Renzenbrink & Partner advises the shareholders of NICHE-BEAUTY on Douglas’ entry into the company

5 August 2019

Renzenbrink & Partner advised the shareholders of NICHE-BEAUTY (founding family Bechtolf and a family office) on the entry of Douglas, Europe’s largest perfumery chain. In a first step, Douglas will acquire a 51 % interest. The founding family of NICHE BEAUTY will continue to manage the business.

NICHE-BEAUTY operates an online shop for extraordinary, international premium cosmetics brands and was founded in 2011 by the sisters Laetitia von Hessen and Sarah von Doetinchem as well as their father Andreas Bechtolf. The portfolio consists of over 6,000 products from more than 200 exclusive brands, often only available abroad. The aim of the transaction is to further increase the profile of the portal together with Douglas.

The perfumery Douglas, headquartered in Düsseldorf, was founded in 1910 and has around 2,400 stores in 21 countries, most recently generating sales of 3.3 billion EUR. Douglas offers around 50,000 high-quality products from over 650 brands in the fields of perfumery, decorative cosmetics and skin care, as well as nutritional supplements and accessories. The acquisition of the online retailer for fine cosmetics is part of Douglas’ digitalization strategy.

Renzenbrink & Partner advised the former shareholders of NICHE-BEAUTY on all legal aspects of the transaction. The team consisted of partner Dr Ulf Renzenbrink and associate Martin Aisenbrey (both Corporate/M&A).