“The ingredients for an excellent year: four major brands, skincare and fragrances”
Cyril Chapuy - President L’Oréal Luxe
The luxury market grew strongly again this year, and Luxury is one of L’Oréal’s main growth drivers. Could you tell us more about it?
L’Oréal Luxe posted another solid performance in 2019. The Division outperformed the market for the ninth consecutive year and surpassed the symbolic milestones of 10 and 11 billion euros in sales.
L’Oréal Luxe won market shares in China as well as in other parts of Asia, where we strengthened our leadership position. In Europe, where it was already the leader with significant market shares , the Division also grew much more rapidly than the market.
Our four major billionaire brands – Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and Kiehl’s – recorded double-digit growth. Remarkable performances by growth-relay brands such as Helena Rubinstein, Shu Uemura, Valentino and Atelier Cologne also stood out this year.
Which categories contribute most to the success of L’Oréal Luxe?
L’Oréal Luxe outperformed the market in all three luxury beauty categories thanks to its robust, balanced and complementary portfolio of brands, which enables it to meet all consumer expectations worldwide.
In skincare, the most dynamic category, the Division posted double-digit growth thanks to strong performances by Helena Rubinstein in the ultra-premium segment; Kiehl’s, the biggest indie brand; and of course, Lancôme, with its star product, Génifique.
Fragrances also did particularly well at L’Oréal Luxe in 2019. The successful major launches of Idôle by Lancôme, Libre by Yves Saint Laurent and Born in Roma by Valentino were key highlights of the year. As was the confirmed success of our pillars: La Vie est Belle by Lancôme, Sì by Giorgio Armani and Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent for women, and Acqua di Giò by Armani for men. The Division also accelerated in exceptional fragrances with Atelier Cologne and Replica by Maison Margiela.
The Division expanded its portfolio with the announcement of a long-term beauty licence with Prada and the signature of the contract to acquire the prestigious Mugler and Azzaro brands.
How is L’Oréal perfectly positioned in this market to meet consumer expectations?
L’Oréal Luxe continued to accelerate in the new luxury communication channels of advocacy , loyalty, direct-to-consumer , and online and in-store services.
For example, in the direct-to-consumer channel, one of the Division’s main growth drivers, we further enhanced the luxury experience for our customers with the opening of a Lancôme flagship store on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
The brands continue to develop new ways of appealing to consumers – especially the younger generations, Gen Z and Millennials . For example, our Tokyo-based professional makeup brand Shu Uemura attracts consumers not only with the quality of its formulas, like Rouge Unlimited, but also thanks to collaborations, such as those with Naomi Watanabe and Pikachu.
What are L’Oréal Luxe’s chief commitments?
The Division embodies the Group’s values of diversity and inclusion—through initiatives such as Lancôme’s Write Her Future programme—and sustainable development, via programmes like Water Lovers by Biotherm and Made Better by Kiehl’s.
L’Oréal Luxe is intently focused on sustainable development in all its departments, working tirelessly to create better, more eco-friendly formulas, minimise packaging, offer refillable packaging solutions like the one for Lancôme’s Absolue cream, and reduce overall advertising at points of sale.
