Company has double-digit growth in Brazil and gains market share with consumers loyal to the brands

06/06/2022

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Alexis Perakis-Valat — Foto: Leo Pinheiro/Valor

Brazil was the first country that Alexis Perakis-Valat, global CEO of L’Oréal’s division for the general public, visited when he took over the position five years ago. Last week, Mr. Perakis-Valat returned to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Even though sales have resumed to pre-Covid-19 levels, the scenario is different from before 2020. Global inflation and supply issues are of concern. He says the business in Brazil has had double-digit growth and it is gaining market share in an environment of consumers loyal to the brands.

The large public division includes Niely (a national company incorporated into the French group in 2014), Colorama, which focuses on nails, and Maybelline, of makeup. The products are found in retail channels, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, and cash-and-carry. In 2021, the area was responsible for 37.9% of L’Oréal’s global sales, behind only the luxury segment, which accounted for 38.2%, the company says. Considering the result as a whole, sales in Latin America grew 20.6% last year. The company does not reveal the figures for Brazil.

“In the medium and long term, we are extremely confident in the future of our division, both globally and Brazil. The market has a lot of potentials to develop. Brazilian women are looking for more transparency, performance, and sustainability. And, as in the rest of the world, the digital [channel] has accelerated the knowledge of consumers,” said the executive, in an interview with Valor. L’Oréal has less than 10% of the local market share, but the country is the fourth-largest beauty market in the world.

The executive says that L’Oréal’s main objective is to “develop markets”. A current example are the serums — cosmetics for the face that have a light texture and fast absorption. There is still a low percentage of Brazilian women who use this kind of product, says the executive. “Our work in our division is to spread the serum. Explain why to use it and how to use it. This develops the market because it is an additional gesture. And when we develop the market, it grows, and we want to gain market share.”

The current environment increases the complexity of the business. Inflation, a legacy of the large injection of liquidity by governments in Covid’s peak, is new in many countries where the multinational operates. There is not yet a long history to analyze the consumption behavior in those places, but Mr. Valat says that in the beauty market people are inclined to pay a little more as long as the offer is better. In Brazil, although the subject is not new, inflation is currently eroding the income of the local population.

In the mass market, the final prices are fixed by the retailers. However, the multinational has tools to trace price scenarios because of customers’ behavior. The goal is that the values suggested to retailers can be absorbed by the consumer public.

According to Mr. Valat, the beauty company has dealt very well with the issue of global supply chain problems, but this issue requires more effort than before the pandemic began. “We spend a lot of time on this. The situation is complicated, but it is evolving every day. I hope the scenario will get better, but it is challenging,” he says.

Current efforts involve more intense monitoring of raw materials and greater flexibility of the company in the search for supply alternatives and diversification of supply sources. The goal is to reduce dependence on just one part of the world.

Another focus of increasing attention worldwide is ESG practices. Diversity, gender equity and inclusion, and causes such as tackling sexual harassment on the street are among the company’s focal points. And L’Oréal aims to be an industry leader on issues related to sustainability. There are, for example, initiatives to reduce water use in factories.

In addition, alongside companies like Unilever and Natura, the company is developing an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and a sustainable scoring system for cosmetic products. “Consumer demand for more sustainable products is growing. Younger generations are leading this movement. We see concerns about impacts in Brazil as well.”

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/