License of Simple bar soaps and acquisition of Wright’s and Cidal bar soap brands.

Lornamead increases its market share in the bar soap category

The Lornamead Group (“Lornamead” or “The Group”), a UK based leading manufacturer and marketer of personal care products, today announced that it has entered into a perpetual license of  the Simple brand for bar soaps from Unilever in the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands and has acquired the bar soap brands Wright’s and Cidal. The financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

The license and acquisition agreements follow the UK Office of Fair Trading’s concerns relating to Unilever’s acquisition of Alberto Culver in the bar soaps category in the UK.

This agreement is a strategic move for Lornamead in a key category, making it one of the top three bar soap providers in the UK. With an existing market share of 7.7%, the Simple soap bars will form part of the company’s strong portfolio of bar soaps in the UK, Europe and America. In the UK, Lornamead is recognised for its strength in the market with its heritage bath luxuries and fragrance brands, Yardley of London and Woods of Windsor.  In the German market, Lornamead owns 10.5% of the bar soap market, with CD bar soaps’ share growing from 7.7% in 2009 to 8.8% in 2010*. While in America, Yardley is the fastest growing bar soap brand in the non-deodorant segment, with double digit sales growth in 2010.

Simple bar soaps, which are number three in the category, are pure mild soaps ideal for sensitive skin and suitable for all the family. Well known for their no perfume, no colour formulation, these soaps are distributed through multiple retailers.

With over 150 years’ heritage, Wright’s is known for its antiseptic properties and traditional coal tar fragrance while Cidal is recognised as the natural antibacterial bar soap. Lornamead has acquired the assets, rights and inventory to all Wrights and Cidal products globally.

Commenting on this latest announcement, Mike Jatania, Chief Executive of Lornamead says: “This agreement is a strategic move for us in a key category where we already have a strong presence and a proven track record of driving market share. From a European perspective, Lornamead is already a major player in this category and within America our Yardley brands grows at an impressive rate. By bringing these brands into our portfolio we can apply our specialist knowledge and success in branded bar soaps in order to continue to drive market share in this category. In addition to this latest agreement, we continue to actively look for other brand acquisitions.”

The announcement on these acquisitions and the perpetual license agreement shortly follows the company’s acquisition of Witch in April 2011. Lornamead manufactures and markets Personal Care brands including Vosene, Yardley, Lypsyl lip balm and Finesse hair care.  The group focuses on acquiring and investing in heritage brands in order to maximise their growth potential.