Aesop

A hairdresser mixed oils behind his salon chair and ended up writing the rulebook for quiet retail.

Big name·Global·Founded 1987·Members

At a glance

Founded: 1987, in a hair salon called Emeis on Baldwin Street in Armadale, Melbourne.¹⁶ The name changed to Aesop in 1989.²
Founded by: Dennis Paphitis, a Melbourne hairdresser.¹ Suzanne Santos, hired on the first day, was his first employee and central to the company's growth.¹⁵
Home: Collingwood, Victoria, and the products still ship out of a factory in Melbourne.¹⁵
Owned by: L'Oréal, which completed the purchase on 30 August 2023 and put Aesop in its Luxe division.⁶ Natura &Co held the majority from December 2012 and all of it from December 2016.¹
What it sells: Skincare, bodycare, haircare, fragrance and homeware, almost all of it through its own shops.¹ Body and hand care is the largest segment, with face care and fragrance close behind.⁹
Size: Sales passed $1 billion in 2024, against US$537 million in 2022.⁷⁶

How it got here

1987

1 of 3

Paphitis opens the Emeis hair salon in Armadale and starts blending essential oils into hair products for his clients.¹⁶

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Sources for what is above

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