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L'Oréal S.A. () is a French
personal care Personal care or toiletries are consumer products used in personal hygiene, personal grooming or for beautification. Products Personal care includes products as diverse as cleansing pads, colognes, cotton swabs, cotton pads, deodorant, eye lin ...
company headquartered in Clichy,
Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...
with a registered office in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. It is the world's largest
cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on
hair color Human hair color is the pigmentation of human hair follicles due to two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Generally, if more melanin is present, the color of the hair is darker; if less melanin is present, the hair is lighter. The t ...
,
skin care Skin care is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appea ...
, sun protection, make-up,
perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
, and
hair care Hair care is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent facial, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the physic ...
.


History


Founding

In the early 20th century, Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (1881–1957), a young French
chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
, developed a
hair dye Hair coloring, or hair dyeing, is the practice of changing the hair color. The main reasons for this are cosmetic: to cover gray or white hair, to change to a color regarded as more fashionable or desirable, or to restore the original hair color ...
formula called ''Oréale''. Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products, which he then decided to sell to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian hairdressers. On 31 July 1919, Schueller registered his company, the Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux (Safe Hair Dye Company of France). The guiding principles of the company, which eventually became L'Oréal, were research and innovation in the field of beauty. In 1920, the company employed three chemists; the team continued to grow with 100 by the year 1950, and 1,000 by the year 1984; as recently as 2021, there was an estimated total of 85,252 worldwide. Schueller provided financial support and held meetings for La Cagoule at L'Oréal headquarters. La Cagoule was a violent French
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
-leaning and anti-
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
group whose leader formed a political party
Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire The Revolutionary Social Movement (in French: ''Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire'' MSR) was a fascist movement founded in France in September 1940. Its founder was Eugène Deloncle, who was previously associated with '' La Cagoule'' . The MSR ...
(MSR, Social Revolutionary Movement) which in Occupied France supported the Vichy collaboration with the Germans. L'Oréal hired several members of the group as executives after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, such as Jacques Corrèze, who served as CEO of the United States operation. Israeli historian
Michael Bar-Zohar Michael Bar-Zohar ( he, מיכאל בר-זהר, born 30 January 1938) is an Israeli historian, novelist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Alignment and Labor Party in the 1980s and early 1990s. Biography Born in Bul ...
describes this in his book, ''Bitter Scent''. L'Oréal got its start in the hair-color business, but the company soon branched out into other cleansing and beauty products. L'Oréal currently markets over 500 brands and thousands of individual products in all sectors of the beauty business: hair color, permanents,
hair styling A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal groomin ...
, body and skincare, cleansers, makeup, and fragrance. The company's products are found in a wide variety of distribution channels, from hair salons and perfumeries to supermarkets, health/beauty outlets, pharmacies and direct mail.


Research and development facilities

L'Oréal has 21 worldwide research and development centers: three global centers in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
: Aulnay, Chevilly and Saint-Ouen. Six regional poles include one in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
:
Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
; one in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
: Kawasaki,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
; in 2005 one was established in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, one in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
:
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, one in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
:
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
and lastly in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
:
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
.


Media

In 1988-89, L'Oréal controlled the film company
Paravisión Paravisión, sometimes known as Canal 5, is a Paraguayan free-to-air television channel owned by Albavisión which broadcasts news programs, sports, entertainment, imported TV shows, among others. It also employs the European Teletext system. ...
, whose properties included the
Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...
and De Laurentiis libraries.
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...
acquired the Paravision properties in 1994.


Acquisitions

L'Oréal currently owns 36 brands and continues to grow. As of October 4, 2021 the company registered 497 patents. L'Oréal purchased Synthélabo in 1973 to pursue its ambitions in the pharmaceutical field. Synthélabo merged with
Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
in 1999 to become
Sanofi-Synthélabo Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
. Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with
Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Sy ...
in 2004 to become
Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
. On 17 March 2006, L'Oréal purchased cosmetics company
The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divided ...
for £562 million. In May 2008, L'Oréal acquired YSL Beauté for $1.8 billion. In January 2014, L'Oréal finalized the acquisition of major
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
beauty brand Magic Holdings for $840 million. In February 2014, L'Oréal agreed to buy back 8% of its shares for €3.4bn from
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
. As a result, Nestlé's stake in L'Oréal was reduced from 29.4% to 23.29%, while the Bettencourt Meyers family's stake increased from 30.6% to 33.2%. Nestlé has owned a stake in L'Oreal since 1974 when it bought into the company at the request of
Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the ...
, the daughter of the founder of L'Oreal, who was trying to prevent French state intervention. In February 2014, Shiseido agreed to sell its Carita and Decléor brands to L'Oréal for €227.5 million (US$312.93 million (2014)). In June 2014, L'Oréal agreed to acquire
NYX Cosmetics NYX Professional Makeup () is an American cosmetics company that is a subsidiary of L'Oréal. The company was founded in Los Angeles by Toni Ko in 1999. It was named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. NYX Professional Makeup is "certifie ...
for an undisclosed price, bolstering its makeup offerings in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
where its consumer-products unit has faltered. In September 2014, L'Oréal announced it had agreed to purchase Brazilian hair care company Niely Cosmeticos Group for an undisclosed amount. In September 2014, L'Oréal acquired the multi-cultural brand Carol's Daughter. In July 2016, L'Oréal agreed to acquire IT Cosmetics for $1.2 billion. In March 2018, L'Oréal acquired the beauty augmented reality company ModiFace. In May 2018, L'Oréal announced a new beauty and fragrance partnership with Valentino. In December 2021, L'Oréal announced the acquisition of the vegan skin care brand Youth to the People.


Marketing

In Kosovo, during the growth years of the mail-order business, L'Oréal and
3 Suisses 3 Suisses is a French mail order and e-commerce company, with headquarters in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. It is the biggest of the 16 e-commerce brands of . Everett Hutt is the current CEO as of 2022. Since 1981, Otto GmbH owned a 51% in the company and ...
founded Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté for mail-order sales of cosmetic products, with brands including Agnès b., Commence and Professeur Christine Poelman among others. In March 2008, L'Oréal acquired 3 Suisse's stake, taking sole control of the company. In November 2013, L'Oréal announced that Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté would cease activity in the first half of 2014. Since 1997, L'Oréal has been an official partner of
The Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. In the years of L'Oréal sponsorship, many L'Oreal ambassadors walked the red carpet of the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. In 2017, L'Oreal beauty ambassadors including
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...
,
Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
, Andie McDowell, and
Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...
were responsible for the film selection for the outdoor cinema during the Cannes Film Festival. L'Oréal's advertising slogan, "Because I'm worth it", was created by a 23-year-old English art director and introduced in 1973 by the model and actress Joanne Dusseau. In the mid-2000s, this was replaced by "Because you're worth it". In late 2009, the slogan was changed again to "Because we're worth it" following motivation analysis and consumer psychology research of Dr Maxim Titorenko. The shift to "we" was made to create stronger consumer involvement in L'Oréal philosophy and lifestyle and provide more consumer satisfaction with L'Oréal products. L'Oréal also owns a Hair and Body product line for kids called L'Oréal Kids, the slogan for which is "Because we're worth it too". In November 2012, L'Oréal inaugurated the largest factory in the Jababeka Industrial Park, Cikarang, Indonesia, with a total investment of US$100 million. The production will be absorbed 25 percent by the domestic market and the rest will be exported. In 2010, significant growth occurred in Indonesia with a 61 percent increase of unit sales or 28 percent of net sales. In November 2020,
chief digital officer A chief digital officer (CDO) or a chief digital information officer (CDIO) is an individual who helps a company, a government organization or a city drive growth by converting traditional "analog" businesses to digital ones using the potential of ...
Lubomira Rochet reported in a video conference of the growing importance of e-commerce for the company, remarking that e-commerce makes 24% of their turnover in the third quarter of the year. Rochet stated as well that this 24% of the turnover "made it possible to offset 50% of the losses due to the closing of physical stores this year". On March 21–22, 2022, L’Oréal Paris celebrated Women’s month at Boulevard Riyadh City, with a series of strong moments.


List of spokespeople

L'Oréal Paris has a group of ambassadors, artists, actresses, and activists referred to as the L'Oreal Paris "Dream Team". *
Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...
(2005–present) *
Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...
(2014–present) *
Luma Grothe Luma Grothe (born 1993/94) is a Brazilian model. Biography Grothe was born in Joinville, Brazil. She is of German, Japanese and African descent. Career Luma Grothe started modeling in London, England, where she learned English. Grothe appears ...
(2015–present) * Soo Joo (2015–present) * Aja Naomi King (2017–present) *
Camilla Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...
(2017–present) *
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...
(2017–present) *
Amber Heard Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...
(2018–present) *
Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...
(2018–present) * Duckie Thot (2018–present) *
Jaha Dukureh Jaha Dukureh (born 1989 or 1990) is a Gambian women's right activist and anti- female genital mutilation campaigner. Dukureh was subjected to female genital mutilation in The Gambia when she was a little more than a week old. She is the founder a ...
(2018–present) *
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
(2019–present) * Cindy Bruna (2020–present) *
Katherine Langford Katherine Langford (born 29 April 1996) is an Australian actress. After appearing in several independent films, she had her breakthrough starring as Hannah Baker in the Netflix television series ''13 Reasons Why'' (2017–2018), which earned he ...
(2020–present) *
Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...
(2021–present) *
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
(2021–present) *
H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...
(2022–present)


Corporate affairs


Head office

L'Oréal Group has its head office in the Centre
Eugène Schueller Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (20 March 1881 – 23 August 1957) was a French pharmacist and entrepreneur who was the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty. He was one of the founders of modern advertising. Foun ...
in
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine Clichy ( , ; sometimes unofficially Clichy-la-Garenne ) is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located on the Seine, from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 61,070. Located in Clichy are the headqua ...
, close to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. The building, constructed in the 1970s from brick and steel, replaced the former Monsavon factory, and employees moved into the facility in 1978. 1,400 employees work in the building. In 2005, Nils Klawitter of ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' said "the building, with its brown glazed façade of windows, is every bit as ugly as its neighbourhood." Klawitter added that the facility "gives the impression of a high-security zone" due to the
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
cameras and security equipment. The world's largest hair salon is located inside the head office building. As of 2005, 90 hairdressers served 300 women, including retirees, students, and unemployed people, per day; the customers are used as test subjects for new hair colours. International units include: * L'Oréal USA, changed from Cosmair in 2000 - has its headquarters in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and is responsible for operations in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
.Contact Us
, L'Oréal USA
* L'Oréal Canada Incorporated - Canadian operations, based in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
* L'Oréal Australia - head office is in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
* L'Oréal Nordic - head office is in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark * L'ORÉAL Deutschland GmbH - legal seat is in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, head office is in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...


Corporate governance

Jean-Paul Agon Jean-Paul Agon (born 6 July 1956) is the chairman and former CEO of the international cosmetic company, L'Oréal. Because of the age limit of 65 set by the company, he was replaced in his role of CEO by Nicolas Hieronimus on May 1, 2021, while r ...
is the
chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
Nicolas Hieronimus Nicolas Hieronimus (born 3 January 1964), is a French businessman, and the CEO of the L’Oréal Group since May 1, 2021, the sixth CEO in the history of the group, taking the place of Jean-Paul Agon, who remains the chairman of the group. E ...
the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of L'Oréal.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (; born 10 July 1953) is a French businesswoman, philanthropist, writer, pianist and billionaire heiress, the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$75.3 billion as of March 2022, according to ...
and
Paul Bulcke Paul Bulcke (born 8 September 1954) is a Belgian businessman who is the chairman and former CEO of Nestlé. Early life He graduated as a commercial engineer at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and is an alumnus of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Man ...
are vice chairmen of the
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
.


Stockholders

As of 31 December 2020: * Breakdown of share ownership: 33.17% by the Bettencourt family, 23.20% by
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
, 29.6% by international institutional investors, 7.87% by French institutional investors, 4.59% by individual shareholders, 1.57% by employees.


Business figures

In 2003, L'Oréal announced its 19th consecutive year of double-digit growth. Its consolidated sales were €14.029 bn and net profit was €1.653 bn. 96.7% of sales derived from cosmetic activities and 2.5% from dermatological activities. L'Oréal has operations in over 130 countries, employing 50,500 people, 24% of which work in France. 3.3% of consolidated sales is invested in research and development, which accounts for 2,900 of its employees. In 2003, it applied for 515 patents. It operates 42
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
plants throughout the world, which employ 14,000 people. * Cosmetics sales by division breakdown: 54.8% from consumer products at €7.506 bn, 25.1% from luxury products at €3.441 bn, 13.9% from professional products at €1.9 bn, and 5.5% from active cosmetics at €0.749 bn. * Cosmetic sales by geographic zone breakdown: 52.7% from
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
at €7.221 bn, 27.6% from
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
at €3.784 bn, 19.7% from rest of the world at €2.699 bn. In 2007, L'Oréal was ranked 353 in the
Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed onl ...
. The company had earned $2,585 million on sales of $19,811 million. There were 60,850 employees. By 19 March 2016 the company had a share value of 89,542 million euros, distributed in 562,983,348 shares. Its reported operating profit in 2016 was €4.54 bn based on revenue of €25.8 bn.


Joint ventures and minority interests

L'Oréal holds 10.41% of the shares of
Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
, the world's number three and Europe's number one pharmaceutical company. The Laboratoires Innéov is a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
in nutritional cosmetics between L'Oréal and
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
; they draw on Nestlé's knowledge in the fields of
nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...
and
food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from t ...
.


Corporate social responsibility


Group-wide sustainability plan

In 2013, L'Oreal announced a new sustainability plan it called "Sharing Beauty With All", committing to reduce the environmental impact of all products. According to ''
Marketing Week ''Marketing Week'' is a website focused on the marketing industry, based in London, that grew out of what was a weekly, and latterly monthly, print magazine. History and profile ''Marketing Week'' was launched in March 1978. Its co-founders were ...
'', L'Oreal's pledges included "aiming for 100 per cent of its products to have an environmental or social benefit; reducing the company's environmental footprint by 60 per cent; empowering “every L’Oréal consumer to make sustainable consumption choices while enhancing the beauty of the planet”; and giving L’Oréal employees access to healthcare, social protection and training wherever they are in the world." In 2021, L'Oreal launches a new sustainability plan "L'Oreal for the future" which contains a series of goals to achieve within 2030 on topics such as biodiversity, resource management, climate change and circularity.


Sustainable development

In 2009, L'Oréal declared their intention to cut
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
, water consumption, and waste by 50% over the period 2005-2015 – a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that is to be in part achieved by the use of solar panels, biogas and electricity and hot water produced from the combustion of methane gas recovered from agricultural waste. In 2012, the company declared a 37.1% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 24% reduction in water consumption and a 22% deduction in transportable waste, and was named a sector leader by Climate Counts for its practices and achievements in the management of carbon emissions. In 2014, L'Oréal made the commitment to ensure that none of its products were linked to deforestation, and to source 100% renewable raw materials by 2020. The group was included in the Corporate Knights "Global 100" list of the 100 most sustainable companies.


Position on animal testing

Since the 80s, L'Oréal has invested €900 million in researching
alternatives to animal testing Alternatives to animal testing are the development and implementation of test methods that avoid the use of live animals. There is widespread agreement that a reduction in the number of animals used and the refinement of testing to reduce suffer ...
for product safety, using methods such as reconstructed skin models, such as the Episkin model at their research centres in Gerland, France, and
Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...
, China. Nevertheless, this is complicated by markets such as China, where it is difficult to get sell a beauty product without it being tested by animals. Cosmetics by brands such as
The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divided ...
, which refuse to do
animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
, are thus not sold in China. In 2013, L'Oréal was part of a consortium calling on the EU to invest more in research on alternatives to animal testing.


Promoting new methods for plastic recycling

In 2020, L'Oreal announced a cooperation with French biochemistry pioneer
Carbios Carbios is a French company in the field of biochemistry. It holds a number of worldwide patents. Among other things Carbios has invented an industrial application of enzymes renders plastic waste compostable. The company resides in the French sc ...
, aiming to establish a method of dissolving plastic waste by using enzymes.


Ukraine war

In 2022, L’Oréal Paris donated €1 million ($1.09 million) to charities supporting refugees from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. L’Oréal Paris also suspended all commercial activity in Russia, both retail and wholesale. The company also supplies hygiene products to hospitals, maternity homes, centers with forcibly displaced persons, homes for the elderly, the military, etc. L’Oréal Paris financially support employees in Ukraine, guaranteeing the payment of wages and providing additional financial assistance, and provide accommodation for employees who are abroad and assist with temporary employment in other L'Oréal branches.


Community involvement and awards

In 2014, L'Oreal was listed 61st among 1200 of India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory, a brand analytics company. In 2008, L'Oréal was named Europe's top business employer by the European Student Barometer, a survey conducted by Trendence that covers 20 European countries and incorporates the responses of over 91,000 students. The L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science was established to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress. The awards are a result of a partnership between the French cosmetics company L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
) and carry a grant of US$100,000 for each laureate. The same partnership awards the UNESCO-L'Oréal International Fellowships, providing up to US$40,000 in funding over two years to fifteen young women scientists engaged in exemplary and promising research projects. L'Oréal organises the yearly L'Oréal Brandstorm, a business game for students in 46 countries. The game is related to marketing and has a first prize of $10,000, the second prize of $5,000 and the third prize of $2500. L'Oréal is also a founding member of the "Look Good ... Feel Better" project, a charity which was formed over 16 years ago to help women combat the visible side effects of cancer treatment. L'Oréal also holds a global competition known as "L'Oréal Brandstorm" each year to invite students from around the world to be creative, innovative, and build their own business plans based around different topics (for example: Brandstorm 2019 was about sustainability). In 2015,
Standard Ethics Aei Standard Ethics is an independent sustainability reporting rating agency based in London, known for its sustainable finance and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) studies. In 2001, it introduced a standardised approach to sustainabilit ...
gave a rating to L'Oreal in order to include it in its Standard Ethics French Index.


Research and innovation


Episkin

Episkin is a reconstructed skin model developed by engineers at L'Oréal France to provide an alternative to animal testing. Human
skin cells Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
leftover from breast surgery are developed under
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
laboratory conditions to form sheets of reconstructed skin. This has advantages over animal testing other than the sparing of animals: it can be adapted to create reconstructions of a range of skin colors, as well as younger and older skin, meaning that safety tests give more relevant results for humans. In 2006, the Episkin division acquired SkinEthic, a leading
tissue engineering Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of Cell (biology), cells, engineering, Materials science, materials methods, and suitable biochemistry, biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintai ...
company. The aim for L'Oréal is to produce products that cater to their diverse customers specifically, in the emerging markets that currently account for 53% of the entire global beauty market. Through these research methods L'Oréal aims to tap into one billion new consumers in these markets for the upcoming years. In 2003, the L'Oréal Institute for Ethnic Hair & Skin Research was inaugurated in Chicago to continue their research on African American hair and skin among other ethnicities. The L'Oréal Group opened ''the Predictive Evaluation Center'' in Lyon, France in 2011. This center is devoted to evaluating the quality of the products without testing on animals. Additionally, L'Oréal built an international "Consumer Insights" division as well as, regional Research and Innovation centres in six countries:
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, China,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the United States,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The aim of these centres is to collect information on their diverse consumers in order to develop products according to their various needs. In 2011, L'Oréal announced its intention to build a ''Research and Innovation Center'' in Bom Jesus Island Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Estimated at 30 million euros (70 million reais), this project is expected to create about 150 jobs by 2015. The L'Oreal Global Hair Research Centre, a facility in Paris Saint-Ouen opened in March 2012. It serves as the headquarters for the international departments of hair color, hair care, and hairstyling. One of the largest investments in company R&I history, the 25,000m² Centre hosts 500 employees. These include chemists, physical-chemists, opticians, materials scientists, metrologists, rheologists, computer scientists, and statisticians. The facility offers automation, modelling, and sensory evaluation.


Human skin 3D printing

L'Oreal announced in May 2015 that it was partnering with bioprinting startup
Organovo Organovo is an early-stage medical laboratory and research company which designs and develops functional, three dimensional human tissue (also known as 3D bioprinting technology) for medical research and therapeutic applications. Organovo was est ...
to figure out how to 3D print living, breathing derma that can be used to test products for toxicity and efficacy. "We're the first beauty company that Organovo has worked with", said Guive Balooch, global vice president of L'Oreal's tech incubator.


Modiface

On 16 March 2018, L'Oréal announced that it had acquired Modiface, a beauty tech company that uses
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
to allow users to digitally try on different makeup products and hairstyles. Later in 2020, L'Oréal Paris introduced their first line of virtual makeup for social media platforms called "Signature Faces", an augmented reality filter for Instagram, Snapchat, Snap Camera, and Google Duo. It was in part marketed as a way to engage consumers spending more time online due to the
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
, as well as a way for consumers to try on makeup at home for online shopping.


Perso

This smart device creates custom formulas for lipstick, foundation, and skin care. Customers can use it through the Perso app, which uses AI technology, and is expected to get launched in 2021.


Controversy


Involvement in conflicts

Eugène Schueller Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (20 March 1881 – 23 August 1957) was a French pharmacist and entrepreneur who was the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty. He was one of the founders of modern advertising. Foun ...
, the company's founder, was an alleged
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
sympathizer. L'Oréal concedes that Schueller was an
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
. He was also a member of La Cagoule, which supported the
Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
, and was a violent, pro-fascist and anti-communist organisation. Eugène bankrolled La Cagoule and some meetings of La Cagoule were held at L'Oréal headquarters. Some of the criminal activities perpetrated by La Cagoule include firearms transportation, assassinating a former minister, and firebombing six synagogues. Other controversy arose when
Jean Frydman Jean Frydman (26 June 1925 – 14 March 2021) was a History of the Jews in France, Jewish member of the French Resistance during World War II and businessman. He received the Legion of Honour, ''Légion d'honneur'' in 2016 for his wartime efforts. ...
, a shareholder and board member of Paravision, a film subsidiary of L'Oréal, was fired. He claims that he was let go because L'Oréal wanted to avoid an Arab boycott of businesses associated with Jews. In turn, Frydman decided to expose the past of L'Oréal executives.
André Bettencourt André Bettencourt (; 21 April 1919 – 19 November 2007) was a French politician. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre, and was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He had been a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist-leaning and anti- ...
who married Schueller's daughter,
Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the ...
, and became deputy chairman for L'Oréal, wrote 60 articles for La Terre Française. La Terre Française was an antisemitic Nazi propaganda sheet. André has admitted ownership of the
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
but claimed he was poisoned by the Vichy regime and said, "I have repeatedly expressed my regrets concerning them in public and will always beg the Jewish community to forgive me for them." André Bettencourt also sheltered Schueller and several collaborators from the
French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
after Liberation. It was also revealed that Eugène Schueller hired Jacques Correze, who was the honorary head of L'Oréal's U.S. affiliate, Cosmair, and was involved with La Cagoule. Further controversy arose when it was revealed that L'Oréal had its German headquarters for over 30 years, before being sold in 1991, on land confiscated from a Jewish family during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Jewish family has been battling for restitution from the company for three generations, the latest of which is Edith Rosenfelder, a
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivor. Fritz Rosenfelder was forced to sell the house to a Nazi official, of which the family never received the proceeds of the sale. Instead, the family was deported. The Allies passed Jewish restitution legislation which states that transactions with Nazis, even if appearing to be with the owner's consent, can be considered invalid. As the land was sold to an offshoot of L'Oréal, which was later bought out in 1961 by L'Oréal, the company claims that it is not responsible for anything that happened before then. The basis for Rosenfelder's argument is that since the original sale was illegal, all subsequent sales are equally unlawful. There was restitution paid in 1951 to the
Jewish Restitution Successor Organization The Jewish Restitution Successor Organization Inc. (JRSO, also IRSO) was founded in 1947 in New York by various American and international Jewish organizations. Originally, it was incorporated on May 15, 1947, as the Jewish Restitution Commission, b ...
, though this was done without the family's consent and none of the money ever reached the family. A book by Monica Waitzfelder, daughter of Edith Rosenfelder, published in French as ''L'Oréal a pris ma maison'' and in English as ''L'Oréal stole my house!'', details how L'Oréal took over the Waitzfelder home in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
city of Karlsruhe (after the Nazis had engineered the removal of the family) to make it its German headquarters. Monica Waitzfelder is quoted as saying, "All the other businesses which took Jewish property have since returned it, without any great debate. I don't understand why L'Oréal should be any different from the others." A case was brought before the Supreme Court in France, but the public prosecutor ruled that there could be no trial. As of 2007, she is bringing the case to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
. On 31 July 2014 during
Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...
launched by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip, the Israel advocacy organisation StandWithUs posted several Facebook photos of care packages, which they said were donated by Garnier Israel to female IDF soldiers. This sparked several calls to boycott Garnier and L'Oréal worldwide. As of no official statement was made by Garnier or L'Oréal regarding the donation. On March 4, 2022, L'Oréal announced €1 mln donation for relief support of Ukrainians who suffer from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.


Animal testing

L'Oréal began ''
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
'' tissue testing in 1979, and does not test any of its products or ingredients on animals anywhere in the world since 1989–14 years before it was required by regulation. Controversy came from the fact that L'Oréal sells products in China, whose regulators conduct animal testing on cosmetics to be sold within its territory. Even though a ban on animal testing in China came into effect in January 2020, Chinese authorities still perform this practice for imported "ordinary" cosmetics. Following L'Oréal's 2006 purchase of
The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divided ...
, which does not support
animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
, The Body Shop's founder
Anita Roddick Dame Anita Lucia Roddick (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of the British version of The Body Shop, now The Body Shop Internationa ...
was forced to defend herself against allegations of "abandoning her principles" over L'Oréal's involvement on animal testing. Calls were made for shoppers to boycott The Body Shop. L'Oréal sold The Body Shop to Brazilian group Natura Cosméticos in 2017.


Discrimination

On 11 August 2005, the
Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
ruled that former L'Oréal sales manager Elyse Yanowitz had adequately pleaded a cause of action for retaliatory termination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and remanded the case for trial.''Yanowitz v. L'Oréal USA, Inc.''
36 Cal. 4th 1028
(2005).
The case arose out of a 1997 incident in which Jack Wiswall, then the general manager for designer fragrances, allegedly told Yanowitz to fire a Person of color, dark-skinned sales associate despite the associate's good performance. When Yanowitz refused, Wiswall pointed to a "sexy" blonde-haired woman and said, "God damn it, get me one that looks like that." Wiswall retired as president of the luxury products division of L'Oréal USA at the end of 2006. The company has recently faced discrimination lawsuits in France related to the hiring of spokesmodels and institutional racism. In July 2007, the Garnier division and an external employment agency were fined €30,000 for recruitment practices that intentionally excluded non-white women from promoting its hair wash, "Fructis Style". L'Oréal is reported as saying the decision was "incomprehensible", and would challenge the measure in court. L'Oréal continues to sell skin whitening products, which have been criticized as "capitalising on women's insecurities due to colourism." They advertise these controversial products, which have been criticised for promoting a colonial attitude as well as having safety concerns, on their website by claiming; "Achieve clear, translucent and radiant skin. Our skin whitening products work to fade dark spots and brighten skin to give you the fair, flawless complexion you desire."


False advertising

In May 2007, L'Oréal was one of several cosmetic manufacturers (along with Clinique, Estee Lauder, Payot, Lancôme) ordered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia to withdraw advertising regarding the wrinkle (skin), wrinkle removal capabilities of their products. In the UK, L'Oréal has faced criticism from OFCOM regarding the truth of their advertising and marketing campaigns concerning the product performance of one of their mascara brands. In July 2007, the British Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom), Advertising Standards Authority attacked L'Oréal for a television advert on its "Telescopic" mascara, featuring Penélope Cruz, stating, "it will make your eyelashes 60% longer." In fact, it only made the lashes look 60% bigger, by separating and thickening at the roots and by thickening the tips of the lashes. They also failed to state that the model was wearing Eyelash extensions, false eyelashes. In July 2011, the British Advertising Standards Authority took action against L'Oréal, banning two airbrushed Lancôme advertisements in the UK featuring actress Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington. The agency issued the ban after British politician Jo Swinson argued that the two ads misrepresented reality and added to the self-image problem amongst females in the UK. L'Oréal acknowledged that the photos had been airbrushed but argued that the two cosmetic products could actually produce the results depicted in the ads and that the results of the products had been scientifically proven. In June 2014 the company reached an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission not to make claims about its anti-aging products unless it had credible scientific evidence supporting the claims. The settlement followed an investigation by the commission into claims being made in relation to two products, which the commission described as "false and unsubstantiated". L'Oréal has a team of 400 members of staff who post content to Facebook every day, according to Marc Menesguen, the company's chief marketing officer.


Patent Lawsuit

In July 2017, the University of Massachusetts Medical filed a patent lawsuit against L'Oréal. In August 2017, Dennis Wyrzykowski and his company, Carmel Laboratories LLC, joined the lawsuit. The two parties claimed that L'Oréal's brands used UMass' patented technology for skin creams with the chemical adenosine. In 2021, a judge found the patents invalid. In 2022, the United States courts of appeals, U.S. Appeals Court reversed the decision, stating that UMass could continue to purse its lawsuit.


Corporate misconduct

L'Oréal was fined by Autorité de la concurrence in France in 2016 for price-fixing on personal hygiene products.


Munroe Bergdorf

In August 2017, L'Oréal dismissed Munroe Bergdorf, a mixed-race transgender model, after she responded to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, by stating in a Facebook post: "Honestly I don't have the energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people"; the post was also quoted as saying that "[white people's] existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour", "racism isn't learned, it's inherited and ... passed down through privilege" and that "white people" ought to "begin to admit that their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth". Shortly after terminating Bergdorf, L'Oréal released a statement claiming their commitment to "[support] diversity and tolerance towards all people irrespective of their race, background, gender and religion" and had terminated their partnership with Bergdorf because her comments were "at odds with those values".


Amber Heard

In 2018, L'Oréal Paris hired
Amber Heard Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...
as a Global Brand ambassador, Ambassador, also giving a special tribute to her. In 2020, after a tape leaked of Heard admitting to having hit her ex-husband Johnny Depp, several petitions were filed requesting L'Oreal to fire her. As of June 2021, L'Oreal continued to include Heard among a team of "ambassadors" that also includes
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
, Jane Fonda,
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...
, and French singer-songwriter Yseult (singer), Yseult. Heard was being Depp v. Heard, sued in a defamation trial by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp in which he accused her of domestic abuse. She was found to have defamed her ex-husband with malice on June 2, 2022 by a jury; Heard is currently appealing her case.


Brands portfolio

Brands are generally categorized by their targeted markets, such as the mass, professional, luxury, and active cosmetics markets. The Body Shop and Galderma are directly attached to the head office. L'Oréal also owns interests in various activities such as fine chemicals, health, finance, design, advertising, and insurance.


Consumer Products Division

* 3ce * Carol's Daughter * Colorama * Créateurs de Beauté * Essie Weingarten, Essie * Garnier Fructis, Garnier * L'Oréal Paris * Magic * Maybelline * Niely *
NYX Cosmetics NYX Professional Makeup () is an American cosmetics company that is a subsidiary of L'Oréal. The company was founded in Los Angeles by Toni Ko in 1999. It was named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. NYX Professional Makeup is "certifie ...
* SoftSheen-Carson


L'Oréal Luxe Division

* Atelier Cologne * Biotherm * Cacharel * Clarisonic (Discontinued September 30, 2020) * Diesel (brand), Diesel * Giorgio Armani, Giorgio Armani Beauty * Guy Laroche * Helena Rubinstein * House 99 * IT Cosmetics * Kiehl's * Lancôme * Mugler, MUGLER * Paloma Picasso * Proenza Schouler * Ralph Lauren Corporation, Ralph Lauren Fragrances * Shu Uemura * Urban Decay (cosmetics), Urban Decay * Valentino (fashion house), Valentino Beauty * Viktor & Rolf * Yue Sai * Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Saint Laurent Beauté


Professional Products Division

* L'Oréal Technique * L'Oréal Professionnel, including ARTec and Innate * Kérastase (created by L'Oreal in 1964) * Kéraskin Esthetics, created by L'Oreal in 2007 and specialising in skin care professionals * Matrix Essentials, founded by Arnie Miller in 1980 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2000 * Mizani, founded in 1991 and bought by L'Oreal in 2001 * Pureology, PureOlogy Research, founded in 2001 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2007 * Redken 5th Avenue NYC, founded by Paula Kent and Jheri Redding in 1960 and acquired by L'Oreal in 1993 * Shu Uemura Art of Hair * Carol's Daughter * Carita * Essie, founded in 1981 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2010 * Decléor * Botanicals Fresh Care * Cheryl's Cosmeceuticals
Loreal.com. Retrieved on 1 March 2017.


Active Cosmetics Division

* Vichy cosmetics, Vichy * La Roche-Posay (cosmetics brand), La Roche-Posay * Skinceuticals * Roger & Gallet, Roger&Gallet - sold in 2020 * Sanoflore * Dermablend * AcneFree * Ambi * CeraVe * Logocos since 2018


Slogan and motto

*Because You're Worth It (English) *你值得拥有 (Mandarin Chinese) *Porque tú lo vales (Spanish) *Dbaj o siebie (Polish)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L'oreal L'Oréal, CAC 40 Chemical companies established in 1909 Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 Companies listed on Euronext Paris Cosmetics brands Cosmetics companies of France French brands French business families French companies established in 1909 History of cosmetics Multinational companies headquartered in France Nail polish Personal care companies