Our major brands – more aspirational and committed than ever before – are the cornerstones of our growth

What were the year’s major successes?

2019 confirms the power of our brands.
L’Oréal Paris achieved its best year since 2007. This performance is thanks to the successful launches of Rouge Signature in makeup, Dream Lengths in haircare and the incredible Revitalift Filler hyaluronic in face care. The strength of L’Oréal Paris also lies in its unique affordable luxury positioning and its message of female empowerment which resonates all over the world. This shows that the world’s number one beauty brand  can grow fast by winning over an increasing number of women around the globe.

2019 was also the year of face care. Our two flagship brands, L’Oréal Paris and Garnier, are skilled at seizing major beauty trends, from all channels and geographies, and democratising them. L’Oréal Paris has successfully included key dermatological active ingredients in their products, making them accessible. The continued success of Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water and, more recently, Tissue Masks inspired by Asian beauty rituals, is another example of this.

What about the Division’s performance in terms of geographic Zones?

We saw strong overall growth in Asia. In China, of course, where our brands posted exceptional results on 11/11 , the biggest shopping day of the year both online and offline. L’Oréal Paris became for the first time the top beauty brand on Alibaba’s Tmall during this event . But also in South-East Asia, with good performances in India and Indonesia. 2019 was also a strong year for Eastern Europe, driven especially by our performances in Russia and Turkey.

How is the Division meeting the desires and needs of consumers?

The Division is meeting consumers’ beauty desires in a number of different ways. First, by identifying and responding to the major emerging trends in beauty. The first example of one such trend is the move towards more natural products. We made Garnier a champion of this trend and also launched La Provençale Bio. A second example is the attraction in Asia for Korean beauty, which explains the huge success of our recent acquisition 3CE Stylenanda.
When our consumers are buying beauty products, they are also looking for a better retail experience. This is why we have been working with our distributors to reinvent the classic “beauty sections” in stores. We successfully did so with Carrefour in France and with Watson in China, for example.

Lastly, digital is transforming the relationship between our brands and consumers. For instance, they can now instantly try-on live a particular shade of lipstick while watching a social media advertisement, thanks to our integrated ModiFace technology. Similarly, we have combined ModiFace with the latest augmented-reality Google Lens technology so that women can try on hair colours in-store before buying them. These virtual experiences give impressive realistic results!

How important is e-commerce for Consumer Products?

E-commerce is a unique opportunity to make more women and men discover our brands and our products. This is particularly true in China and in emerging countries where the middle classes are growing fast and where online is their channel of choice for beauty browsing and shopping.

What is the key to the Division’s success today?

In addition to the factors I have just mentioned —our powerful global brands and expertise in face care and e-commerce— it comes down to the dedication, talent and contagious passion of our teams across the world, who help us transform our assets into successes.