MILAN — Give Back Beauty and Mercedes-Benz Customer Solutions GmbH — a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz Group AG — have inked a long-term business partnership, WWD has learned.
The deal comes in conjunction with Give Back Beauty’s takeover of INCC Parfums, the automotive brand’s license owner since 2011. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
With the move, Give Back Beauty will take charge of the creation, production, marketing and global distribution of fragrances under the Mercedes-Benz label, as well as its related brands Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach. These will join Give Back Beauty’s prestige division, which also includes licenses for luxury brands such as Zegna, Elie Saab and Chopard.
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“We are happy to integrate INCC under Give Back Beauty’s roof, since its key values, respect, innovation and social responsibility are very consistent with the ones of [our company],” said Give Back Beauty’s founder and executive chairman Corrado Brondi.
Founded in 1990 and specialized in the creation and development of sustainable fragrances, Paris-based INCC Parfums also holds the license for fragrances and body care for luxury beachwear brand Vilebrequin, which it signed in 2022.
Give Back Beauty will carry on this project, too, with Brondi teasing that the launch of the line “is planned for 2025 and will be strongly supported” by the company.
As for the Mercedes-Benz Parfums brand, Brondi said the mission is to elevate it toward a luxury and eco-responsible approach, while continuing to support the existing bestsellers.
The strategy will follow in the footsteps of the brand’s Land, Sea, Air trilogy of scents introduced last year, crafted by IFF master perfumer Anne Flipo. The three-fragrance men’s range was inspired by the German luxury brand’s own signature star — which features three points, each signifying an element — and marked the first time Mercedes-Benz scents were encased in recycled glass bottles with aluminum caps with outer packaging made of algae-derived biodegradable paper.
“In 2024, we will pursue the rollout of the [Land, Sea, Air] line and the first Mercedes-AMG line in key territories around the globe,” Brondi said. “This strategic approach will be reinforced by the launch of the first Mercedes-Maybach fragrance line” in September, he added.
Distribution for the different brands will align with their respective positionings, said Brondi, with a wider footprint for Mercedes-Benz; a more selective one with a focus on flagship perfume stores for Mercedes-AMG, and a niche distribution for Mercedes-Maybach, including a preview on the Mercedes-Benz e-commerce and in the stores of MIOL — Maybach Icons of Luxury.
Brondi underscored the overall plan is to leverage Give Back Beauty’s global presence to boost the INCC business. The privately held beauty group operates in more than 130 countries through retailers, direct-to-consumer channels and distributors and counts roughly 350 employees engaged in its multiple divisions scattered across the world.
In addition to its Paris-based prestige segment dedicated to luxury brands, Give Back Beauty has a lifestyle division including the beauty licenses for Tommy Hilfiger and Iceberg, and a Los Angeles-based indie and talent division that acts as an incubator for celebrity-backed brands, such as the Florence by Mills brand by actress Millie Bobby Brown. The company also serves as a strategic and distribution partner for other perfume and beauty labels, including Dolce & Gabbana, Olaplex, Pink Sugar and Billie Eilish.
The INCC acquisition comes at a time of growth for Give Back Beauty. According to a statement, the group’s revenues multiplied by six times in the past three years.
