THE INTERVIEW WITH L’ORÉAL LUXE TRAVEL RETAIL WORLDWIDE GENERAL MANAGER, BAPTISTE BEAU.
16 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
Every time I interview Baptiste Beau, I always leave with a smile on my face. It’s not just because of the depth of what we cover in the interview, but because of his infectious enthusiasm for his unparalleled portfolio of products. And this year the brand stories from L’Oréal Luxe are, frankly, extraordinary.
Peter Marshall (PM): Welcome back to TRunblocked.com. Baptiste. Always good to see you.
Baptiste Beau (BB): Good to see you, my dear Peter.
PM: We have a lot of ground to cover across some key brands. So let’s start off with Aesop, the biggest single acquisition by L’Oréal in its history. When do you see this brand’s presence in global travel retail being fully realised?
BB: I’m very pleased to start with this question about Aesop because it’s the new gem within the L’Oréal Luxe portfolio. A brand obsessed about products that truly deliver with ethically sourced ingredients and products that are vegan. And beyond formulas and products, it’s all about sensorial experience.
An experience encapsulated in the store design, each store in the world being unique! Since the acquisition we are working on an ambitious yet demanding plan because these brands deserve some very specific locations. We have already started the travel retail journey, (in 2019 with Melbourne Airport).and, since then, we have opened new locations in some key airports in the world, such as Dubai, London Heathrow, Zurich, etc., and Stockholm, too. And we are also going to open by the end of this year an exciting project in Hainan. Stay tuned for that.
PM: Well, two things come out of this. Firstly, are you actually going to continue their philosophy of building different units in different locations? And the second thing, which actually is admirable, is that I’ve been to a number of Aesop shops and what I find so astonishing is the quality and knowledge base of the staff. And it’s not just knowledge about their own wide range of products, but about other products in the industry as well.
So they really can tailor make specific products that best fit the customers who are buying, but also say, well, that that product X does this for you, this does Y for you, and are able to actually recommend combinations. I was genuinely astonished at their knowledge of other products, not just Aesop’s.
BB: You said it all, and I think that you should be hired by Aesop!, I think those are two very important things that will stay. The uniqueness of the design on the one hand, and the human factor at the heart of the experience on the other hand. Aesop’s staff is always eager to understand the customer’s needs and not just trying to sell. Through a moment of calm, of serenity.
PM: Yes, it is. The soft use of colors. It’s a sensorial experience because of the sound, the lighting and so on. They all combine to deliver a great product. It was a superb acquisition and it will pay for itself in time, I’m sure.
BB: That’s the plan.
PM: Okay. But one thing that comes out is that it could well be argued that the brand is quite similar to Kiehl’s. Different in execution and look, I know. But the product mix – might that not actually affect the Kiehl’s brand, potentially cannibalize Kiehl’s sales? What do you think?
BB: I personally and respectfully disagree with you. Of course, on both sides, there is one common commitment to quality. But for the rest, I really feel that it’s more a question of complementarity and targeting very different audiences and customer needs.
The philosophy of Aesop – is about sophistication and simplicity at the same time. Whereas in Kiehl’s, if you look at the roots of the brand, it’s about Apothecary and New York vibes. It’s a very different audience. I’m convinced that it’s going to be complimentary, so I’m not at all worried about this potential cannibalization that you mentioned.
PM: Okay. Well let’s move onto Lancôme, which is the top of your tree.
BB: This is closest to my heart, as you know.
PM: Indeed. This, of course, is the only brand in your portfolio which has category sales and distribution equally divided between makeup, perfume and skincare in luxury beauty or indeed any other beauty category in the world. Now, as a brand, and we’ll talk about the new fragrance launch a bit later, We’ve seen a big investment first with the relaunch of the Génefique franchise.
We know that skincare is a massive business in the APAC region, representing around 60% of the beauty market. Yet in the Western world, this number is only really about 27%. I mean, from a global perspective, how can you seek to change this ratio?
BB: That’s again a very interesting question related to the beauty business. You are becoming more and more a beauty expert, my dear major Peter.
PM: I’m trying!
BB: You’re doing well. We need to accelerate in the western part of the world with skincare. We need to better understand the evolving needs of our customers when it comes to skincare. And let’s never forget that there is a recipe to unlock that secret.
For me, it relies on two very important topics. The first one is all about scientific innovation. You know, it’s a matter of trust. To be sure that the product delivers, you need to have new scientific territories such as the pioneering science of longevity for Absolue. And for that we can rely on the great Research and Innovation of the Groupe, to ensure that we are coming with the relevant innovations.
And the second part, again, experience. It’s all about beauty and expert services. We are spearheading the beauty tech part of beauty, meaning that we have developed over time, with a lot of investment behind some beauty tech devices that makes the service really personalized.
For a concrete example, I invite you to go to a Lancôme counter and do the skin screen experience. Why? Because you will see it can be enlightening and you will be able to fully understand what your skin is and even have a projected vision of your aging, so that they can then propose a personalized and customized regimen for you.
PM: Can they put my age back a few years?
BB: Older skincare regimen will help you fight against the aging signs of your skin, yes.
Skincare – at the end is about customer trust and customer loyalty. So yes, to answer your question, we are very well equipped, and we are committed to accelerate skincare in the western part of the world and not only in the Asia Pacific region.
PM: Okay, now the next question was one I was going to ask that actually made the point about what plans Lancôme has to excite the Western world with a brand new fragrance brand. You have just done exactly that with Absolue, can you just walk me through the story?
BB: Before talking about Absolue, let’s not forget that our travelers are more and more fragrance connoisseurs. One of the key trends in fragrances is the acceleration of the premium fragrance market. Because now travelers and customers in general are craving something unique and artistic in beauty.
And in the case of Lancôme, we are talking about a perfume master. And La Vie Est Belle is a good example.
But in this case, the objective was really to craft a brand new project around the queen of the ingredients in the perfumery, which is the rose with Absolue Les Parfums.
It’s a project that we are doing – to create daring fragrances around La Rose Lancome, which is not an ordinary rose. It’s a rose of contrast, and it’s a rose organically grown in our Domaine de la Rose in Grasse, the home of perfumery, which is nearby to Cannes. And we have asked our retailers to work on daring experiences, olfactive experiences with Absolue Les Parfums that is being launched by the end of this year.
PM: That would be good.
BB: To show also our expertise with the rose ingredient at the heart and even again experience – – we have developed specifically for this launch, a kind of olfactive organ, which is a tribute replica to our fragrance laboratory of the rose in Grasse in Domaine de la Rose.
PM: So what’s the response been for the new brand by the retailers?
BB: The feedback has been amazing. They were all feeling that, at the same time, it’s answering a very important need of the market, and it was done the Lancôme way. It’s really something that is in tune with the DNA of the brand.
It will be launched throughout the world and in travel retail. Again, selectivity, because it’s a very premium brand.
PM: It was long overdue and I’m glad it’s here now. Let’s move onto Valentino. Now, this is a fairly new license agreement for L’Oréal Luxe and enlarging the company’s Italian couture brands portfolio. Now, historically, these couture brands thrive through fragrance launches, yet we’ve not really seen a big investment launch for this particular brand. Until now – the whole Valentino image is changing. Tell us more.
BB: Valentino is a very interesting brand that we should not be underestimating. We have a tremendous start with this brand in fragrance in particular, where I would like to mention the iconic duo of Born in Roma for he and for she that has already been a massive success and now ranked in the top ten in both in the US and in Europe local market.
And we want to go to the next level. In particular thanks to three initiatives: the stunning new retail design – a new look inspired by the fashion house with this beautiful blend of vibrant white and some pops of colours.
That’s the first thing that will elevate the brand even more.
The second one is the new makeup revolution that has just started now with a new initiative called Spike by Valentino. This is more than a classic lipstick, it’s a statement piece.
PM: It’s a funky name. Unusual.
BB: Yes, because it’s a tribute, of course, to the Rome roots of the brand, to the Valentino studs. And it’s really an iconic object already. Spike provides a new comfortable formula and a long lasting impact.
And last but not least, and echoing what we discussed with Absolue Les Parfums, is the quest for gathering the premium fragrances aspiration of our travellers. We are just launching Anatomy of Dreams, a haute couture perfume collection. Because of the DNA of this brand, there’s always this clash between heritage, modernity and edginess. And we are going to discover that through seven olfactive masterpieces that are mixing two very different ingredients.
Let me just give you an example, Sogno in Rosso, where you can mingle at the same time, you will have black pepper with creamy milk foam in a perfume which is quite original.
PM: That’s extraordinary. Let’s move on to Prada now. Last year you launched a brand new and quite unique makeup line for Prada. One of the things that differentiated it so much was its velvety texture. How is it performing?
BB: Prada is performing very well, above expectations. If you remember what we discussed last year about the strategy of Prada. For Prada, at the end, it’s all about creating a global brand in the beauty sector. And we started with the launch of Paradoxe, which has been an amazing success and which is now one of the key icons of the perfumery industry – in the Western world and also starting very well in Asia.
The objective was to go one step further. So we developed the beauty business through cosmetics, in particular through make-up. We have already started with key initiatives. We had an amazing pop-up in Incheon airport, we have developed a beautiful counter in Dubai and in Hainan.
The objective is to continue working on the rollout of this beauty brand, especially the make-up side. It’s a combination of ambition and being demanding and selective in the way we develop the business.
PM: Just staying with Prada, then. It’s been two years since the launch of Prada Paradox. It was the very first creation from L’Oréal for this brand for women. Would it be wrong to say that we expect another launch coming out of Prada for men, following the similar category saga franchises we have seen from the likes of Aqua di Gio, Chanel Bleu and Terre de Hermès?
BB: It could make sense to have a masculine fragrance someday. What I can tell you is that, next year, we’ve got two very interesting initiatives as far as fragrances are concerned, one of which is in the second semester. But I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.
PM: Now, one of the brands you got here on show is Maison Margiela. I like that brand. It’s subtle, it’s curious. But it’s been quite quiet for the company. Are you now thinking about spending big behind it? You’ve got some new lines here, which I’m sure you’re going to tell me about. But what are the future prospects for the brand?
BB: I’m happy to talk about this one because it’s a very interesting brand. And every time I present it to somebody, they very quickly fall in love with the brand. It’s a brand which is quite unique: it’s a cerebral approach to design, blurring the lines between masculine and feminine.
And in fragrances, we are doing the same as in fashion – which is not following the trend, but crafting the edge. We are bottling universal memories and all that lies behind the feelings, the emotion, that goes with them.
So where I slightly disagree with you is that we are not that quiet, because this brand is already quite important in the eastern part of the world.
PM: Yes, I know that.
BB: In Asia, it’s already ranked in the top three of the premium fragrances for travel retail. We keep on accelerating this brand in Asia but also in the western part of the world. Building on the success of the Replica Eau de Toilette with the new initiatives to come, we will expand the Replica territory from memories to fantasies.
So, with the new Replica Eau de parfum, you will have three Replica where you will discover an extraordinary and imaginary world. It will be, again, a perfect moment in our conquest of premium fragrances.
PM: I particularly liked the Soul of Forest iteration. That’s very, very good.
BB: And on my side, I like Lazy Sunday Morning because it is one that is, by the way, the top seller of the brand.
PM: Now, you’ve been in the travel retail channel at L’Oréal Luxe looks for over ten years Since you joined, what has changed?
BB: When I joined L’Oréal more than 15 years ago, I started as a manager in travel retail in Europe. I know this channel quite well. The first thing I would like to say is, yes, we are experiencing many shifts, many changes.
And it has been amplified by the recent crisis we went through. Travel retail is all about being always adaptable and eager to understand what’s happening. Today, our capacity to convert the amount of traffic that we have in the airport is at stake. We can see today that the curve of traffic and the curve of conversion is not following the same pace.
PM: And travellers are spending less.
BB: Exactly. So that’s why, for me, the number one topic that we need to address is: how can we be sure that we rethink collectively – putting the traveler at the center of the discussion – the way we want to make travel retail unique. How our shops cannot just be points of transaction but points of experience. That’s why I insisted a lot about experiences. We are transforming Travel Retail into a real shopping destination.
And for that, we need collectively to be able to make bold choices to foster collaborations between airlines, airports, retailers, brands, and even the digital and media ecosystem to be sure that we can also – together – reinvent what travel retail should be.
PM: That is going to be a very big task indeed. You know how conservative this business is and how it still operates in silos despite the best intentions of brand leaders like you who actually want to affect change. It comes back to the business model time and time again. The shackles that are put on retailers by the airport model that they are tied to. But we need to see change. There needs to be a reset. And it’s the brands that need to take it to their retail partners to take it up to the airports to accept change. Any conversations that may be taking place at the moment tend to be circular – going nowhere fast.
BB: I’m a very positive person, I like this moment of potential transformation – because it’s the moment where we can also put down our mark and have a legacy for our business. So that’s why I really feel that is the right moment to address this topic.
PM: I think it’s right to stay optimistic, you have to keep on pushing. But sometimes it’s like pushing water uphill. And that’s the difficulty, I think. Yes, we’ve been in the business a very long time. I have for almost 30 years now and I think a lot of companies still only talk the talk, they don’t actually walk it.
BB: Count on my energy, the energy of my teams, to be sure that we are going to walk the talk. It’s a very important and turning point.
PM: Okay, so we’re almost done. Baptiste. It’s another epic interview. It keeps my energy up, too. It’s really good. Now, you’ve worked with two stars of the channel In your time – Vincent Boinay and Barbara Lavernos. Now a fresh new leadership has arrived this year and I’m going to be talking to Emmanuel Goulin shortly. So, what’s special about working with him since he started with the company?
BB: I think that Emmanuel, like all the previous leaders of this industry, have many things in common. It’s this willingness to, first, put the traveller at the centre of all the discussions. And second, to understand something that is close to, L’Oréal DNA, which is: ‘seize what is starting’ – to be sure that in a market that is more volatile, and more uncertain than others, we need leaders who are agile enough, courageous enough, to put on the table the right topics and to address them.
PM: What are the three things you want to say to the industry right now?
BB: First, I would say that the future of travel retail is bright. When you look at the appetite of travel and the appetite of beauty, both combine. The future ahead of us can only be bright if we take the right decisions.
Second, it’s everything about experience. We really need to change the way we see our point of sales from transaction to real experience, because this is what’s going to be a game changer for the industry.
So we need collectively to decide and work on what are the experiences that we want to develop in travel retail that are related to the travelers expectations, in which there is this question of how to go beyond the dwelling time today. Today, what is important is to put the digital touchpoints really at the heart of this journey, to be sure that we can leverage from pre-trip to post-trip in a seamless and convenient way. We need to walk the talk and that’s to have a bold collaboration between the different stakeholders of this industry – from airlines to airports to retailers to brands and to the media digital ecosystem. This change is quite interesting and important for the industry as it cannot be done only by one brand there or by one retailer there. It should be a very important collaboration, just to be sure that what we do is going to be done for the creation of value at the end for the traveler.
PM: You are actually talking about, more or less, a wholesale reimagining of the business. But I suspect what will happen is that it will evolve and will be an evolution rather than a revolution. Because everybody works at a different pace in this business. It’s a great ambition and I genuinely hope it can be delivered.
BB: I’m more optimistic than you. I think that it’s up to us to define how deep and how fast we can change. Of course, I’m not naive. Everything will not change for tomorrow morning. But step by step, I really believe in what we call the POC – the proof of concepts – to show pilots. We need to demonstrate to the industry through pilots that what we believe in is good for the business itself.
PM: There have to be success stories.
BB: Exactly, I want facts and facts will demonstrate that, at the end, it creates value for the customer, for the traveler, but also for the whole industry.
Let me just give you one example. We decided to work in summer with Qatar Duty Free, Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport to propose a holistic approach of TR experience. This was through a YSL animation with a beautiful standing podium with fragrance and make-up experiences – to have something that goes beyond just the physical touchpoints.
We partnered with Qatar Airways and Qatar Duty Free to propose something to be able to engage and connect with the traveller before their trip.
PM: Through the line.
BB: Through the line, and after their trip. The first results in terms of penetration and conversion are stunning. But it shows that, again, if we take the time to work in a data-driven mindset, it can deliver quickly and properly.
PM: What I think that is, is that it’s a good pilot exercise. But Qatar is quite a soft target because it’s all under the same umbrella – Qatar Airways, Qatar Duty Free and Hamad International Airport. What we need to find is a combination of three different players representing an airport, a duty free operator and an airline. Now that would be an even better success story.
Of course, what happens when you have these successes like this is that you can take it to the wider industry. Then it’s like a domino effect. People want to be ‘me too’ – if they can see there are real commercial benefits at the end.
BB: We did it with Qatar because they share this same vision. And we were willing first to have facts behind the project, to be sure that it shows that it can deliver. And of course, the objective is to scale such initiatives to many other regions. That’s the time.
PM: It’s doable.
BB: It’s doable. Exactly.
PM: Great stuff, Baptiste. Great interview.
BB: Thank you, Peter
