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| Founded | 1937; 89 years ago (1937) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Samuel Rubin |
| Parent | SMG Capital LLC |
| Website | www |
Fabergé (French:[fabɛʁʒe]) is abrand name that was inspired by theHouse of Fabergé jewellery firm, which had been founded in 1842 inRussia.
Personal care products (includingcosmetics) bearing the name were manufactured under the direction ofSamuel Rubin (until 1964) andGeorge Barrie (between 1964 and 1984).[1] Sold by Barrie in 1984, the Fabergé company was purchased byUnilever five years later.[2]
In 2007, the Fabergé trademarks, licences and rights were sold by Unilever and transferred to a new company namedFabergé Limited, which announced its intention to make Fabergé aluxury goods brand.[3]
In 2025, Fabergé Limited was acquired by SMG Capital LLC for $50 million.[4]
During the course of business ventures incommunist Russia during the 1920s, American oil tycoonArmand Hammer acquired many objects made by the originalHouse of Fabergé, includingFabergé eggs. In 1937, Hammer's friendSamuel Rubin, owner of the Spanish Trading Corporation (which imported soap andolive oil), closed down his company because of theSpanish Civil War and established a new enterprise to manufacture perfumes and toiletries. Rubin registered his new firm in 1937 as Fabergé Inc., at Hammer's suggestion.[5]
TheFabergé family did not learn about this until afterWorld War II ended. Unable to afford protracted and expensive litigation, they settled out of court in 1951, for US$25,000 (equal to $302,853 today) for the Fabergé name to be used in connection with perfume.[1] Soon, Rubin added cosmetics and toiletries under the Fabergé banner, usually sold in upscaledepartment stores. Fabergé had a high-prestige status, similar to its rivalsCoty,Guerlain andElizabeth Arden.
In 1964, Rubin sold Fabergé Inc. for $26 million toGeorge Barrie and the Rayette cosmetics company. In 1964, Rayette changed its name to Rayette-Fabergé Inc., then in 1971, the company name was changed again to Fabergé Inc. From 1964 to 1984, under the direction of Barrie, Fabergé launched many successful cosmetics products and hired celebrities to endorse them. In addition, a media division made feature movies.
Barrie supervised the introduction of the popularBrut toiletry line for Fabergé, which was promoted by football playersJoe Namath,Paul Gascoigne andKevin Keegan, as well as boxerHenry Cooper and actressKelly LeBrock,[6] among others. Brut became the best-selling cologne in the world at that time.[citation needed]
In 1967, movie starCary Grant was appointed as a "creative consultant" to Rayette-Fabergé. He spent a year attending sales conventions and visited Fabergé plants around the world. In May 1968, Grant was elected as a member of Fabergé'sboard of directors. He received a salary of $15,000 per year, a rent-paid luxury apartment in New York City (where Fabergé's HQ was located), unlimited travel expenses and use of the company's private fleet of planes and helicopters. By 1970, Grant divided his time between Los Angeles and New York. He never endorsed specific products or appeared in commercials.
In 1970, futureJames Bond actorRoger Moore became another celebrity board member. Also in 1970, Barrie established Fabergé's film-making division,Brut Productions, which produced theAcademy Award-winning movieA Touch of Class in 1973, and other feature movies.
Barrie launched the 'Babe' fragrance in 1976 which, in its first year, became Fabergé's largest-selling women's fragrance worldwide. The granddaughter of writerErnest Hemingway, model and actressMargaux Hemingway, received a $1 million contract to promote the 'Babe by Fabergé' perfume in a very popular advertising campaign. Her famous Babe campaign was remembered again by millions after her mysterious death in 1996. Babe received two awards from the Fragrance Foundation for its launch – 'Most Successful Introduction of a Women's Fragrance in Popular Distribution' and 'Best Advertising Campaign for Women's Fragrance'.
In 1977, Barrie launched theFarrah Fawcett hair product and fragrance lines, and he signed the actress and star ofCharlie's Angels to a promotional contract with Fabergé. A famous Fabergé TV ad featuredJoe Namath being shaved byFarrah Fawcett.
By 1984, the company had expanded its personal care products toAphrodisia,Aqua Net Hair Spray, Babe, Cavale,Brut, Ceramic Nail glaze, Flambeau, Great Skin, Grande Finale, Just Wonderful, Macho, Kiku, Partage, Tip Top Accessories,Tigress, Woodhue, Xandu, Zizanie de Fragonard, Caryl Richards,Farrah Fawcett, and Fabergé Organics.
In 1984, McGregor Corporation (controlled by Israeli financierMeshulam Riklis), the marketer ofBotany 500 clothing, acquired Fabergé and discontinued many Fabergé-branded products. The company launched Mcgregor by Fabergé cologne the same year. New product lines were introduced, including men's, women's and children's apparel under the trademarks Billy the Kid, Scoreboard and Wonderknit.
In 1986, Mark Goldston, a specialist in evaluating areas of untapped sales and profit, was named president of Fabergé. He was principally responsible for targeting and acquiringElizabeth Arden fromEli Lilly and Company. In 1988, Fabergé boughtSea & Ski.[7]
In 1989, an American subsidiary ofUnilever bought Fabergé Inc. (along with Elizabeth Arden) for US$1.55 billion.[2] The chairman of Unilever stated that the acquisition would increase the size of Unilever's personal products business by more than 25 percent.[2]
In 2001, Lever Fabergé was formed through the merger of Lever Brothers and Elida Fabergé, two long-established Unilever companies. Lever Fabergé today owns hundreds of cosmetics, household and other brands, includingDove,Impulse,Sure,Axe, Organics,Timotei, Signal,Comfort,Domestos,Surf, Sun, andCif. Unilever removed the Fabergé name from all of its products and packaging. Brut is now marketed in Europe by Brut Parfums Prestige.
On January 3, 2007, Pallinghurst Resources (nowGemfields), an investment advisory firm based inLondon, announced that it had acquired Unilever's entire global portfolio of trademarks, licences and associated rights relating to the Fabergé brand name for an undisclosed sum. The trademarks, licences and associated rights were transferred to a newly constituted company, namedFabergé Limited,[8] which was registered in theCayman Islands.
In October 2007, the company announced that it intended to restore Fabergé to its rightful position as a leading purveyor of enduring and endearing personal possessions. Furthermore, it announced the reunification of the Fabergé brand and the Fabergé family, withTatiana Fabergé andSarah Fabergé (both great-granddaughters of Peter Carl Fabergé) becoming founding members of the Fabergé Heritage Council, a division of Fabergé Limited that was to offer counsel to the new company. The new owners aimed to make Fabergé a luxury goods brand and to sell individually branded Fabergé gemstones, with guaranteed provenance and ethical sourcing of the stones. Mark Dunhill became theCEO in 2007,[3] and the company launched its 'Haute Couture' jewellery collection in 2009.
In 2025, it was announced that SMG Capital LLC had completed the purchase of Fabergé Limited for $50 million.[9]
The cologneBrut 33 by Fabergé had a product placement in the 1974James Bond movieThe Man with the Golden Gun. During a fight in the dancer's dressing room, Roger Moore sprays two of the villains in the face with an aerosol can of what is Brut-33 anti-perspirant, a nod to the Fabergé company with which Moore was associated.[10]
Limited licences to endorse products with the Fabergé name were given toBarbie,Limoges,The Franklin Mint and others.
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