Barcelona-based fashion and fragrance house Puig is double celebrating its new Puig Tower and its centenary, plus sales of €1,499m.

 

The company says its new home has been designed by ‘world-renowned Spanish architect’ Rafael Moneo, winner of the Pritzker Prize and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, and GCA Arquitectos.

 

Puig’s 15,000sq m office distributed over no less than 23 floors and 100m tall is located in the Plaza Europa of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, and has already received LEED Gold certification – only one of a select nine buildings in Spain to be given this distinction.

 

The business that pays for it all also did well in 2013, generating net revenues of €1,499m and a pre-tax profit of €248m. Net income also came in at  €176m.

 

Puig said in a statement that net sales also rose by 5% on ‘a like-for-like basis’, while reported growth was 1%. The company added: “The discrepancy between these figures is due to the company’s broad exposure in emerging markets, where local currencies fell against the euro, and to the strength of the euro against the US dollar.”

 

With a market share of 8.6%, Puig says it is currently the sixth-ranked player in the international selective perfumery sector and it is hoping to raise its share to 12% and occupy the number-three spot in this market by 2020.

 

Marc Puig, Chairman and CEO.

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At end 2013, Puig had 4,204 employees, 40% of whom worked in Spain, with the company’s three production facilities in Spain manufacturing 67% of all Puig products sold around the world, while its factory in Chartres, France is responsible for another 31%. Puig also presently operates subsidiaries in 21 countries and sells its products in more than 140 countries around the world.

 

Looking back to its modest roots when it was founded as a local market cosmetics distributor in 1914, the company has now grown into a multinational with lines and products sold in over 140 countries.

 

Looking at the last ten years, the company said: “Over the last decade, sales have grown by 7% per annum. During this period, net revenue has risen from €790m to €1,499m. Pre-tax profits have soared from €4m in 2004 to €248m in 2013; and the company’s net income from €1m to €176m.

 

“In the same ten years, international sales have grown from representing 51% of total turnover in 2004 to 86% of total turnover in 2013. Puig has expanded its share of the international select perfumery market from 3.4% in 2005 to 8.6% in 2013.”

 

Turning to its products, the company added: “This period has been marked by spectacular product launches. Fragrances such as Carolina Herrera’s CH and 212 lines, Nina by Nina Ricci, and Paco Rabanne’s Black XS, 1 Million, and Invictus have made it possible for Puig to position itself among the world’s top six companies specializing in selective perfumery.

 

 

 

GOOD FASHION PROGRESS

“Over the last decade, Puig has also signed licensing agreements with names such as Prada, Valentino and Comme des Garçons. The most recent agreement, with Benetton, was concluded in 2013.”

 

Meanwhile, the company also points to good progress on the fashion side of its business. The company entered the competitive fashion arena in 1987 with Paco Rabanne, a brand for which it had created the legendary fragrance Calandre in 1969.

 

It then teamed up with Carolina Herrera in 1995 and Nina Ricci in 1998, before becoming a majority shareholder in the fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier in 2011, a move that consolidated its position.

 

Here and top: The new Puig Tower in Barcelona.

 

The company added: “These strategies have enabled Puig to develop a hybrid model unique in its sector. Puig shapes the images of its brands through fashion, then translates them successfully into the world of perfumery.

 

“The company’s solid growth over the last ten years has been praised by the prestigious Harvard Business School (HBS), which has published a case study detailing the firm’s history, its successful business strategies and its perspectives for the future.”

 

Meanwhile, Puig has also launched a new corporate website to mark its 100th Anniversary. Click here to access: (www.puig.com).