For the past month or so there has been a lot of buzz regarding the possibility of OPI being sold with a couple potential buyers being bandied about. It was confirmed on Monday that Coty has acquired OPI Products Inc in a deal rumored to be worth almost $1 Billion.  So what does that mean for the beloved nail brand? According to the official press release:

COTY INC. TO ACQUIRE OPI PRODUCTS INC.

Coty Adds OPI Nail Lacquers and Nicole by OPI to Its Growing Color Portfolio
NEW YORK, November 29, 2010 — Coty Inc., a leading global beauty company, and OPI Products Inc., a leader in professional nail salon products, today announced that Coty has entered into an agreement to acquire OPI.

The acquisition will enhance Coty’s color cosmetic portfolio, through the addition of over 200 fashion forward colors of OPI Nail Lacquer’s chip-resistant formula, which has been an international success.

“We view the acquisition of OPI as complementary to Coty and a natural extension of our strategy to offer a unique portfolio of brands that produce some of the best known consumer products around the world,” said Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc. “OPI is both dynamic and high quality and has earned its place as a leading provider to professional nail care salons. This acquisition will allow Coty to expand our presence in the nail care category via an important new channel of distribution: professional salons, and importantly will offer an even greater selection of products and choice to consumers.”

“We are very excited about having OPI join the Coty family. OPI has gained a place in consumer’s minds in the US and internationally,” said Renato Semerari, President, Coty Beauty. “It is one of THE fashion brands in Nail Color for salons and that is a very unique position to be in. OPI’s success is the result of a very focused and high quality effort by the OPI team over the past decades. We are very excited to join forces with such a talented team to strengthen OPI even further in the future.”

“It’s time for a new era at OPI, and together with Coty we can begin this new journey,” said George Schaeffer, President and CEO of OPI Products Inc. “For almost 30 years, we have built a solid foundation of innovation and excellence. We are confident that by joining Coty, this legacy will continue and be strengthened. We are all excited about the next phase of opportunity for OPI.  Our management team will continue on with the company and OPI’s business strategy will remain focused on the salon professional.”
“OPI has a reputation for creating fashion-forward products that make women feel beautiful and Coty is a well-established trend setter in the beauty industry,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, the Executive VP & Artistic Director of OPI Products, Inc. “Together we will continue to push the envelope in beauty, color and trends.”

With Coty owning a successful nail brand like Sally Hansen, we already know that they have a knowledge of the industry and buying OPI gets them a major foot in the door of salons worldwide. Only time will tell how this deal will change the face of OPI.

I think the one thing most people are curious about is whether Suzi will still be creating the colors or if Coty will take that over. Essie is still creating the colors for her brand in spite of the sale to L’Oreal but who knows.

I can only assume that given how large OPI’s loyal salon consumer base is, we won’t be seeing “authorized” mass market sales of the brand. That rather than compete with Sally Hansen, Coty will look to build both brands to be the dominate force in both the salon and retail worlds.

Quite a few of you have asked me what I think of this.  To be honest, without knowing how it will all play out, it’s hard to say.  OPI has built a successful brand and if the founders want to cash in on that and retire, do it!  I say the same thing to Essie.  Keep the fun part of the job, creating colors, and let someone else run the business while you enjoy the fruits of your labor.

What do you think about the sale? Does it matter at all to you who owns the brand? What potential upsides or downsides do you see to this deal?