L'Oréal creates a Group Travel Retail Division

By land, by sea and by air

The “Group Travel Retail Division” will include all of the group’s brands, from ‘Luxe’ (Lancôme,
Yves Saint Laurent) to ‘ Active’ (Vichy, La Roche-Posay) and The Body Shop.  It
will not only focus on airports and railway stations, but also offer products
in tax free zones on ferries, cruise liners and airplanes.

“The democratization of travel,
especially in emerging countries, has led to an increased number of travelers
and thus consumers who today are searching in this channel for a full selection
of products that correspond to their beauty aspirations, whatever their
nationalities, beauty rituals or purchasing power”, Managing Director Barbara Lavernos has stated.

“Sixth continent” for L’Oréal

According to L’Oréal, the travel
channel represented some 41 billion euro in 2012, a 9.4 % increase compared
to 2011. Research company Generation predicts this segment will double within
the next ten years.

L’Oréal is confident it can
steal away a large portion of that growth. “Travel Retail is a key channel for winning over one billion new consumers.
This market, present around the world, could be considered as a “sixth
continent.” L’Oréal already has extensive expertise and strong relationships
with client-retailers, and has high ambition for the future of the channel”, CEO Jean-Paul Agon
believes.

L’Oréal has commercialized 27 brands worldwide in 130 countries. With a
market share of 15 %, it is currently
number one in cosmetics. Within the “travel retail” sector, where beauty
and care products generate 30 % of the total turnover, L’Oréal manages a market
share of 21.6 %, according to its own numbers.

(Translated by Gary Peeters)