Introduction:
L’Oreal was started in 1907 by French chemist, Eugene Schueller, who developed the world’s first synthetic hair-color product, L’Aureole. By 1912 his hair products were sold in France, Netherlands, Austria and Italy. In the mid-1930s, Schueller moved into the hygiene and toiletry sectors of the cosmetic market with great success. L’Oreal soon earned the reputation as the leader in European hair coloring and skin care products. Although L’Oreal reached European success, entering into the U.S. market proved much more difficult. In 1953, L’Oreal formed licensee Cosmair Inc. in New Jersey to distribute its hair-coloring products to beauty salons. The company soon realized three challenges within the U.S. market. First, in
Threats:
• Being the number one beauty company makes others watch and aspire to be you. L’Oreal must not become complacent as other cosmetics companies grow.
• The economy is in a recession and beauty products are not a necessity.
Innovations and Recommendations: At L’Oreal, they develop clever, innovative ways to make the right kinds of products to suit the customer’s needs. This is accomplished by strategically purchasing companies that reach one certain market segment. After acquiring these companies, L’Oreal gives them a facelift and then introduces them around the world. Maybelline and Soft Sheen-Carson are examples of local cosmetic companies that L’Oreal successfully marketed to the world. L’Oreal’s CEO Lindsay Owen-Jones notes: “It’s a very carefully crafted portfolio . . . each brand is positioned on a very precise market segment which overlaps as little as possible with others.”(Kotler, Keller, 2006, p. 695) This creates an illusion that L’Oreal’s products were created for the individual. Women have used cosmetics for years, and it is often difficult to find a product that perfectly matches your desires (whether it is radiant skin, or silky hair). L’Oreal has taken the time to develop many small marketing niches, which allows the individual to feel pampered. L’Oreal’s challenge is to continue to think creatively about how to market their products to fulfill the dreams of most of the world’s