L’Oréal Germany’s growth outstrips the market for the third year in succession

Logo L'Oréal.

L’Oréal Germany’s growth outstrips the market for the third year in succession – Against the backdrop of a market which saw only slight growth, the L’Oréal Group increased its sales by 2.3 per cent to 1.05 billion euros in 2011. The Group has therefore continued on its growth course and further consolidated its position as the leading cosmetics company in Germany.

The L’Oréal Group operates in four distribution channels in Germany (consumer market, selective market, pharmacies and salons). All the Group’s brands played their part in the growth achieved in 2011 and in recruiting new buyers. “Germany is a mature cosmetics market. Nonetheless, there is still substantial potential for attracting new buyers to our brands. 2011 showed that we are on the right track. We have appealed to new consumers and attracted them to our brands via new products and product categories such as BB cream from Garnier, new communications approaches and innovative presentation of our brands at retailers,” explains Jérôme Bruhat, General Manager of the L’Oréal Germany Group. “We are particularly pleased by the positive development of our brands in the selective sector, which succeeded in expanding their market share last year thanks to major innovations.”

A glance at individual initiatives by the divisions:

Consumer Products Division

2011 saw L’Oréal Paris – the global no. 1 in the consumer products sector – grow faster than the market. Of particular note are the high rates of growth in make-up, skincare and hair colour products. In these fields L’Oréal Paris recorded growth up to four times faster than the market. The skincare sector’s performance was assisted by innovations such as the Youth Code Serum which was inspired by gene research. In the make-up products field Volume Million Lashes Mascara played a significant role in the growth achieved. Elvital Arginin, Elvital’s most successful launch in years, also enabled the new hair loss segment to be tapped for the first time in the haircare sector. In addition, new international ambassadors were recruited for the brand: Jennifer Lopez for Elvital Arginin, Gwen Stefani for Coloration Préférence and Hugh Laurie for Men Expert back up the successful launches with a very contemporary new communication strategy.

2011 was the year of BB cream, and Garnier Germany did not miss out. The 5-in-1 product combines long-lasting skincare with a hint of make-up. The introduction of BB cream in Europe not only established a new category but also unleashed a trend. This product launch enabled Garnier to recruit in particular buyers who did not previously use skincare or a product for their complexion. Another winner was Garnier Mineral Deodorant Ultra Dry which was the winner in a product test by German consumer body Stiftung Warentest. In the skincare sector Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days was a major growth driver for the brand.

It is the first moisturiser which leaves you feeling its positive effects on the skin for up to seven days after its last application. For the first time Garnier appealed specifically to men with its Deo Garnier Mineral Men, which also resulted in new buyers. In the hair colour segment the launch of Nutrisse Ultra Color enhanced the position of Nutrisse in the market.Katarina Witt, the new face of the Ultra Lift skincare range, also gave the brand a lift.

Maybelline Jade is the growth driver in the make-up products category and furtherextended its market leadership in 2011. The brand’s retail presence was further enhancedby the 3-metre sales fixtures. In addition, new categories were introduced in Germany, in some cases using products which are extremely popular in Asia, for example. This includes, for instance, Master Drama Gel Eyeliner, whose launch resulted in a powerful new segment being generated in the make-up products field. Emphasis was also placed in our communications on explaining the use and application of the products, both on TV and at the point of sale. This enabled the brand to gain new buyers, increase its penetration and help the beauty products market to grow. Other important growth drivers at a product level were Superstay 24H lipstick and Volum’ Express Colossal Cat Eyes mascara.

Luxury Products Division

The division is made up of the Lancôme, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Kiehl’s, Diesel, Viktor & Rolf, Ralph Lauren and Cacharel brands. The selective cosmetics market saw very positive development in 2011, and the division clearly asserted its leading market position in this sector. Lancôme succeeded particularly in gaining market share in the skincare sector with its Visionnaire skin corrector serum.

Thanks to the launch of Trésor Midnight Rose, which is aimed at a relatively young target audience through its brand ambassador Emma Watson, the Trésor perfume is the no. 1 in the women’s fragrance market. Biotherm continues to be the runaway market leader among the selective care brands, especially as a consequence of its leading position in the fields of bodycare and men’s cosmetics. The Giorgio Armani success story continued with double-digit growth in the men’s fragrance market, thanks especially to the successful addition of Armani Code Homme Sport to the ARMANI Code Homme family. Yves Saint Laurent grew three times faster than the make-up market as a result of new products in the lipstick and mascara segments. In the men’s sector Yves Saint Laurent’s L’Homme libre enjoyed a successful launch. The Italian DIESEL brand is extremely important for the younger target group. The successful launch of its women’s Loverdose fragrance enabled the brand to achieve a growth rate of 40 per cent.

The cult skincare brand Kiehl’s from New York continues its advance in Germany. The opening of further proprietary shops and shop-in-shop concessions in department stores in the major German cities has contributed to this growth.

Active Cosmetics Division

The L’Oréal Group operates six brands in the active cosmetics field: Vichy, La Roche-Posay, innéov, SkinCeuticals, Sanoflore and Roger & Gallet. The Active Cosmetics Division is the clear market leader in dermocosmetic care.

Vichy is the leading brand in this market. In its Liftactiv Serum 10, Vichy developed a fastacting anti-wrinkle product in 2011. Record sales in the first few weeks after its launch made it the most successful pharmacy serum of all time, enabling Liftactiv, the pharmacy anti-ageing range, to further consolidate its position as the market no. 1. At innéov, L’Oréal’s R&D department, in conjunction with Nestlé, succeeded in developing a food supplement which combats the visible signs of fatigue from the inside by encouraging recovery asleep. The strong sales in the first three months after its introduction in March 2011 made this product one of innéov’s most successful launches – allowing the brand to further increase its market shares. To reduce skin redness, La Roche-Posay developed its Rosaliac AR Intense serum whose natural extract Ambophenol lessens the visibility of red blood vessels. The Blemish+Age Defense product from SkinCeuticals – developed in response to specific requests from dermatologists – is aimed at a new target group because it combats skin impurities extremely efficiently while counteracting wrinkles at the same time. This product, too, contributed to a further growth of 39 per cent in the brand’s fifth year of trading. In Germany SkinCeuticals is therefore available in 400 selected specialist skincare pharmacies and medispas. In its Fleur d’Osmanthus bodycare and fragrance range, Roger & Gallet launched a young, fresh and unique fragrance which has quickly become the leading fragrance in Roger & Gallet’s portfolio and has further strengthened its position in the competitive environment.

Professional Products Division

In the professional products sector, the L’Oréal Group is represented in Germany by the L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Redken, Shu Uemura Art of Hair and Matrix brands.

In a stagnating overall market all the L’Oréal professional brands saw a positive growth, expanded their market share and recruited new hairdressing salons. One of the key strategic pillars of growth was the expansion of L’Oréal Professional Products’ academies with two new hairdresser training centres in Hamburg and Leipzig. The division is therefore able to offer its salon clients a comprehensive nationwide network of training facilities in Germany. The digital development of the brands with the introduction of various smartphone apps (e.g. salon and course locator) and new online applications on the brand websites has also helped bring the brand closer to new and existing customers and make it their strategic partner.

At a product level the hair colour product category once again recorded the best sales performance in this distribution channel in 2011. For L’Oréal Professionnel this  division was able to grow further thanks to the very successful and gentle INOA hair colour (ammonia-free, odourless). Sylvie van der Vaart, the first celebrity face of a salon-exclusive L’Oréal brand, also helped this growth in a cross-media communication campaign and furthermore raised awareness of the hairdressing sector. In addition, the keenly priced Socolor.beauty hair colour and the Total Results haircare line launched by Matrix in the summer of 2011 have drawn salon clients and also end customers to the brand.

Furthermore, new target groups with specific hair needs were successfully addressed across all channels with the salon-exclusive Kérastase Fusio Dose and Redken Intra Force service and a holistic communication strategy.

The Body Shop®

The Body Shop® has more than 2600 stores worldwide in 66 markets. In Germany the company has over 100 shops. With product innovations such as the 100% biodegradable Earth Lovers™ shower gel range and the 2-in-1 Body Butter Duo body moisturiser, The Body Shop® has set new benchmarks in beauty care and underlined its reputation as an ethical company. In conjunction with ECPAT Deutschland e. V., a charity which works to protect children against sexual exploitation, the company has used its “Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People” campaign to raise public awareness of this socially relevant issue and collected over 250,000 signatures in Germany. Worldwide more than 7 million signatures have been forwarded to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations – a historic event.

[Text/Logo: L’Oréal Germany]