On April 19th, the French beauty giant L’Oréal Group held the “Riding the Waves of Civilization, Great Beauty Abounds—2023/2024 Annual Strategy Communication Conference” in Shanghai.
Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of China, together with Laurence Ma, Deputy CEO of L’Oréal China and General Manager of the Luxury Cosmetics Division, and members of the Group Strategy Committee, shared L’Oréal’s vision of leading the beauty culture in China, its latest achievements in the country, and future development strategies.
The executives stated that L’Oréal China will create faster speeds, larger scales, and greater superiority in the Chinese market with the “3S” model, composing a new chapter titled “Beauty Illuminating the Skies, Consumers Aglow.”
In 2023, L’Oréal China continued to lead the market with a 5.4% increase in net sales and significantly led the market in the first quarter of 2024, with growth reaching 6.2%.
This year marks the 115th anniversary of the founding of L’Oréal Group and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. During the communication meeting, Vincent Boinay and Laurence Ma delivered an impressive joint presentation, from the awakening of beauty in ancient times, through the cross-regional flourishing of beauty in the classical era, to the modern interplay of beauty between China and France. They elaborated that beauty has become a part of daily sensation, physical and mental attachment, and social necessity, reflecting the rapid changes in society and the integration of civilizations. L’Oréal China will continue to lead the new wave of beauty culture.
Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of China, and Laurence Ma, Deputy CEO of L’Oréal China and General Manager of the Luxury Cosmetics Division, delivering a joint presentation.
In 1909, founder Eugène Schueller invented the world’s first safe hair dye; in 1935, the first sunscreen was launched… Over more than a century, L’Oréal has continuously expanded the boundaries of beauty with pioneering ideas, cutting-edge technology, and disruptive innovations, driving economic growth, technological innovation, and cultural exchange, particularly in the fields of humanities, arts, commerce, science and innovation, and sustainable development, comprehensively facilitating Sino-French exchanges.
This year coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, and L’Oréal will launch a series of cultural projects as a tribute, including a crossover collaboration between L’Oréal Paris and Jingdezhen’s Dragon Pearl Pavilion, an upgraded immersive exhibition at Notre-Dame de Paris featuring augmented reality, and the “Interesting Youth” university public welfare program empowering more young people to delve into history, contributing to Sino-French exchanges.
Continuing to Lead the Chinese Market
In the first quarter of 2024, L’Oréal China’s performance significantly increased by 6.2%, thanks to its comprehensive layout (category, channel, pricing) and innovative approaches.
In a challenging market environment, L’Oréal achieved a 5.4% increase in net sales and a 7.7% increase in retail sales in 2023 in China, reaffirming its leadership in the Chinese market. L’Oréal China’s e-commerce business performed brilliantly, accounting for 62% of the annual sales and achieving first place on Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin during the Double Eleven period. Its strong and diverse brand portfolio demonstrated resilience and potential in the Chinese market:
- Luxury Cosmetics Division: Growth rate three times the market average
- Mass Cosmetics Division: Outperformed the market thanks to outstanding performance in social e-commerce
- Dermatological Beauty Division: Growth rate six times the market average
- Professional Hair Products Division: Kérastase became the top online hair care brand, with China becoming the group’s second largest market globally
Executives expressed that the Chinese market has a vast number of sophisticated and knowledgeable consumers with increasingly refined and diverse beauty aspirations. In the future, L’Oréal China will continue to make all-out efforts in categories, products, and channels, including exploring the potential of emerging categories such as perfumes, providing more diverse and high-quality products for different consumers, and strengthening consumer engagement through O+O (online + offline) channel innovations. L’Oréal aims to better meet consumer demands for health, luxury, effectiveness, trends, creativity, and inclusivity, stimulating significant growth potential to reach 500 million Chinese consumers in the coming years. At the same time, L’Oréal will continue to deepen its layout in China, such as investing in the local luxury perfume brand To Summer, promoting the sharing and exchange of Chinese culture at home and abroad.
“3S” Model Unleashes Infinite Consumer Potential
Having rooted in the Chinese Mainland for 27 years, L’Oréal has developed into the largest beauty group in China, which has also become L’Oréal’s second-largest market globally. L’Oréal believes that the next “China” is still China, relying on the “3S” strategy model, continuing to invest in innovation, society, the planet, and the team in the Chinese market, joining forces with the entire ecosystem to unleash consumer potential.
– Innovation Convergence: Continuous investment in supply chain, open innovation, and other areas to create a more forward-looking future of beauty.
- The group’s first self-built smart operation center will be officially inaugurated on April 26 in Suzhou. This center will upgrade L’Oréal China’s supply chain capabilities, better support its e-commerce business, and meet the growing consumer demand with smarter, more agile, and more customized products and services, setting a new benchmark for L’Oréal North Asia and the global market operations.
Pankaj Gupta, Senior Vice President of Operations for L’Oréal North Asia and China, delivering a speech.
- The 2024 “BIG BANG Beauty Tech Startup Challenge” has officially launched, covering the five major markets in North Asia for the first time—mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. It empowers startups and SMEs according to the characteristics and advantages of each market, joining hands with the ecosystem to co-create an unlimitedly beautiful future.
- Chinese innovative beauty technology steps onto the world stage. L’Oréal’s breakthrough professional hairdryer, AirLight Pro, co-created with Zuvi Technology, made its debut at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and will also make its first appearance at the Import Expo this year. Previously, Zuvi Technology had received investment from L’Oréal Group’s strategic innovation venture capital company, BOLD.
– Social Benefits: Empowering women, youth, and vulnerable groups to create a more diverse and inclusive future of beauty.
- As the “For Girls in Science” marks its twentieth anniversary, L’Oréal China, in partnership with Sina Yangfan Public Welfare Fund, officially launched the “Tech Girls Empowerment Plan”. Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of China; Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China; Ruan Xiangrong, Chairman of Sina Yangfan Public Welfare Fund; representatives of the “Nineteenth For Girls in Science” award recipients; and representatives of tech girls participated in the launch. L’Oréal China’s “Tech Girls Empowerment Plan” will consist of three major projects: “Come In – inviting female scientists into campuses,” “Go Out – taking girls into real science labs,” and “Broadcast Seeds – breaking geographical boundaries with video science lessons, spreading scientific seeds,” creating a more comprehensive empowerment platform. With scientific wisdom, role model power, and real experiences, the plan encourages girls to develop an interest in science, thereby choosing to study science as their future profession and career, boosting the scientific career “generation by generation.”
Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China, delivering a speech.
The photo above: The official launch of L’Oréal’s “Tech Girls Empowerment Plan”
- Protecting the Planet: Collaborating across the entire supply chain to promote the green transformation of the beauty industry, using beauty to protect our only planet. L’Oréal China will continue to participate in the Second Shanghai International Carbon Neutral Expo, supporting Shanghai’s green and low-carbon development and injecting new green momentum into the Chinese consumer and beauty market.
- Empowering the Team: Continuously cultivating local talent and teams to co-create an unlimitedly beautiful future. L’Oréal China is committed to building a beauty industry “F1 team” with high speed, precision, quality, resilience, and cooperation, together achieving “dare to act, dare to surpass. Create beauty that moves the world.”
Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of China, stated: “Beauty has a powerful force that can move the world. Over the past 27 years, we have been dedicated to creating beauty in China, not only satisfying the endless aspirations of Chinese consumers for beauty but also contributing to the high-quality development of China’s beauty and consumer industries. We believe that the next ‘China’ is still China, and investing in China is investing in the future. L’Oréal China is committed to leading the new wave of beauty culture, continuing to lead the Chinese market with faster speed, larger scale, and greater superiority, inspiring the North Asian and global beauty industries. This year, coinciding with the 115th anniversary of the group and the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations, we look forward to using beauty as an opportunity to unlock future growth; using beauty as a link to win-win cooperation with all parties; and using beauty as a medium to facilitate civilizational exchanges. Standing at the new starting point of the Year of the Dragon, we embark on a new journey with the ‘speed of a flying dragon’, the ‘momentum of a Jiaolong’, and the ‘beauty of a swimming dragon’.”
Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of China, sharing L’Oréal China’s vision.
| Source: Official press release
| Image Credit: Provided by the brand
| Editor: LeZhi
