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  • June 2020
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Shiseido Acquires Drunk Elephant

By: Jill Avery
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

On October 7, 2019, the Shiseido Group announced that it would acquire clean skincare brand Drunk Elephant for $845 million, a valuation of 8.5 times sales. Did Shiseido pay too much or too little for this brand asset? How much was the Drunk Elephant brand worth and how could it be valued? Every acquisition had to be measured against the cost of developing and building a look-a-like brand internally. Would Drunk Elephant prove to be an integral part of Shiseido’s future success and what would it take to unlock its full brand value? What kinds of further investments would Shiseido need to make to realize the new brand’s potential? How would the brand fit into the company’s existing brand portfolio of 42 brands?

Keywords

Brand Management; Brand Valuation; Brand Equity; Brand Value; Mergers & Acquisitions; Startup; DTC; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Japan; Asia; North America

Citation

Avery, Jill. "Shiseido Acquires Drunk Elephant." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-121, June 2020.
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About The Author

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
→More Publications

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