L’Oréal attempts to seduce the Chinese market with its luxury offering

By

Sarah Ahssen

Published
Apr 11, 2013

Global cosmetic giant L’Oréal is counting on it luxury division to seduce a new generation of Chinese consumer. The company’s luxury brands boosted sales outside of Europe and the United States in 2012 by 13.6%. “We estimate that there will be around 250 million new Chinese customers that will use our products in the next 10 to 15 years. A significant proportion of these will be drawn to L’Oréal’s luxury brands, a division that has always been strong and that will continue to lead the way in the future,” said CEO Jean-Paul Agon at a recent conference in Shanghai.

And to win over these new customers, L’Oréal is continuing to roll out its big names in China. In May, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté will be launched in the country, joining other big brands such as Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Clarisonic and Shu Uemura.

The group is taking into account research done at Pudong in Shanghai and is adapting some of its formulas to meet the requirements and traditions of Asian skins. The demand for the use of traditional Chinese medicines has lead the creation of products such as Energie de Vie by Lancôme, an energy recharge lotion rich with Rhodiola extract, Gentian and Wild Yam.

In 2012, L’Oréal reported annual revenue of 22.5 billion euros, up 10 on the previous year.