Wella AG is a major German hair care company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Franz Ströher, it specializes in hair care, styling and colorants sold to individuals as well as hairdressers and was controlled by Procter & Gamble from 2003 until it was sold to Coty, Inc. in 2015 along with some 40 other P&G brands.[1] On Dec 1st, 2020 Coty completed sale of Wella stake to KKR for $2.5bn in cash whilst retaining 40% stake in the standalone company.
Wella was founded in 1880 by Franz Ströher, a hairdresser from Saxony, Eastern Germany. The company originally made tulles, the base used for making wigs. In 1890, he invented the Tullemoid Waterproof, a technique that allowed the scalp to breathe. In 1894, he opened his first factory in Rothenkirchen, Germany and his sons Karl and George Ströher joined the business soon after.
In 1924, the Ströhers registered the name Wella at the German patent office. As wigs and hairpieces fell out of fashion, the company turned to permanent wave products; the name Wella was taken from Dauerwellapparat, meaning "permanent wave device" in German. In 1927, they introduced the first perming appliance and supplied it to salons. In the 1930s Wella developed the first hair dryers with built-in motors and movable tubes that allowed head movement during the drying process. Also in the 1930s, Wella introduced Wella Junior, a portable perming machine.
In 1995, Wella re-launched the Koleston line as Koleston Perfect. The new product included natural ingredients including fruit wax. 2002 saw the launch of Wella TrendVision, an annual presentation of Wella's haute couture hair collections. The event is now known as the International TrendVision Award, or ITVA: a global hairdressing competition.
In 2003, Wella was acquired by Procter & Gamble (P&G), purchasing 77.6% of the company for $3.4 billion and paying a total of $5.7 billion including shares,[3] further expanding the group's beauty portfolio across Eastern and Western Europe, and Latin America.[citation needed]
Josh Wood became a Global Wella Professionals Colour Ambassador in January 2008 and in 2010 took on the full-time role as Wella Professionals’ Global Creative Director of Colour.[4] Eugene Souleiman currently serves as Global Creative Director for Wella Professionals.[4]
Wella founded Making Waves in 2011 – a programme that teaches hairdressing and life skills to disadvantaged young people. The program started in Brazil and has since expanded to include Romania, Cambodia, and Vietnam and has trained over 44,800 people.[5]
In 2014, Wella patented a new molecule called ME+.[6] This molecule is a substitute for PPD, also known as p-phenylenediamine, and PTD or para-toluenediamine which are present in most colouring products to fix the colour. PPD and PTD been known to cause mild to severe allergic reactions.[7] The ME+ molecule is used in the Wella Professionals colour brand Koleston Perfect Innosense, which was the first permanent colour product to be approved by the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF). As of 2019 the ME+ molecule is now used in the complete Wella Professionals Koleston Perfect line.
Coty Inc. announced in 2015 that they would be buying P&G for 12.5 Billion[8] and finished the merger in October 2016.[9] Bart Becht, former Coty Chairman and Chief Executive,[10] stated that the company would take over all of P&G's Wella management teams.
In 2020, the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) announced a 60% acquisition of Wella from Coty, appointing Annie Young-Scrivner, the current CEO of Godiva Chocolatier, as the new CEO of the company.[11] KKR, valuing Coty's Professional and Retail hair business, included are Wella, Clairol, OPI, and the ghd brands (placed together under the "Wella" moniker), at $4.3 billion, will be investing $1 billion directly as deleveragement alongside $2.5 billion in net cash proceeds when the Wella deal is closed, expected to be within the next six to nine months. The Wella business will issue around $1 billion of debt after the closing of the deal, distributing the proceeds to its shareholders.[12]