What Matas does

Matas is a publicly listed Danish beauty and personal care retailer (Nasdaq Copenhagen: MATAS) operating a multi-banner omni-channel model across the Nordic region under the Matas and KICKS brands. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Allerød, Denmark, the company runs 266 physical stores across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, complemented by the matas.dk e-commerce platform. The assortment spans more than 1,400 third-party brands and approximately 50,000 products across skincare, makeup, fragrance, health supplements, personal care, baby care, men's grooming, and online pharmacy (Webapotek), supported by proprietary private-label lines including Matas Striber, Matas Natur, and Plaisir. The KICKS banner targets the premium beauty segment in Sweden, Norway, and Finland and currently faces pressure from aggressive competitor pricing.

Revenue is generated through direct-to-consumer retail transactions across physical and digital channels, with no disclosed subscription model. Pricing is transaction-based, augmented by the Club Matas loyalty program (with a paid Club Matas Plus premium tier) that delivers member-exclusive discounts, free in-store shipping, and accumulated points. Loyalty data is linked to behavioral profiles via Tealium and feeds vendor personalization engines (RichRelevance, Revieve). The technology stack is built on standard retail martech: Cloudflare for security, Microsoft ASP.NET for session management, Meta/Snap/Pinterest/Google/Bing ad pixels for marketing, Zendesk and Zowie for chat, Bambuser for live shopping, and Vimeo for embedded video. Matas serves as an exclusive Nordic retail partner for brands such as Kao Corporation's Curél (launching September 2026).

Full-year 2025/2026 revenue was DKK 8.8 billion, up 4.7% year-on-year, with Q4 online sales growth of 13.8%. Free cash flow improved to DKK 545 million from negative DKK 2 million, and net debt stands at 2.9x EBITDA. The company is pursuing a 'Win the Nordics' strategy under newly appointed CEO Mette Uglebjerg, alongside a new operational model targeting DKK 45-50 million in annual cost savings from 2027/28 and leadership restructuring at KICKS.

Name

Matas

Legal name

Matas Operations A/S

Website

https://matas.dk

Company type

Public

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Matas is a publicly listed Danish beauty and personal care retailer operating 266 stores and matas.dk e-commerce across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland under the Matas and KICKS banners, serving Nordic consumers with 50,000+ products across mass and premium beauty, health, and personal care categories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Frederiksberg

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail sales of beauty and personal care products: Matas generates revenue through retail sales of beauty, personal care, health, and wellness products across its physical store network and e-commerce platform. The company sells over 1,400 brands and 50,000 products, including skincare, makeup, fragrances, health supplements, and personal care items. Revenue is generated through one-time transactions at point of sale with no explicit subscription model disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Matas operates as a Nordic retailer of beauty, personal care, health, and wellness products, offering over 50,000 products from more than 1,400 brands across 266 physical stores in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, supplemented by an e-commerce platform (matas.dk), a mobile app, and a loyalty program. The company also runs a higher-end beauty banner (KICKS), own-label brands (Matas Striber, Matas Natur, Plaisir), and an online pharmacy.

Product overview

Matas is a Danish beauty and personal care retail company operating a multi-banner model across the Nordic region. The core Matas banner (266 physical stores plus matas.dk e-commerce) offers more than 1,400 brands and 50,000 products. The company operates proprietary private-label sub-brands: Matas Striber (health supplements, baby care, personal care), Matas Natur (natural skincare), and Plaisir (value-priced beauty and body care). The Group also owns KICKS, a high-end beauty retail banner active in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Loyalty is driven through Club Matas and Club Matas Plus. Additional services include an online pharmacy (Webapotek) licensed by the Danish Medicines Agency, and Matas Live Shopping (Bambuser-powered video commerce). The company serves as an exclusive retail partner for third-party brands including Curél (from September 2026), luxury skincare lines (Clinique, Lancôme, Estée Lauder, Shiseido, etc.), and niche fragrances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Matas Striber: Matas own brand product line including supplements, health, and personal care products
• Matas Natur
• Club Matas
• Club Matas Plus
• Plaisir
• M.COSMETICS
• Flora Danica

Products and services

• Matas Retail Banner The flagship Matas retail chain offering over 50,000 products from 1,400+ brands across beauty, personal care, health, and wellness categories, serving mass-market consumers across Denmark.
• KICKS A premium beauty retail banner offering cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and beauty services including the KICKS Beauty Bar, operating in Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
• Club Matas Loyalty Program A free customer loyalty program with 1.8 million members in Denmark, providing exclusive discounts, personalized offers, and rewards across the Matas product range.
• Club Matas Plus A premium paid tier of the Club Matas loyalty program offering enhanced benefits and exclusive offers for an annual membership fee.
• Matas Striber (Private Label) Matas's own-label product line offering branded items within the Matas retail assortment.
• Matas Natur (Private Label) An own-label natural products line sold through Matas retail channels.
• Plaisir (Private Label) An own-label product line sold through Matas retail and online channels.
• Matas Online Pharmacy An online pharmacy service providing pharmaceutical and health products through the Matas e-commerce platform.
• Matas Live Shopping A livestream shopping service that enables customers to discover and purchase beauty and personal care products through interactive video events hosted online.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record full-year revenue of DKK 8.8 billion for 2025-2026, up 4.7% year-on-year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kao Corporation (Curél brand)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2026Kao Corporation selected Matas as an exclusive retail partner for launching its Curél sensitive-skin brand in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland in September 2026. The launch follows successful entries in the UK (2019), Germany and France (2025), and Netherlands (May 2026). Curél UK sales grew 24% year-on-year, with Kao targeting 1.6x 2024 sales levels by 2030.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Boots: Large UK-listed health and beauty retailer (part of Walgreens Boots Alliance) with broad pharmacy, beauty, and personal care assortment. Comparable as a wider-portfolio incumbent overlapping with Matas on beauty retail and online pharmacy.

Direct peers

• Douglas: Leading European multi-brand beauty retailer operating physical stores and a strong e-commerce platform across multiple countries. Closest direct peer to Matas in store-led, multi-banner European beauty retail with private-label and loyalty programs.
• Ulta Beauty: US-listed omni-channel beauty retailer combining mass, prestige, and salon products with a loyalty program (Ultamate Rewards). Highly comparable on assortment strategy, loyalty economics, and integration of digital and physical retail.
• The Body Shop: Global multi-channel beauty and personal care retailer with both own-brand and third-party ranges. Comparable to Matas on omni-channel retail and brand-led positioning, though with a stronger activist/ethics-led identity.
• Notino: Large European online beauty and perfume retailer with extensive brand assortment and own logistics. Comparable to Matas on multi-brand assortment and online-first distribution, and an active competitor in the Nordics.
• Sephora: Global multi-brand beauty retailer with omni-channel retail and a curated assortment of 1,400+ brands. Directly comparable to Matas on product breadth, brand partnerships (e.g., exclusive launches), and prestige/mass-mix merchandising model.
• Lyko: Nordic beauty and hair care e-commerce and salon retailer headquartered in Sweden with stores across the Nordics. Closest geographic and category peer to Matas, competing directly for Nordic beauty online and offline spend.

Others

• Kry: Nordic digital health and pharmacy-adjacent platform. Adjacent to Matas via Nordic consumer health ecosystem and online pharmacy (Webapotek) — not a direct beauty peer but relevant for omnichannel health positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/clubmatas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/matas-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matas