PARIS – Mariano Puig Planas, a member of the second technology of the Puig household that owns the eponymous Spanish perfume and style firm, has died at age 94.A former president of Puig for greater than 30 years, he spearheaded the group’s worldwide growth and introduced within the perfume and style companies of designers reminiscent of (*94*) Rabanne and Carolina Herrera.More from WWDMariano Puig was born in Barcelona in 1927. He earned a doctorate diploma in chemical engineering and was a graduate of the IESE Business School in 1964.He is the daddy of 4 sons, together with Puig chairman and chief govt officer Marc Puig, and one daughter.“Beginning in his youth, Mariano Puig stood out for his management skills and a way for enterprise progress, establishing necessary ties with the United States, the Caribbean and France,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement Tuesday.At the top of the Fifties, he sealed a distribution settlement for the Agua Lavanda Puig perfume within the U.S., then turned the consultant for the Max Factor model’s distribution in Spain for greater than 15 years.That expertise within the U.S. was adopted by Puig – who turned firm president in 1957 – setting his sights on one more overseas nation: France.“After three years, we realized that to achieve the U.S., we would have liked a French product coming from Paris,” defined Puig in a WWD interview printed on July 11, 2014, as a part of a Milestone part celebrating his household firm’s one hundredth anniversary.“We had three options: Hire a French firm, however we didn’t have cash for that,” he defined. “The second was to get illustration from a French firm for distribution within the U.S. We didn’t like that [possibility] as a result of we might work for any person else. The third possibility was to create our personal model.“I keep in mind we made this resolution in New York,” mentioned Puig. “I couldn’t sleep at all as a result of I assumed: ‘How can we create a model in Paris? We are a really small firm… identified in Spain. Nobody else is aware of us. How may we do this?’” Puig continued. “But this was the true choice to succeed. By probability, we arrived at an settlement with (*94*) Rabanne [in 1968]. We began with little or no capital and 4 staff in France. We created Calandre [women’s fragrance]. It was an important success on this interval.”Story continuesThat’s the time when the Puig firm began to outline itself as being a brand-builder.“The two property we’ve got are first, individuals, after which having the ability to develop manufacturers – creativity,” mentioned Mariano Puig within the 2014 interview.In 1987, Puig and Herrera inked an settlement for the manufacturing of her fragrances, and that was adopted by the acquisition of her style division in 1995, which the chief negotiated.In 1998, Puig and his three brothers – Antonio, Jose Maria and Enrique – stepped down from operating Puig, which had been based by their father, Antonio. Those executives of the second technology made means for a group of 4 others – Mariano Puig Jr.; his brother, Marc Puig; their cousin Manuel Puig, and Javier Cano, a non-family member.At that point, throughout an emotional farewell speech reported on by WWD and printed in an article showing within the subject of June 19, 1998, Mariano Puig mentioned: “Our rivals simply 5 years in the past had been household corporations and had the names of their founders on the doorways, however partitions disappear, markets evolve.“Only 15 p.c of corporations survive the transition from the second to the third technology,” he asserted. “We are an entrepreneurial individuals. We are a household firm, and this modification is all the things from an improvisation.”At the convention, the incoming executives unveiled a holding association designed to insure that the household maintained management of Puig, which was producing gross sales of $750 million from its style and perfume actions.The 4 outgoing Puig brothers maintained roles as members of the corporate’s administrative board.Mariano Puig was chairman of the Puig household holding firm, Corporación Exea Empresarial, between 1996 and 2003. He served as president of the Puig Foundation till May 2014.Puig was additionally a founding member of the Family Business Institute in Spain, the place held the place as president from 1995 to 1997.Puig was a member of numerous different establishments, as properly, together with the Spanish Royal Academy of Language Foundation, the Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado and the University Board of IAE Business School.The govt was a stellar athlete. As a younger man, he served as a member of the Spanish National Water Skiing Team and have become the champion of Spain twice over within the sport. Puig was president of the Spanish Federation of Water Skiing and arranged the World Championship in water snowboarding in Banyoles, Spain, in 1971.He obtained quite a few awards, together with the gold medal from the Spanish Institute of New York, the Family Business Award from Chicago’s Kellogg University and the Kingdom of Spain Award for his enterprise profession, which was offered by King Felipe VI in February 2019.Mariano Puig’s ethos nonetheless strongly infuses Puig as we speak, the place the groundwork is being laid for the corporate to be transferred from the third to the fourth technology of members of the family.The group has grown into a serious pressure within the perfume, magnificence and style industries, with a portfolio of manufacturers together with Nina Ricci, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Dries Van Noten and Charlotte Tilbury.In 2019 – the most recent yr for which firm outcomes have been launched – Puig generated web gross sales of two.03 billion euros.Mariano Puig is survived by his spouse, Maria Guasch, and kids. A funeral service is being deliberate.For extra, see:Puig Shakes Up Business Structure, Aims for 3 Billion Euros in 2023 Gross salesPuig Acquiring Charlotte Tilbury, Releases 2019 OutcomesPuig Blows Out 100 CandlesSign up for WWD’s Newsletter. For the most recent information, observe us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
