FAREWELL....

Indeed, I enjoyed writing this blog, as I have also gained significant knowledge. I learned how L'Oreal operates their business from the first stage through its' last. Likewise, I was able to apply terms and concepts from the book with what I've wrote. Most importantly, I grasped the role of a marketer and the tools they use to successfully market a company. Now every time I enter a buy a make-up product, I will evaluate it differently - from a business standpoint. Honestly, I enjoyed this class and the project, because it was an interesting learning experience. I really walked away with valuable information!

L’ORÉAL INAUGURATES THE HAIRDRESSING SALON OF THE FUTURE IN MADRID

The new Green Academy, the only one of its kind in the world, combines the application of the most modern technologies and the use of environmentally-friendly materials to establish the basis of hairdressing for future generations in the 21st century.

In Spain, the hairdressing sector provides employment for 108,000 professionals every year, receives 175 million client visits and has a turnover of 4.2 billion euros (i.e. 0.4% of Spain’s GDP).


L’Oréal, the world leader in the cosmetics market, has taken another step forward in its commitment to responsible and sustainable innovation by opening the first “Green Academy” in Madrid. This new concept in hairdressing combines a strong technological character with a focus on environmental education, so as to allow the application of and greater familiarity with environmental values and sustainability among professionals in this sector.

The project stems from the Professional Products Division of the company marketing the L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Kéraskin, Redken, Matrix and Pureology brands for hairdressers. To create this eco-sustainable Academy located in at the company’s headquarters in Madrid, the most modern technologies have been applied in line with sustainability criteria to ensure the best working atmosphere and to encourage responsible behaviour.

Spain currently has about 35,000 hairdressing salons, of which more than half distribute and use L’Oréal products (the firm represents close to 30% of the market), hence the importance of providing adequate training for professionals about how and when to apply them. L’Oréal’s “Green Academy” , however, is also seeking to instil future generations of professionals in this sector with respect for the environment, by serving as a space in which to increase environmental awareness among the more than 8,000 hairdressers L’Oréal estimates will be trained here each year.

According to Didier Tisserand, President of L’Oréal Spain, “Our support for this pioneering academy in Spain, the first of its kind in the world, strengthens our commitment with the environment. An eco-sustainable salon currently costs about 15% more than a conventional one, a cost that will gradually come down through changes in legislation, innovation in materials and medium-to longer-term economic savings”. And it is estimated that, world-wide, a mere hundred or so salons are concerned about being eco-sustainable.

Week 14~ Business Marketing

L'Oreal is indeed a consumer product (a product that is purchases for personal or family consumption or as a gift). They also fit into the category of business products ( a product that is used to manufacture other products, become part of another product, or aid the normal operations of an organization). Which in turn, means that L'Oreal participates in business marketing

L'Oreal sells endless amounts of cosmetic products. They have devoted customers that buy their makeup for their own use. Another factor that contributes to the companies success are the people that purchase their products for other uses. Foe example a make-up artist might buy L'oreal products to use for there business which is adding L'Oreal's business as a business product.

They also participate and use relationship marketing ( a strategy that entails seeking and establishing ongoing partnerships with customers)."L’Oréal’s relationships with its suppliers go beyond purchasing and supply of goods and services. They are essential to the long-term success of our business."
L'Oréal Code of Business Ethics.L'Oréal sets out its values and commitments in its Code of Business Ethics. The Code of Business Ethics is supplemented by the "The Way We Buy", the purchasing code of ethics that each purchaser must comply with.

The Code of Business Ethics was drafted with the help of employees from 22 countries who took part in international working groups in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. The Code was then validated by 50 internal experts and reviewed by each Country Manager, Human Resources Manager and local legal counsel.

The Code is available for download in 43 languages : (a full description of L'Oreals ethics) http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/html/company/pdf/code_of_ethics_uk.pdf

Weel 13~ Segmenting and Target Markets

Like most businesses, L’Oreal has a segmented target market. It enables them to directly pinpoint consumers who will most likely buy their products; thereby establishing an effective marketing strategy and also increasing revenue. The company has a demographic and geographic segmentation for particular products. Their segmentation is based on a chosen demography and geography, which determines who fits best for different items.

L'Oreal's beauty products are mostly marketed to female consumer’s worldwide. However, target market is further divided according to age group. For instance the “Youth Code" is positioned to attract the younger adults, where as "Revita Lift" is marketed to the more mature adults; to the generation X to the baby-boomers. This strategy of producing a product line geared towards demographic is not only increasing sales turnover for L’Oreal, but it is also helping the company perform well against its competitors.

I believe it is very important to have a target market. It can either make or break a company. Certainly, it is essential to know who the profitable consumers are, as they will benefit from them the most. 

L’Oreal has a solid way of catering specific goods for certain people. When introducing new products, they greatly take consideration of the place and culture - key factors in achieving longevity success!
     However, although L'Oreal's current strategy is effective, the company can have a stronger position if it market to men and the gay community. This will not only increase sales but also, L'Oreal might enjoy comparative advantage in the competitive market of the beauty industry.

Week 12~ Developing and Managing Products

L'Oreal's new product development strategy and the way they have successfully managed to achieve considerable market shares through consistent Research and Development efforts.

L’Oreal has not only followed a comprehensive, long term R&D strategy that has resulted in creating technological breakthrough products like Fructis, but it has also tried to address and maintain its balance between R&D-marketing interface.

Moreover, the company follows a three tier strategy for producing commercially viable products. The three structured strategy includes L’Oreal’s advanced research, applied research and product development, each stage having its own unique functions to perform in order to create successful innovations.

Article by: Moore, Elisha (THIS ARTICLE IS AWESOME I HAD TO POST IT !)

Why is new product development so important for a company like L'Oreal?
L’Oreal is a well established company in fashion business and in order to maintain its superior standing in the global market, it has to lay considerable emphasis on the strategies it employs for development of new products. Fashion has been defined by Paul F. Nystrom as ‘nothing more or less than the prevailing style at any given time’ (Hines & Bruce, 2001). Two important concepts can be derived from this concise definition: firstly, a style is not fashion unless it is commonly accepted (prevailing); secondly, fashion is transient (at any given time). These characteristics of the fashion phenomenon had profound implications for the supply chain, the product life cycle and the complexity of the markets served by L’Oreal and its competitions.

The speed at which fashion markets change is very high, with very short product life cycles. Many fashion items have product cycles as short as half a year, or even a few weeks. Consumer’s preferences depend on the season, on the social and cultural environment and on the effects of previous marketing communication for fashion items or substitute products (Mintel, 2005). Responding in a timely way to these changing demands is thus vital for success. Moreover, Crawford (1988) has also established that without new products, firms will certainly be at a stand still. The research also highlights that initial or early entry of new products can result in new market development, long term market dominance, and foreclosure of competitors’ responses.

The characteristics of the fashion industry require companies to make strategic choices about factors such as quality, speed, technology, price and flexibility: these factors define the positioning of a company (Abell, 1993). Drawing upon the information provided in the case study, it can be suggested that L’Oreal operates in the top end of the fashion market with clear market positioning, which can be depicted as follows:

L’Oreal’s targeted market segments can be characterized as fashion trend-setters, and these are the customers in the high and medium/high market segments: they demand products with innovative styles, realized in exclusive physical attributes with top-level quality by scientists and designers that have built the reputation of powerful brands. It should be noticed that firms that operate in the mass segment which targets fashion followers tend to imitate the high performing products of top brands like L’Oreal and therefore the competitive advantage of top brands recedes over time, making product lifecycle short. Given the high quality expected of its products and the short product life cycle prevailing in fashion, L’Oreal has adopted a vertical integration, which afforded it a full control of quality and operations. (Erica & Stefania, 2004).

Moreover, successful new product developments are likely to earn L’Oreal a superior market share and turnover thus increasing the value of the company. Also, L’Oreal has been a vanguard of fashion and in order to keep up with the expectations of its customers and consumers, the company has to lay in line new formulas that are carefully researched and tested for their effectiveness. For e.g. when the Japanese people were tired of having black hair and required an alternative to western hair colors due to their poor results, L’Oreal came up with an effective new hair formula that first bleached their hair and then dyed them according to their desirable color.

L'Oréal sales climb 9.3 per cent ... according to the company's first quarter sales

Quarterly sales		Growth
? million	1st quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	Like-for-like	Reported
By division
Professional Products	653	716	3.1%	9.6%
Consumer Products	2,363	2,584	6.3%	9.4%
Luxury Products	1,013	1,117	7.7%	10.3%
Active Cosmetics	417	445	4.9%	6.7%
Cosmetics total	4,445	4,861	6.0%	9.4%
By geographic zone
Western Europe	1,883	1,910	0.5%	1.5%
North America	998	1,117	7.2%	11.9%
New Markets, of which:	1,565	1,833	11.6%	17.2%
-   Asia, Pacific	772	917	11.7%	18.8%
-   Eastern Europe	352	355	-1.5%	0.7%
-   Latin America	307	404	24.1%	31.5%
-   Africa, Middle East	134	158	16.0%	18.4%
Cosmetics total	4,445	4,861	6.0%	9.4%
The Body Shop	164	170	0.8%	3.2%
Dermatology(1)	112	130	5.9%	15.5%
Group total	4,722	5,160	5.8%	9.3%

Bridal Week 2011 – PFDC collaborates with L’Oreal Paris

L'Oreal Paris and Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) announced their partnership in a press conference on Thursday with regards to the PFDC-L'Oreal Paris Bridal Week 2011 to be held in Lahore in September/October 2011. The bride's outfit, color palette, make up, accessories and overall look is important in Pakistani fashion therefore bridal fashion remains the most influential and primary form of fashion and style within Pakistan.
For this, the PFDC-L'Oreal Paris Bridal Week 2011 endeavors to define and present both contemporary and traditional Pakistani bridal fashion and make-up trends. PFDC - L'Oreal Paris team will showcase L'Oreal Paris' Beauty portfolio spanning across three days with over 15 runway shows.