Loreal 2011 Annual Report Download - page 11

9REGISTRATION DOCUMENT − L’ORÉAL 2011
Presentation oftheGroup
1
International and cosmetics market
1.4.2. Rapid development outside
Western Europe
Beginning in the 1970s, the Latin America Zone developed with
a multi-divisional organisation that the Group has reproduced
in the other major regions of the world.
Present in Japan for nearly 50years, the L’Oréal Group has
developed its presence in that country by choosing the brands
to be given priority for this extremely specific market:
Kérastase
in hair salons, Lancôme in Luxury products and Maybelline and
L’Oréal Paris in mass-market products.
The 1990s witnessed the opening up of N ew M arkets with the fall
of the Berlin wall which gave our brands access to the markets
in Eastern European countries.
L’Oréal was among the first foreign groups to obtain an
authorisation from the Indian government in1994 for the
creation of a wholly-owned subsidiary.
In1997, the Group created a large multi-divisional zone in Asia
and opened new subsidiaries, particularly in China where
L’Oréal holds 100% of the capital of its entity.
Africa and the Middle East where the Group had a weak
presence is a new frontier for development in the N ew M arkets:
the number of subsidiaries in that region has increased from 5
to 9 over the last three years.
The mid 2000s was the turning point: the strong acceleration
of the development of N ew M arkets is leading to a shift of the
point of gravity in the economic world.
In all, the percentage of cometics sales generated by the Group
in the New Markets was 15.5% in1995, 27.1% in2006 and 38.3%
in2011. This progress is expected to continue.
1.4.3. A commitment to shared
and sustainable growth
Anxious to protect the future and to lay the foundations for
lasting growth, the Group is striving to develop its presence in
the New Markets by applying the fundamental rules of a good
corporate citizen:
♦the products offered to consumers meet the highest quality
standards;
♦the Group’s commitments in social matters are the same in
all its subsidiaries;
♦all production centres comply with the same rules regarding
a decrease in discharges and a reduction in environmental
footprint. Social audits are carried out at suppliers of plants;
♦each subsidiary participates, as far as its resources permit,
in the large corporate sponsorship programmes of the
L’OréalFoundation such as For Women In Science and
Hairdressers against AIDS.
This approach is in line with the Group’s ambition as the world
leader in cosmetic products: helping to make the world more
beautiful.
1.4.4. Immense development
potential
Besides the major countries known as the BRIMC countries
(Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico and China), L’Oréal has notably
identified among the “growth markets” the following countries:
Poland, Ukraine, Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand,
Vietnam, Philippines, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
Kazakhstan, South Africa and Nigeria.
In each of these countries, the consumption of cosmetics
products per inhabitant is 10 to 20times lower than in mature
countries. Several dozen million inhabitants have access every
year to levels of revenues which make them part of the “middle
classes” and allow them to consume modern cosmetics
products.
The marketing teams, in particular in large countries, pay heed
to these new consumers. The laboratories on all continents study
their specificities. The Group’s innovation policy is based on the
accessibility and adaptation of products to the beauty habits
and rituals of all men and women in their infinite diversity. These
form the basis for the universalisation of beauty.