2023 universal registration document

1. Presentation of the Group – Integrated Report

1.4.1.4. Important events and post-closing events
Strategy
  • On 3 April, L’Oréal announced that it had signed an agreement with Natura &Co to acquire Aēsop, the Australian luxury beauty brand. Created in 1987, Aēsop is a global super brand known for its skin, hair and body products, available across luxury retail, beauty and hospitality locations around the world. Aēsop operates online and in around 400 exclusive points of sale across the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia, with a nascent footprint in China where the first store opened in 2022. The closing is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
  • On 1 July, as part of the Ambition France project, the Group established L’Oréal France as an autonomous entity, bringing together its commercial operations and shared services, as voted by the Annual General Meeting of 21 April 2023See paragraph 1.3.4..
  • On 30 August, L’Oréal announced the completion of the acquisition of Aēsop a brand that is highly complementary to the Luxe portfolio and offers significant growth potential, notably in China and Travel Retail.
  • In August, the Musée du Louvre and Lancôme joined forces for an unprecedented collaboration. Inspired by nine masterpieces of sculpture, Lancôme imagined a new skincare and makeup collection, signed Lancôme x Louvre. The launch campaign was filmed at the Louvre with several ambassadors of the brand.
  • In December, L’Oréal announced the acquisition of Lactobio, a leading probiotic and microbiome research company based in Denmark.
  • In January 2024, L’Oréal’s venture capital fund BOLD (“Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development”) acquired a minority stake in Timeline, a Swiss biotech company developing innovative solutions for longevity in food, beauty, and health.
  • In January 2024, L’Oréal announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining shares in Gjosa, a Swiss startup pioneering water fractioning. L’Oréal had previously partnered with Gjosa to launch the award-winning Water Saver showerhead.
  • In January 2024, L’Oréal’s Venture Capital fund BOLD, closed a minority investment in the luxury Chinese fragrance brand, To Summer, to expand into global markets and offer global consumers curated olfactory experiences inspired by eastern art, culture, philosophy and landscapes.
Management
  • On 14 September, L’Oréal announced several important moves within its Executive CommitteeSee paragraph 1.1.3.3. that will be effective from the first quarter of 2024. Fabrice Megarbane will be appointed Chief Global Growth Officer; he will succeed Frédéric Rozé, who has announced his intention to retire at the beginning of next year; he will oversee accelerating growth and leading transformation projects in the five regions. Vincent Boinay will succeed Fabrice Megarbane as President of North Asia and Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal China; given the increased complexity of the Chinese market, Laurence MA, currently General Manager of L’Oréal Luxe China, will be appointed to the newly created role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer in Charge of Divisions L’Oréal China. Emmanuel Goulin will succeed Vincent Boinay as President of Travel Retail, joining L'Oréal’s Executive Committee.
  • In February 2024, L'Oréal announced the appointment of Ezgi Barcenas as Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer to continue the Group’s environmental and societal transformation. She succeeds Alexandra Palt who will be leaving her responsibilities on April 1, 2024, having established, and anchored the foundations of this transformation during her 12 years with the Group. Alexandra Palt remains CEO and director of the L’Oréal Foundation.
Research, beauty tech and digital
  • In March, the venture capital fund BOLD (Business Opportunities for L'Oréal Development) invested in a biotechnology venture led by Geno. The investment will contribute to the development of new sustainable ingredients derived from living organisms: harnessing Geno’s biotechnology expertise, L'Oréal will replace traditional ingredients with biosourced alternatives, such as those produced from plant sugars. These new ingredients will be used in a range of L’Oréal’s products, marking an essential step towards the Group’s goals of 100% ecodesigned products and 95% of ingredients in its formulas biosourced, derived from abundant minerals or circular processes by 2030.
  • L’Oréal launched several major biotech initiatives. Its venture capital fund BOLD invested in US biotech company Debut to co-develop a platform of over 7,000 increasingly high-performing and more sustainable ingredients; the joint development program between L’Oréal and Debut aims to accelerate their go-to-market. It also announced a partnership with Bakar Labs, the pioneering biotech incubator of University of California Berkeley; the collaboration gives Bakar Labs’ start-ups free access to L’Oréal’s 3D-reconstructed skin models, an innovative tool for animal-free safety and efficacy testing. 
  • At Viva Technology 2023, L’Oréal unveiled its latest Beauty Tech innovations: inclusive solutions such as HAPTA, designed to enable people with hand motion disorders to apply makeup; diagnostic tools (SPOTSCAN, META PROFILER™, K-SCAN); personalised solutions (3D shu:brow); and sustainable solutions like L’Oréal Professionnel’s WATER SAVER, which has saved over 66 million litres of water to date.
  • L'Oréal and Verily an Alphabet precision health tech company also announced the launch of My Skin & Hair Journey, the world’s largest, most diverse multi-year skin and hair health study. Involving thousands of women in the US, the study will help researchers better understand the biological, clinical and environmental factors that contribute to skin and hair health.
  • At the World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) in Singapore, L’Oréal unveiled new research on pigmentation and the impact of hormonal variations on women’s skin and scalp.
  • On 22 September, L’Oréal’s Venture Capital fund BOLD (“Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development”), announced a minority investment in Chinese biotech company Shinehigh Innovation, to establish a long-term partnership for the co-development of innovative and sustainable beauty solutions.
  • On 28 September, Le Visionnaire – Espace François Dalle was inaugurated. It is located at 14 rue Royale in central Paris, the site of L’Oréal’s original headquarters (and the birthplace of the professional business). The 4,200 square metre space is dedicated to transmitting corporate culture, creativity, and inspiration – and to inventing the future of beauty.
  • In November, L’Oréal presented its latest tech-enabled offerings and partnerships at the sixth annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, one of the world’s largest trade shows, with a record 18 beauty tech innovations spanning inclusive, sustainable and personalised Beauty Tech solutions.
  • In November, L’Oréal announced an industry-first partnership with Cosmo International Fragrances to develop a Green Sciences-based extraction process to revolutionise the art of fine fragrance creation.
  • In January 2024, Nicolas Hieronimus and Barbara Lavernos gave the Opening Keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas, making L’Oréal the first beauty company to be invited to do so. The Group won a record seven CES Innovation Awards.