Daniela Morosini

Global brands are still flooding into India, hoping to secure a foothold as the country's appetite for prestige beauty grows. But many premium players are leaving money on the table.

According to Spanish newspaper Expansión, the founder of the British cosmetics brand's desire to renegotiate her earn-out and compensation structure has stalled merger discussions.

The much-telegraphed potential merger fell apart after months of negotiations, the two companies confirmed on Thursday.

Shoppers’ thirst for beauty is strong, as conglomerates’ recent earnings reports show. But the major players must find fresh ways to make their assortments stand out from the pack.

As department stores wane in popularity and specialty and e-commerce becomes more saturated, beauty brands are looking to open their own stores to regain ground and control the customer experience. Becoming a retailer, however, is very different to being a wholesaler.

The leader of the cutting-edge wearables firm, recently valued at $11 billion, told the audience at The Business of Beauty Global Forum that the business of health tech needs to be founded on retention and habit creation.

Tom Hale, Violette Serrat, Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford and more explored what the future of beauty will look like, and who will shape it, in the final session of The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2026.

Gregg Renfrew, who relaunched her brand Counter after she bought it out of bankruptcy, is back with a new brand aimed at getting young shoppers excited about “clean” beauty.

Coty will receive approximately $400 million and continue to operate the brand until at least June 30, 2027, terminating its prior agreement a year earlier than originally signed.

This week, Coty’s agreement to relinquish Gucci’s beauty licence one year ahead of schedule was a major win for Kering and L’Oréal, but making the most of the opportunity will require Gucci to assert a more stable brand identity separate from its revolving cast of designers.