Kering announced on Tuesday, 7th July 2026, that it has signed a 50-year exclusive licence with L'Oréal for Gucci Beauty products, including perfumes.
Why is this significant?
- Kering is buying back the licensed rights from Coty one year early for $400 million (around 70% of which will be reimbursed by L'Oréal)
- The deal settles the current UK litigation filed by Coty Coty against Kering for improperly interfering with its contractual rights as Gucci Beauty licensee by announcing its intentions with L'Oréal while its exclusive licence still had several years to run
- 50 years is an unusually long term for this type of exclusive licence. Such a long-term commitment comes with risks (which can be mitigated by building in termination rights, minimum royalty guarantees, loss of exclusivity on trigger events etc.), but it also comes with potential benefits - real thought and investment can be put into medium and longer term plans to shape Gucci Beauty.
Takeaway
As a commercial/IP lawyer, I love licensing - not least for its flexibility and utility in a variety of situations and this is a great case in point. It maximises and monetises IP exploitation, regains brand control, settles litigation and creates a long-standing relationship for the future.
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