L’Oréal has built up its business on the basis of strong ethical principles that guide its development and contribute to establishing its reputation: Integrity, Respect, Courage and Transparency. These principles underpin the Group’s culture and business model and its compliance, responsible innovation, CSR, philanthropy, Human Rights, and diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
L’Oréal’s commitments to act ethically and responsibly are set out in L’Oréal’s Code of Ethics. This document, available in 30 languages and as an audiobook in French and English, is made available to all employees worldwide. Country Managers (or for Corporate or Zone staff, the members of the Executive Committee to whom they report) are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Code.
The Group’s organisation responds to a dual challenge: pursuing the strategy which has enabled L’Oréal to be successful over the last 115 years and at the same time inventing the new L’Oréal of the future, perfectly matched to an ever-changing world.
From an organisational and managerial perspective, L’Oréal is strategically centralised and operationally decentralised with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. This unique model empowers its in-country teams and guarantees flexibility and excellence on the ground. This organisational structure is perfectly suited to the current environment, with Zones aligned more closely with consumers.
L’Oréal SA is a French company, with its head office in France. It acts as a holding company and provides strategic coordination, particularly for brands, as well as Research & Innovation and technical coordination for the L’Oréal Groupe throughout the world. It also carried on a sales activity, until this was entrusted on 1 July 2023 to L’Oréal France and L’Oréal International Distribution, as approved by the Annual General Meeting of 21 April 2023 in its 19th and 20th resolutions.
The subsidiaries operate the Group’s business activities in the countries or region(s) in which they are located, on the domestic or export markets. To do so, they define the development strategy specific to their market(s), make the most suitable choices in terms of consumer targets and distribution channels, manufacture, directly or indirectly, and market the brands they decide to sell on their market(s).
Almost all of the subsidiaries are owned by L’Oréal SA, which has a holding or control percentage equal or close to 100%(1). The detailed list of these subsidiaries is set out in the notes to the consolidated and parent company financial statements.
The Group’s business activities are organised into four Operational Divisions. In the markets, each of these Divisions develops and enhances its brand portfolio with consumers (see below).
By establishing the Group-wide Travel Retail governance subsidiary, the Group has given itself the resources to grow this influential segment using a global shopper strategy: a bespoke approach designed, at the destinations favoured by each nationality, to personalise the experience on the basis of the language, culture and beauty rituals of travellers.
The Group’s organisation enables L’Oréal to give more coherence to each Zone, particularly in terms of consumer behaviour and market maturity, in order to create the conditions for a cross-functional transformation of the organisation and to maximise growth.
The geographic Zones, each of which has operational responsibility for the subsidiaries in their market, are as follows:
Several specialist corporate departments provide their expertise and support to the Operational Divisions, to subsidiaries in their markets and to the other business activities (see section 1.3.2).
