Wednesday 30 December 2015

L’Oréal aims for one billion new customers

Millennials often like to shop in stores but first, they research products online. That's one of the insights L'Oreal is using to support its global marketing initiatives and ambitious long-term goals.

The beauty company, which owns such well-known brands as Lancome, the Body Shop and NYX, has put more emphasis on e-commerce during the past year--and shoppers are responding. The CEO recently said that total e-commerce sales in 2015 will exceed one billion euros, out of total revenues of more than 22 billion euros.

Shoppers in many nations know and trust L'Oreal brands, in part because the company adjusts its products for the needs and preferences of each consumer segment. In fact, L'Oreal features stories of multicultural innovations on its corporate website. Digital is increasingly important to the company as it seeks to attract 1 billion new customers while differentiating itself from competitors all over the planet.

No brand stays the same forever, because the marketing environment is constantly changing, including customer needs and competition, as well as regulations, environmental concerns, product possibilities and materials.

The CEO walked through a redone Body Shop store not long ago, and then told the fashion publication WWD: "The problem is that we have to represent the brand so that it looks new and it doesn’t look like the old Body Shop. That was The Body Shop of our mothers or the Millennials’ mothers and they [millennials] want their [own] brand." Which is why L'Oreal has revamped Body Shop so it represents its brand values in a way that's relevant to younger shoppers, emphasising ethical sourcing, value for price paid, function as well as fashion, natural ingredients and environmentally-friendly products and processes.