Beauty Legends: Puig ─ The Great Spanish Dynasty

All stories have a beginning. It began on a street with the promising name "Jasmine" in the small town of Vilazar de Dalt, located near Barcelona. It was here that Antonio Puig Castello was born on October 19, 1889. When the boy grew up, he was sent to study in London, where many interesting events took place, which largely determined the circle of his interests.

At twenty, he watched the coronation ceremony of King George V, and in the next two he was actively involved in sports, bought the first car with two comrades and was known as a "very promising" young man. In 1912, Antonio returned to Barcelona and immediately plunged into business, acquiring the rights to import various goods, among which were the fragrances of the respected old French house d'Orsay.

1914 can be considered the year of birth of his own perfume company, which eventually became one of the leaders in the perfume and cosmetic market.

But before talking about fragrances, you need to remember about lipstick. The ambitious young Antonio Puig in 1922 married a girl from a good family named Julia Planas. In honor of his beloved, he launched the Milady Lipstick, the first lipstick made in Spain. It turned out to be a good sign for both business and family life.

In 1931, the couple had their third son. For his loved ones, Antonio built a house, which became the embodiment of his dream of a family nest, where all relatives and friends gathered. After the end of the civil war in 1939, together with the French perfumer Segal, Puig introduced the world to its very first and highly successful AquLavanda perfume.

Its composition very accurately conveyed the impression of a walk in a lavender field with a slightly bitter aftertaste of sage and thyme on the lips. In the same year, the happy couple had a fourth son, Enrique. Friends often joked that it was not blood that flowed in his veins, but AquLavanda.

All stories have a beginning, but only how they end makes them interesting. The grandson of Antonio and Julia Manuel Puig, analyzing the 100-year path of the company, says this about his great grandfather: “He always knew how to overcome difficulties and had a phenomenal business sense. Antonio walked forward with leaps and bounds and at the same time always remembered where and how it all began. Each new generation brought and brings its own spirit to this family saga, explores and opens up new opportunities, but the main thing has already been done by our grandfather, and done perfectly."

The eldest sons Antonio and Mariano were the first (from the second generation) to enter the family business. As soon as they finished their studies and served in the army, their father immediately began to introduce them to the course of affairs. Prior to that, Antonio Jr. had already studied the art of perfumery at Route Bertrand and spent four months in Grasse in the south of France, and from the age of 18, Mariano learned aroma-subtleties in Geneva at the Givaudan company.

Interesting are the five stages of life, about which the father always told his sons: “The first is when you learn to do something; second, you do it; third, you do it for real; fourth, you teach others to do it; fifth, you allow yourself to leave and others to do your business."

It would seem that everything was going well, but Antonio Puig realized that his perfume business was not wide enough for such a large family, and in 1954 he sent his third son to study metallurgy. This has allowed Puig to become one of the leaders in the packaging of fragrances by now.

Jose Maria, who is 15 years younger than the elder brother, at first conscientiously studied pharmaceuticals, but unexpectedly discovered the talent of a "great communicator". “He is the king of public relations - a charming storyteller and sharmer,” says Robert McClutchy, who led the company in the UK. "The press just adores him."

In the last years of his life, the father of the family suffered from rheumatism and deafness. Before his death (this happened in 1979), he gathered his sons and asked them to fulfill his two last wishes: to take care of his mother and always stick together, because only this will make them strong.

I must say that Julia Planas (Puig), who outlived her husband for 15 years and gradually established a complete matriarchy in the family. Mariano was the first to marry, and he had 5 children; next ─ Antonio, who became the father of his only son; the two youngest sons had four children each. So the third generation of Puig was already 14 people.

It was the phrase about unity that became the motto for all members of the clan and team members both in work and in life. “We never make decisions without a joint discussion,” says Mariano Puig. - We talk all the time - by phone, on weekends. Yes, we do not always agree with each other, but we always try to come to an agreement. " Interestingly, when the two older brothers got down to business, they really wanted to improve something. For this purpose, a professor of economics from Harvard was discharged. After spending a week in Puig's offices and production facilities, he said, “The main thing is, don't change anything. Your business organization chart is a true benchmark. The team of specialists is the best I've seen."

Further, the history of Puig developed through successful collaborations with famous fashion houses. Among them are Paco Rabanne, NinRicci, CarolinHerrera, Jean Paul Gaultier, Benetton.

The first in this business portfolio was a collaboration with fashion designer Paco Rabanne, who wanted the fragrance that gave birth under the name of his fashion house to sound like metal on the skin, but at the same time was based on a floral chypre. From such a rather complex and contradictory request, Calandre was born in 1969, which has become a bestseller for many years. It was Paco Rabbane who became the gateway to the international luxury market for Puig, paving the way for Carolin Herrera, NinRicci and many other brands.

Over time, the "fashionable" brands in the Puig portfolio were added to perfumes created by movie and pop stars. Antonio Banderas and Shakir have gathered a huge army of fans around the world, thus contributing to the prosperity of the family business and expanding their own horizons.

Gradually, all four sons of the founding father entered the management of the company: Antonio Jr. became responsible for design and image issues, Mariano for marketing, Jose Maria for public relations, and Enrique for the legal part. But nothing stands still. Time passes and the law “5 stages of life”, which was once formulated by Antonio Puig Castello, continues to operate.

In 1980, an extensive third generation took over. Marian Puig (son of Mariano) was the first to join this fascinating story. In the 2000s, Marc Puig first became CEO and then, in 2007, Executive President of the Puig concern (Manuel Puig took over as Vice President). Today it is perhaps the largest business dynasty in the world.

The members of this distinguished Spanish family are united not only by blood ties and joint business, but also by common hobbies. For example, their love of sailing almost matches their business acumen. Enrique Puig, who has recently passed away, was the President of the Salon of the Sea and the Royal Maritime Club of Barcelona.

The company many times became the main sponsor of the King's Cup in sailing (from 1984 to 2006) and itself owned the sailing ship "Azure Stone Pucha", which took part in the most significant international maritime competitions (one of the permanent crew members of the yacht was Infanta Christina, the youngest daughter King Juan Carlos I).

Since 2008, in partnership with the Royal Maritime Club of Barcelona, Puig has been promoting and sponsoring the Puig VelClassica regatta, which is held annually in July in the waters of Barcelona. Only classic and traditional courts can take part in this competition, which once again confirms and declares the principles of the Puig family - unity and loyalty to traditions.

Photo: Getty Images, press archives