How has LOreal achieved 10 years of top-line growth superior to the cosmetics industry?
First, you have to have an army of people who share the obsession to grow the company. They have to have the right to err. Otherwise they are afraid to take risks. You will never see a bloodbath of people at L’Oreal as a result of something gone wrong. Q: What have you changed at L’Oreal over the past decade? A: I tried to bring more focus to the company through a huge pruning of brands and activities. We focused on five core businesses and technologies — hair color, hair care, skin care, color cosmetics, and fragrances. Then we concentrated on 10 global brands, which now make up 85% of sales. A whole list of brands has disappeared. It’s focus and then extreme drive on the remaining products to take them global. Q: How do you fight the complacency that threatens a successful company? A: I’m a very critical person, and I’m a perfectionist — I strive for something I never totally achieve. But then I transmit that striving to the rest of the organization, which is so busy trying to do b
