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Brand News
17 February
3 ways L'Oréal is building for an 'AI and tech-led' era
Executives outline the company's beauty tech and ecommerce expansion.

Photo by Helio Vega on Unsplash
Looking out on the future, L'Oréal sees a different and more tech-enabled world emerging for brands and retailers after the shifts caused by pandemic, supply chain shocks and inflation.
“It is increasingly clear that these past few years of crisis and constant change will mark the dawn of a new era,” said Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of the beauty company, told investors on a recent call to recap the full year results. “It will be an increasingly multipolar era, more fragmented than the previous one, an AI and tech-led era with the highest expectations in terms of sustainability, purpose and cultural diversity."
Multipolar strategy
The seeds for this shift were planted in 2022. There was a return to brick-and-mortar stores, which saw sales rise 12% year-over-year. At the same time, L'Oréal is continuing to expand in ecommerce channels, with 8.9% growth for the year. Ecommerce now accounts for 28% of sales for the company.
From this, L'Oréal sees a “multipolar” distribution strategy emerging, with stores that are owned-and-operated by the company working in tandem with ecommerce that moves beyond the traditional channels to both DTC and B2B platforms, Hieronimus said.
Beauty tech
The company wants to innovate in the products it makes, the way it sells them and its impact on the world. It has built a large team to do so, with over 2,000 people working in beauty tech and IT, along with 800 data analysts.
It all comes together under the banner of beauty tech, and L'Oréal is partnering with others to augment the work.
“Our entire RNI organization is being augmented with powerful AI and data including strategic partnership with the experts such as Verily, an Alphabet subsidiary, where we will combine our very large scale consumer data with our own to better understand skin and our aging,” Hieronimus said. “Data and AI will allow us to develop next level diagnosis services for personalized recommendation to drive loyalty and satisfaction.”
Beauty tech is bringing new tools for cosmetics and skincare. It developed a makeup applicator for people with limited arm movement called HAPTA, and a Skin Genius diagnosis to provide beauty adviser-like service.
It is also exploring digital spaces. It brought together 3D artists and beauty makers in the web community GORJS, and saw NYX Professional Services launch a new metaverse experience in Roblox. To work with startups exploring the metaverse, it developed an incubator in partnership with Station F and Meta.
Ecommerce goes Professional
The company’s professional products business has a particular focus on expanding ecommerce, said division president Omar Hajeri.
“Digital now drives our relationship with salons and stylists,” said Hajeri. “…“We continuously adapt to an ever evolving market, characterized by the rise of independent stylists. To reach them all, we are building the most powerful data driven digital ecosystem.”
In ecommerce, it has a platform called L'Oréal Partnership. In education, it has an online academy called L'Oréal Access.
In active cosmetics, the company is also reaching more doctors through digital tools. L'Oréal recorded 48% of the share of views of brand videos posted by doctors. The division also sees 20% of revenue generated through ecommerce.
“Digital allows us to amplify our medical strategy,” said division president Myriam Cohen-Welgryn. “We can now reach many more consumers than before.”
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Retail Channels
17 March
Walmart launches online hub for clean beauty
The retailer debuted a Made Without List to identify ingredients that customers may not want to be included in beauty products.
(Photo via Walmart)
A new online shop at Walmart is helping customers find products that leave out the ingredients that don't live up to environmental standards, or their values.
The news: Clean Beauty at Walmart launched this week to help customers find products that are transparent about the ingredients included, and ultimately are made without chemicals that are harmful to the planet.
What’s in the shop? The online shop has more than 900 products, and Walmart said 80% are under $10. In an announcement, Walmart spotlighted products such as e.l.f. Mascara, Kinlo sunscreen, earth Shampoo and Cetaphil face wash.
How it works: To inform product selection for the Clean Beauty platform, Walmart developed a Made Without List to identify the ingredients that customers don’t want, and align with clean beauty standards. It contains over 1,200 ingredients, such as formaldehyde and PFAS. To develop the list, Walmart reviewed state and federal regulations, consulted suppliers and worked with the Environmental Defense Fund.
The clean beauty products are also “reimagining entire products,” Walmart said. This includes exploring sustainable packaging alternatives, evaluating carbon emissions associated with production and adopting cruelty-free and ethical standards.
Key quote from Walmart SVP of Sustainability Jane Ewing: “Our customers want to buy products that reflect their values, and for many customers, that means providing greater transparency into product formulations and products made without certain ingredients.”
Trending: Clean beauty doesn’t only align with values and sustainability; it is also popular. The #cleanbeauty category has over 5.8 million posts on Instagram and 1.3 billion views on TikTok, signaling popularity among Gen Z and millennials. Walmart cited data from Statista that indicated more than 70% of consumers want to buy products that align with their values.
Putting the face on: With the clean beauty shop, Walmart is providing a home for the popular category so it is easy to find on the company’s growing marketplace. The destination could also help attract younger, internet-savvy consumers at a time when the retailer is seeing increased visits from people who are giving Walmart a closer look than usual as they seek to save money amid inflation.
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