PARIS – Les Secrets de Loly, the buzzy French brand for textured hair, has a new owner – Quadrivio Group – which is meant to back international expansion.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kelly Massol, who founded Les Secrets de Loly in 2009, was its sole owner until April 2022, when Quilvest Capital Partners took a minority stake to help boost geographic reach and scale. As Quadrivio enters into the brand’s capital, Quilvest is exiting Les Secrets de Loly. Quadrivio is joined by co-investors Weinberg Capital Partners and Three Hills Capital Partners.
Massol retains a significant stake in Les Secrets de Loly and is to continue spearheading the brand’s strategic vision with the existing management team headed by Carlota Thévenot, Les Secrets de Loly’s chief executive officer.
In less than a decade the company has become one of the leading French brands for textured hair – including wavy, loose curls and tight coils. Les Secrets de Loly products have natural, high-performance formulas developed for each type of hair texture. They are sold with an omnichannel strategy in channels including pharmacies, selective retail, e-commerce and marketplaces.
One Les Secrets de Loly product is sold every seven seconds, according to the brand.
Quilvest supported Les Secrets de Loly’s structuring and professionalism, plus strengthened the leadership team. “This phase consolidated the brand’s foundations – governance, organization, supply chain, and commercial and marketing strategy – while sustaining three consecutive years of double-dight growth,” Les Secrets de Loly said in a statement.
Kelly Massol
Adrien Beaucheix/Courtesy Photo
On the geographic front, the brand plans to step up its rollout across Europe and the Middle East. Quadrivio, which is a European investment fund with expertise in Italy, should help reinforce Les Secrets de Loly’s presence on the continent.
“Quadrivio’s investment will support this international ambition: structuring operations at a European level, strengthening local capabilities and enabling controlled scaling – leveraging product expertise and the strength of a loyal, engaged community,” Les Secrets de Loly said.
“This transaction represents a new milestone for the brand,” Massol said in the statement. “Following a successful structuring phase with Quilvest, we now have a solid foundation to accelerate internationally while preserving our DNA.”
“Les Secrets de Loly displays all the characteristics of a highly desirable brand: leadership in its segment, sustained organic growth, profitability and a committed management team,” said Philippe Franchet, managing partner at Quadriovio. “We will support the company in its European expansion and operational value creation during this new cycle.”
Beauty is a strategic sector for Quadrivio, a private equity investment firm that has holdings in various sectors, including fashion, with Sessùn and Twinset. It supports high-growth brands and manages assets of more than 2 billion euros.
“We are particularly pleased to support visionary founder Kelly Massol, who has built and developed a pioneering brand in its market,” said Marc Diamant, a partner at Wienberg. “With Les Secrets de Loly, we are completing our third acquisition in the beauty and cosmetics sector.”
The other two he referred to include Cosmogen and Juliette has a Gun.
Weinberg, which specializes in the mid-market equity segment, has 1.9 billion euros of assets under management.
Among its activities, Three Hills partners with entrepreneurs, and its backing has enabled more than 60 add-on acquisitions and expansion into over 70 new geographic markets. It manages about 3.3 billion euros in assets.
Quilvest is managing more than 7 billion euros for family offices and international institutional investors. Its buyout team focuses on the lower middle market.
