Group

Pierre Fabre

6 brands · founded 1962 · France

Pierre Fabre is a French pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetics group founded in 1962 by the pharmacist Pierre Fabre (1926–2013) and headquartered in Castres, in southern France [2]. The group develops prescription medicines, family health products and dermo-cosmetics sold largely through pharmacies, and says it operates in more than 130 countries [2].

What sets the company apart from most of its peers is its ownership: rather than being listed on a stock exchange or held by a founding family, Pierre Fabre is majority-owned by a public-interest foundation. That structure, put in place by the founder before his death, keeps the group private and ties much of its capital to a charitable body rather than outside investors [3].

History & milestones

The business traces back to 1951, when Pierre Fabre took over a pharmacy in Castres; the confidence around that shop grew into a wider venture, and Laboratoires Pierre Fabre was incorporated in 1962 [2]. The group is consistent in using 1962 as its founding year, separating the modern company from the original pharmacy.

Over the following decades the company built out a dedicated dermatology arm. In 1984 it founded Pierre Fabre Dermatologie, the division responsible for its dermatological work, and in 1989 it created Laboratoires Avène, the entity behind its Eau Thermale Avène dermo-cosmetics brand [2]. Both steps reflected a shift from a general pharmacy business toward skin-focused products backed by pharmaceutical research.

Portfolio & brands

Pierre Fabre's dermo-cosmetics arm holds several brands sold mainly through pharmacies. According to an official group property, the portfolio includes Eau Thermale Avène, Klorane, Ducray, René Furterer and A-Derma [5]; the group's own site lists the same core names [4].

Several of these brands were established or brought under the group across its early decades: Klorane dates to 1965, the Avène dermo-cosmetics line to 1966, Ducray to 1969 and the hair-care brand René Furterer to 1980. More recently, MÊME Cosmetics — a range aimed at people affected by cancer treatment — joined the group in 2023. Eau Thermale Avène, built around the thermal spring water at Avène in southern France, is the group's largest and best-known dermo-cosmetics brand.

Acquisitions & strategy

The group's expansion in beauty has come chiefly through building and consolidating its own brands rather than large outside takeovers. The two milestone moves documented for the group are internal: the 1984 founding of Pierre Fabre Dermatologie and the 1989 creation of Laboratoires Avène, which established the structure behind its dermatological and dermo-cosmetics activity [2]. This pattern — developing pharmacy-channel skincare and hair-care brands in-house — has defined how the portfolio grew.

Ownership

Pierre Fabre is a private company. The group reports that the Pierre Fabre Foundation, a French state-recognised public-interest foundation, holds 86.3% of the capital, with roughly 9.9% held through employee shareholding and about 3.8% in treasury shares [3]. An official sub-site rounds the foundation's stake to about 86% [5]. The arrangement, set up by the founder, means the company is not publicly listed and directs a controlling interest to the foundation rather than to private shareholders.

Brands in the group