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International Marketing Study Program 2006
L'Oreal
20th January 2006
On the 20th of January at 8:15am we boarded the L’Oreal bus, destination their architecturally designed Aulnay Plant. The need for security swipe cards to enter the building reinforced what a privilege we were about to experience. Greeted by Marie Line and Marie Jose, and delicious coffee and biscuits we then entered into the auditorium for Marie Line’s presentation on L’Oreal. This included an introduction to the impressive portfolio of L’Oreal’s major global brands, their complimentary targeted segments and related distribution channels, the company’s key drivers and values; a high commitment to innovation through research, the environment, safety and superior quality. An explanation of the manufacturing process prepared us to further appreciate our next destination; the colouration and cosmetic production centres. The projection screen rose to reveal a view of the magnificent building with its curved white roof, floor to ceiling glass all set in a lush green landscape with a moat of water along the boundary. It was a perfect combination of nature and the future, and as Marie stated the Aulnay plant truly represented the company worldwide.
In order to enter the factory we first had to don lovely white gowns, caps and were provided with headphones that resembled stethoscopes. Needless to say we all looked “fabulous”! The manufacturing process was amazing, sophisticated machines arranged in U-shaped filling and packing lines with perfect precision oriented the bottles, filled them with the product, screwed on the caps, labelled the bottles, placed them in cartons, labelled again, packed in cases and finally pallets. Meanwhile factory workers continuously checked product weight and label positions to ensure the achievement of the zero defect objective. A further testament to L’Oreal’s commitment to quality was demonstrated by the fact that the actual product never encountered air in order to protect against any form of contamination.
The factory visit and Marie Line’s presentation left us with an extremely positive view of L’Oreal as a company; it is clearly a business which is concerned with more than profit. Employee comfort and safety is a high priority with factory workers weeks equating to approximately 33 hours, production rarely being extended to weekends, night shifts accounting for only 14% of operation and of course the work conditions: floor to ceiling windows providing copious amounts of natural light and well stocked lunch rooms. Furthermore, L’Oreal’s stringent environmental policies ensure their operation has a minimal impact on the environment; indeed only 11% of their waste is not reused or recycled.
After removing our lovely white gowns, enjoying a refreshing juice and thanking Marie Line and Marie Jose for their wonderful hospitality, presentation and tour we again boarded our L’Oreal bus for our second and final destination L’Oreal’s headquarters! We were shown to a large amphitheatre where we were privy to three highly informative and inspiring presentations. First up was Mrs Rehana Osmany - Marketing Manager L'Oréal Paris Africa Orient Pacific zone. Rehana explained to us the healthy state of the cosmetic market and L’Oreal’s even healthier growth therein. Rehana delineated three factors which she believed has enabled L’Oreal’s growth to exceed that of the cosmetic market; innovation, concentration and internationalization. Innovation relates to the fact that L’Oreal is not so much a market-driven company, but rather its main driver is technology. The company has been able to develop and grow on account of its high commitment to the research and development of products. However, it is important to note that regardless of the investment into the development/innovation of products, L’Oreal will only launch the product if consumer research determines the product to be “new, different, better and relevant”. Concentration relates to the fact that L’Oreal focuses on what they do best; they work within five product categories, utilizing their portfolio of 18 brands to satisfy the needs of socially and culturally diverse consumer groups. Furthermore in order to avoid cannibalization or competition between L’Oreal’s various products, their market positions are reinforced through the various distribution channels utilized. Finally, internationalization has enabled L’Oreal’s tremendous growth on account of the economies of scale achieved in production, research and development and advertising. However, it is important to note that global does not equate to uniform for L’Oreal, their process for entering new and emerging markets clearly demonstrated this point. Rhianna’s presentation was extremely informative, allowing us to appreciate the difficulties faced by global companies and how L’Oreal has been able to manage these challenges; transforming them into great opportunities.
The second presentation further highlighted how L’Oreal is extremely adept at utilizing research and development coupled with factors in the external environment to best advantage.
A marketing case by Ms Marketa Havlik - Project Manager Skin care Garnier International, first explained her history with the company, a South African she commenced with the company on an internship, secured a permanent position in brand management and her current role is in the development of the Garnier skincare brand and range. Marketa then took us through the positioning of the Garnier brand and how it differs from other L’Oreal brands. This was achieved through an in-depth investigation of the “Garnier Consumer”, who she is, how she differs from other L’Oreal brand users, how she describes herself and so forth. This understanding also enabled L’Oreal to utilize a number of new and exciting promotional tools such as trial vans. Marketa highlighted that current and emerging trends such as the wellness revolution greatly favoured the growth of the Garnier range; and through this understanding and the company’s commitment to research and development L’Oreal has been able to develop a revolution in skincare “Nutrionist”. Marketa, took us through the launch and advertising campaign for this new Garnier product and how these have been able to overcome any challenges raised on account of the product originality.
Rehana and Marketa were then open to answering all the questions our group had, providing us with further insight and information to assist in writing our reports when we get back to Melbourne. To conclude the session we were addressed on the topic of Human Resources policy by Mrs Cristina Scialino from the Human Resources Dept. Consumer Division about what they look for in graduates and interns, and excited us all about our potential future careers with the global brand.
An opportunity to speak with the presenters over a magnificent lunch including prawn skewers, salmon, mini baguettes and éclairs was the perfect way to finish the afternoon at L’Oreal.
We are extremely appreciative to L’Oreal for allowing us access to their amazing Aulnay plant and to Rehana, Marketa, and Cristina for providing us with such fascinating presentations and allowing us to “pick their brains”. We know that their will be many among us submitting on-line applications in the hope of securing an internship at such an exciting and socially responsible company.
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