25 July 2024
Under the Radar: L’Oreal Singapore on being at the intersection of beauty and technology and its move to tap the luxury segment
It’s all about taking your beauty into your hands “because you’re worth it”.
Sounds familiar? You might have by now guessed who we’re speaking to for today’s discussion  – yes, it is indeed personal care and cosmetics giant L’Oreal.
On that note – did you know that the tagline was coined in 1971 by a 23-year-old female copywriter at a Manhattan ad agency McCann.
But taglines and branding aside, L’Oreal positions itself as a leader of the beauty tech world, with the century-old firm boasting a workforce of 86,000 employees across 150 countries,
The company has a portfolio of 36 international brands split into four divisions, namely (1) Luxe, (2) Consumer Products, (3) Dermatological Beauty and (4) Professional Products.
Some of the brands include Kiehl’s Lancome, Ralph Lauren, Biotherm, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, L’Oreal Paris, Prada Beauty, Garnier and Maybelline New York.
At a global level, L’Oreal had in April this year reported a 9.4 per cent increase in Q1 sales on a like-for-like basis, exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Sales for the quarter came in at 11.24 billion euros or US$11.98 billion for the three months to March, easing concerns over an economic slowdown in the world's two largest economies of the US and China. But how far did Singapore contribute to the numbers?
The latest showing also comes as the firm’s mass market range and dermatological products compensated for weakness in the luxury segment. But how far is this the case in Singapore, and what does the current economic uncertainty mean for the firm’s push into the luxury sector?
Meanwhile, L’Oreal had announced a number of agreements with institutions in Singapore to develop youth-led innovation. But what can we expect on this front?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Tomas Hruska, Managing Director of L’Oréal Singapore and Malaysia.

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