Alexis Perakis-Valat
How did the Consumer Products Division react to the Covid-19 crisis?
Alexis Perakis-Valat : The first key word is solidarity.
Right at the start of the crisis we mobilised to help. Our brands quickly produced and donated more than two million bottles of hand sanitiser to hospitals, care homes and retail staff around the world. In the same spirit of solidarity and social responsibility our brands accelerated their commitment to major social causes, for example L’Oréal Paris took a stance against street harassment with the Stand Up programme.
But this crisis was also an opportunity to further accelerate the transformation of our Division. On the one hand, the acceleration of our digital transformation with the explosion of e-commerce and the democratisation of innovative digital services like makeup and hair colour virtual try-ons, which we deployed all over the world in just a few weeks. And on the other, the green transformation. Let me give you two concrete examples. Elvive is the first and only major brand to use 100% recycled and recyclable plastic in all its bottles all over Europe. We also launched big green innovations like Ultimate Blends shampoo bars by Garnier, which provide a great haircare experience with zero plastic.
How did the Division perform? How do you see its future?
Alexis Perakis-Valat : In a very challenging environment, our Division returned to positive territory and outperformed the market in the second half of the year.
This was the result of three strategic choices.
First, we accelerated our innovation programme in spite of the crisis and launched many exciting products: amazing skin care serums at L’Oréal Paris and Garnier, a new L’Oréal haircare line called Full Resist, and some very exciting makeup innovations like Maybelline New York Lifter Gloss and Air Volume mascara by L’Oréal Paris. Second, we bet on beauty’s ability to bounce back. Working with our retailers, like with A.S. Watson, we developed very ambitious Back to Beauty operations starting in June. Last but not least, we invested heavily to support these operations and innovations. Our media investments not only helped to achieve market share gains but also bolstered the beauty market around the world. And that’s the role of a leader.
So, even though the environment remains very uncertain, we look to the future with confidence and ambition. Confidence because our brands are stronger than ever and because our teams all around the world are just amazing: not only are they creative and talented, they have also been the engine of our transformations and are energised by our mission to democratise the very best of beauty. And ambition because we still have very low market shares in some categories and Zones, and we have hundreds of millions of people that have not yet had the opportunity to try one of our brands.
What role do the Division's retailer partnerships play?
Alexis Perakis-Valat: These partnerships are at the heart of our success, and what we have built with A.S. Watson over more than a decade, with Malina and her team, is exemplary.
Malina Ngai: Yes, Alexis. The partnership between A.S. Watson and L’Oréal has been one of the longest standing and the most strategic amongst our international suppliers. We have the common vision to universalise beauty around the world. We are both committed to inventing the future together and we motivate each other to be better. But it’s also about sharing a common purpose to bring beauty to all and put a smile on customers’ faces. Let me give you an example. Some years ago, we both had the vision to develop the colour cosmetics category in China. So, our teams worked together to co-create the Watsons ColorLab concept in just a few months. It is now available in 92 Watson stores around Asia and is posting very strong results.
Alexis Perakis-Valat: What is great when you work with A.S. Watson is seeing how innovative, agile and quick they are.
Malina Ngai: Well, we work at Asian speed. But you guys work pretty fast as well. Another collaboration we worked on together was the AR try-on service available on our platforms thanks to your ModiFace technology. It is already live on the Watsons mobile app in eight of our markets. Not only can consumers try the look, they can also scan any look in the real world to get recommendations for makeup products to get that look, right within the app. We also use the app to serve our customers. It’s an amazing application of our online and offline business model, which we call O+O at A.S. Watson.
Alexis Perakis-Valat: Exactly. And it’s contributing to your mission, which is to put a smile on customers’ faces. Another very strategic area of collaboration is sustainability.
Malina Ngai: Yes. One example that I love is the makeup packaging recycling campaign called “Make Up, Not Make Waste” which we developed together in the UK, at Superdrug, in partnership with TerraCycle. Each shopper can bring their makeup products from any brand to the store and put them in dedicated recycling bins. As we celebrate A.S. Watson’s 180th anniversary this year with meaningful programmes to give back to the community, I am confident that we will see more collaborations between L’Oréal and A.S. Watson’s purpose-driven brands to look good, do good, feel great together.
Alexis Perakis-Valat: Yes, it’s by combining our strengths that we can invent an even more sustainable future for beauty. Thank you so much, Malina, for your time. I look forward to the next decade of collaboration between our companies.
