that they have managed this private company as if it were a listed company and, from now on, it will be “a listed company that will act as if it were private”, adding that the objective is to continue looking at the next generation, which has “a promising future” ahead.
This will be the social capital
Puig’s share capital, as Europa Press recalls, is made up of class A shares, which confer five votes, and class B, which confer one vote, although each class B share confers the same economic rights as each class share. . A. Puig requested the admission to trading of the class B shares on the Spanish stock exchanges, while the class A shares are not part of the offer and will not be requested for admission to trading on the market.
Criteria Caixa, the holding company that manages the business assets of the la Caixa Foundation, has already announced its entry into the capital of Puig, with a 3.05% stake, for which it has committed an investment of 425 million euros. The offer consisted of a public subscription offer (OPS) of new class B shares aimed at qualified investors, and a public sale offer (IPO) of shares of the Puig family.
Puig’s route until 2027
After fulfilling its plan to jump onto the stock market, the Spanish perfumery and fashion firm gave the starting signal to its strategic plan until 2027, in which it will maintain, as explained by La Información on April 21, its commitment to brands, product diversification and purchases. However, it will leave behind the explosive growth of a few years ago, as the firm predicts single-digit growth in the medium term and that its gross operating profit (ebitda) margin will remain stable.
The company’s efforts will focus on growing its brands, products and markets in the sector, but at the same time it will have the purpose of strengthening its presence in regions, channels and products to which it still has low exposure. The company will focus, for example, on fragrances, makeup and fashion in Europe and America, with brands such as Carolina Herrera (which has the goal of reaching one billion euros in turnover; Paco Rabanne (which has already reached that sales volume ) by Charlotte Tilbury.
In the case of the segments in which Puig believes it still has a way to go, the company will focus on Asia-Pacific (which represented 10.2% of the business in 2023), as well as direct sales to consumers (own stores ). and own online) and niche brands, especially in makeup and skin care.
Thus, the company’s financial plan involves increasing sales per comparable area to a single digit in the medium term. This evolution will, however, be above the expected growth for the premium beauty market, according to the company. Puig has also set out to develop new products to “capture” market growth by expanding the lines of the brands in its portfolio.
Technology and data (with which the firm is launching or strengthening the online business of its brands) and the integration of the most recent acquisitions, in addition to sustainability, will be Puig’s new pillars in this new stage. But do not stop purchasing, since since 2011 the group has invested 2.5 billion euros in this aspect: “We carefully analyze opportunities for mergers and purchases that fit our business objective and create value in our family of brands “, according to the company in the IPO prospectus.
A family multinational with history.
With more than 100 years of history, Puig is a family-owned multinational now controlled by the third generation of the family, which earned 465 million last year and had a turnover of 4,303 million euros. During the first three months of the year, which ended on March 31, 2024, Puig, which sells its products in more than 150 countries with its own offices in 32 of them, increased its income by 10.1%.
Puig’s conglomerate includes brands such as Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Charlotte Tilbury, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci, Dries Van Noten, Byredo, Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Uriage, Apivita, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Kama Ayurveda and Loto del Sur , as well as the licenses Christian Louboutin, Banderas, Adolfo Dominguez, among others.
