An overview of L’oreal Company.doc

An overview of L’oreal Company ◆LOREAL The LOréal Group, headquartered in the Paris suburb of Clichy, France, is the worlds largest cosmetics and beauty company. LOréal has developed activities in the field of cosmetics, concentrating on hair color, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes and hair care. LOréal is active in the dermatological and pharmaceutical fields. LOréal is also the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States. The CEO of LOreal SA is Jean-Paul Agon. LOréal is a listed company, but the founders daughter Liliane Bettencourt, who is one of the richest people in the world, and the Swiss food company Nestlé each control over a quarter of the shares and voting rights. ◆HISTORY In 1907, Eugène Schueller, a young French chemist, developed an innovative hair-color formula. He called his improved hair dye Auréole. With that, the history of L’Oréal began. Eugène Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products, which he then sold to Parisian hairdressers. In 1909, Schueller registered his company, the Société Fran?aise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux (Safe Hair Dye Company of France), the future L’Oréal. The guiding principles of the company that would become L’Oréal were put into place from the start: research and innovation in the interest of beauty. During the early twentieth century, Schueller provided financial support and held meetings for La Cagoule at L’Oréal headquarters. La Cagoule was a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-communist group. LOréal hired several members of the group as executives after World War II. In 1920, the small company employed three chemists. By 1950, the research teams were 100 strong; that number reached 1,000 by 1984 and is nearly 2,000 today. L’Oréal got its start in the hair-color business, but the company soon branched out into other cleansing and beauty products. L’Oréal now markets over 500 brands and many thousands of individual products in all sectors of the beauty business: hair