L'Oréal: international strategy

Extraits

[...] For instance, after the Irak War, the group L'Oréal has been very afraid that the brand Maybelline suffers from the bad image America had at this moment in several countries. Finally, we can wonder whether the number of L'Oréal's brands is not reaching saturation point. Indeed, L'Oréal will have difficulties in the future to pursue its strategy of acquisitions. However, a huge potential exists for L'Oréal : the developing region like Asia or Eastern Europe. Thus, we think that the opportunities of growth do not lie in acquisition of new brands anymore but in the launch of the actual brands in new markets. [...]

[...] The price depends on the positioning of the brands and on the price strategy adopted. Luxury goods are much more expensive than consumer products : for luxury goods, L'Oréal follows a market skimming strategy whereas it follows strategy between market skimming and penetration pricing for the consumer good. Helena Rubinstein product's are obviously more expensive than L'Oréal Paris' products because of their different positioning. However, we can notice that L'Oréal Paris' product are quite more expensive compared to its competitors, because of its “French product” image. [...]

[...] In this way, L'Oréal did not have to work on the risky launching phase of a new brand. This situation occurred in Canada, with the brand Ombrelle, acquired in 1997 and ranked second in the country's suncare market. Usually, those acquisitions are very strategic . For instance, the acquisition of Maybelline NY, an American brand of make-up, in 1996, has been followed by a makeover of the brand in order to reinforce the brand image and the positioning of the brand. [...]

[...] For instance, in 1996 L'Oréal purchased Maybelline, a popular brand in the US. Then, it began a complete makeover of the brand, including moving the headquarters from Memphis to New York City, in order to gain a strong positioning ''urban American chic'' all over the world. In France, the national brand Gemey has been associated with Maybelline and became : Gemey Maybelline Structure of organization L'Oréal possesses subsidiaries in every country it is set up. At the headquarters, a marketing manager is responsible for the international division of each sub category of every brand (for instance : cosmetics in L'Oréal Paris) . [...]

[...] Sales and marketing activities are also managed by L'Oréal. However, the final distribution is not performed by L'Oréal but by local retailers Segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies Worldwide, L'Oréal classifies its products in 4 categories : Consumer products (L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline NY, Soft Sheen Carson, Club des Créateurs de Beauté) Luxury products (Lancôme, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl's, Shu uemura, perfume brands : Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel, Guy Laroche, Paloma Picasso) Professional products (L'Oréal Professionnel, Matrix, Kerastase, Redken) Active cosmetics (Vichy, Laroche-Posay) This wide range of brands enables the group to propose a brand adapted to every segment of the population. [...]