L'Oreal's century-long legendary story and its leading position in the cosmetics kingdom make it impossible for us not to pay attention to it. In fact, L'Oreal has strict requirements for brand concepts, but is highly flexible when it comes to operations. As an outsider, L'Oreal seems to be more sensitive to market changes than most domestic enterprises. It not only maintains an impressive growth rate in the market that makes other cosmetic brands pale in comparison, but also presents a fresh face on various stages in China.
In 2010, L'Oreal (China) grew by 11.1%, continuing double-digit growth for 10 years. China became L'Oreal Group's third largest market globally, only behind the US and French markets.
Is L'Oreal's good growth momentum in the Chinese market and its recognition by Chinese consumers related to its "pyramid" marketing strategy?
"L'Oreal can achieve such good results in China, continuously and steadily developing, mainly due to three reasons: first, L'Oreal has an excellent team. Under President Gary Paul's leadership over many years, L'Oreal has established a complete personnel structure in China. Our employees are very powerful, smart, and dedicated. Second, L'Oreal has the best brand portfolio in the industry. Whether we have a pyramid-like brand strategy as people say, I think it may not necessarily be so because we don't want consumers to misunderstand the definitions of top and base brands. For us, different brands represent different origins and have clear positioning. We have a diversified brand portfolio that represents different beauty philosophies and corresponds to consumer groups with different purchasing power. Through these brands, more consumers can enjoy the right to beauty. Third, L'Oreal's relentless pursuit of product quality, quality, and safety. This is an important gene for L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company, to maintain long-term success. Since the day L'Oreal entered China, this aspect has been consistent, continuous, and uncompromising," said Ben Hanqing, CEO of L'Oreal (China).
In 2011, L'Oreal (China) launched important strategic actions, including introducing revolutionary new products, further expanding into new market areas, and tapping into third- and fourth-tier markets... All of this is precisely the strategic combination punch thrown by Ben Hanqing.
Domain Expansion: Adding 1 billion consumers globally
Ben Hanqing plays the role of a networker at L'Oreal (China), focusing on domain expansion.
There is no doubt that for L'Oreal (China) to achieve its strategic goals, entering broader areas in China and developing third- and fourth-tier cities is crucial. Without question, L'Oreal (China) cannot achieve its strategic objectives overnight. Regarding this, Ben Hanqing does not rush for quick success, but rather advances step by step, systematically and orderly according to the planned schedule. So far, Ben Hanqing is very satisfied with the execution of the domain expansion strategy.