L’Oreal… the name evokes the image of allure and glamour. For most of the company’s 100 years, the name has been synonymous with the image of the quintessential Parisienne- upscale, exclusive and aspirational.
Over the last 25 years, that image has been expanding. Today, L’Oreal is recognized as the global leader in all aspects of beauty, for men as well as women, for everyman and woman as well as the upper crust. The company says its track record today reflects a quest for diversity to meet the needs of men and women around the globe and to make its products available to as many people as possible.
This transformation has occurred by implementing a well-formulated strategy of acquisitions and expansion geographically as well as into all distribution channels, while remaining true to the spirit on which L’Oreal was founded… that research and innovation should serve beauty and that product innovation should drive business.
Although mainstream cosmetics, fragrances and haircare products for women remain the majority of L’Oreal’s business, growth in recent years has also come as the company segments the beauty market in several ways… by age, ethnicity, prestige, gender and marketing approach. “I don’t believe that there is one consumer that is not part of our total communications,” says Joe Campinell, president of L’Oreal USA’s Consumer Products Division. “In the mass market, it runs from 3-, 4-, 5-year-olds with L’Oreal shampoo for kids, to anti-aging products for wrinkles and dryness and firmness for 65-to-70 year old women… We also target men,” he says.
Carol Hamilton, president of L’Oreal USA’s Luxury Products Division, says, “It was quite a milestone in marketing to seniors to sign actress Diane Keaton for L’Oreal Paris, who is fabulous at the age of a little over 60 and such a dynamic role model.” L’Oreal has an enviable portfolio of brands like Giorgio Armani, Cacharel, Diesel, Guy Laroche, Paloma Picasso, Ralph Lauren, Viktor & rolf and Yves Sant Laurent, a well as Japanese makeup artist Shu Uemura. Kiehl’s Since 1851, an exclusive specialty brand, has a particular personal relationship with a loyal following in the luxury segment and, since it was acquired in 2000, is L’Oreal’s fastest-growing luxury brand.
Happy Birthday, L’Oreal… Here’s to the next 100 years.
Excerpted from June 1, 2009, issue of Advertising Age magazine.
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