EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY THE CEO
The strength of our model, which has emerged from the past few years of crisis even stronger, is key to L’Oréal’s future success.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Shareholders,
2022 was a year of outstanding performance.
First, we achieved excellent results in all geographic Zones, Divisions and categories, reflecting balanced success across the board. The L’Oréal engine was firing on all cylinders, without a single exception.
We significantly outperformed the market yet again, growing 1.8 times faster and consolidating our position as the global beauty champion.
The strength of our performance allowed us to keep investing to support our social and environmental commitments in 2022, in line with our dual ambition of economic and corporate performance.
Our efforts receive recognition year after year, and in 2022, L’Oréal received a AAA rating from CDP(1) for the seventh consecutive year. We also earned a spot on Ethisphere’s ranking of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, once again.
Beauty is a basic human need, and the quest for beauty is never-ending. The beauty market has a long history of uninterrupted growth, even in times of recession, when consumer demand for beauty products holds strong.
The market has always triumphed over economic uncertainty, with an average annual growth rate of +4% over the last 23 years. The robust +6% figure for 2022 confirmed this trend once again.
But the factors which will contribute most to L’Oréal’s future success are first and foremost internal and structural. First, there’s the strength of our model, which has emerged from the past few years of crisis even stronger than before.
This model is underpinned by six pillars: the strategic decision to be a beauty pure player, meaning we’re about beauty, every aspect of beauty, and nothing but beauty; our Research & Innovation; our unique portfolio of 36 complementary and highly desirable brands; our unrivalled digital leadership; our industrial infrastructure, with 38 plants and 152 distribution centres worldwide; and the steadfast engagement of our 87,400 employees.
L’Oréal is a unique company that is particularly suited to the new era we are now entering. A new era which promises a more fragmented world and less regulated globalisation. In this world, we have numerous assets, starting with our strategically centralised but operationally decentralised multipolar model, which promotes real organisational flexibility, allowing us to adapt to opportunities and any unexpected ups or downs we may encounter. Our ability to stay ahead of technological challenges and our lead in Beauty Tech will also allow us to widen the gap even further. L’Oréal is undergoing an exciting transformation, evolving from “beauty for all” towards “beauty for each”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your Group is set for success in the decade ahead and will continue to set the tone for the beauty market.
We will “seize every new opportunity” and stay true to our philosophy: providing the best of beauty for each and every woman and man worldwide. Beauty that is ever more inclusive, within planetary boundaries, committed and contributory: the beauty that moves the world.”
(1) CDP is an independent non-profit that provides a comprehensive system of measuring and publishing environmental data. CDP assesses the strategy, commitment and results obtained by companies with respect to tackling climate change, managing water sustainably and protecting forests.
“In a world weakened by climate change and environmental shifts, we can only continue to operate if we are also able to commit to more social equity and justice.”
Alexandra Palt, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer and CEO of the Fondation L’Oréal, outlined L’Oréal’s CSR policy and key commitments, with a focus on the Group’s climate strategy.