How L’oreal Slayed Afloat in the Beauty Industry

L'Oréal was founded in 1909 by the chemist Eugène Schueller who wanted women to have short blond hair, embracing the trend for a boyish style. Over the years Maybelline has been one of the most predominantly powerful beauty industries pillar in the world. In 1996 Loreal acquired Maybelline for $758 million during the finalized deal.

As we look into the strategic moves made by Loreal then and now we can see that Loreal caters to their consumer with their strategic, innovative and creative target marketing. Not to mention their variety in pricing & focusing on all income levels. 

How did Loreal make it this far from 1909 to today? Let’s look at today in the age of social media. Today social media platforms and brands use influencers and content creators to sell their products and or services via commission. Loreal began this years ago by using hair salons & hair stylists to drive sales, the perfect match.

Loreal also had products in pharmacies to drive sales. This is how Loreal used business intelligence back then to pave the way to where they are today.

Driving sales through hair stylist means stylists and salons were connecting with their consumers / clients. Loreal powered them into commissions and sales which is a win on all ends. Loreal has an eagle eye to their consumers and their behaviors even then without the type of business intelligence we have today. How? Through personalization of their consumers.

In 1930 Loreal used print advertising, creative promotions and media campaigns to market and sell their products. As of 2023 Loreal is worth $45.4 billion. 

Another strategic move Loreal made was in 2015 by attending the annual consumer electronics show to promote beauty. Talk about an outlier! Beauty products at a consumer electronics show? This is what sets brands apart from the competition. 

L'Oréal strategic move was in tech. In 2018 during the age of IoT ( Internet of Things ) the competition was high amongst the beauty brands. L'Oréal brought ModiFace in 2018 to allow consumers to try on makeup from their cellphone using augmented reality.

In 2017,L’oreal announced the first smart hair brush. This hair brush has a microphone that listens to the way your hair is being brushed, sensors to determine if the brush is being used on wet or dry hair. This type of detail in a brush should be an eye opener for how L'Oréal pays attention to its consumers, the beauty industry and technology all in one. There is no way this would not be able to be done without business intel. 

Today L'Oréal is still remaining in beauty tech and most importantly still strong with hair stylists. A stylist who can take care of your hair and produce great results will keep a client forever. L'Oréal's  K-Scan ( Kerastase ) allows the hairdresser to scan the scalp & hair of the client with a camera and AI images. The stylist can look into the scalp & have an analysis on the tablet that comes with the device.  

As you can see L'Oréal maintains its business model since it began with hair salons and hair stylists even in 2025. This is the power of consistency, innovation, tech and the use of business intel in a competitive market. 

In Jan 2024 L'Oréal's CEO Nicolas Hieronimus stated at the annual consumer tech trade show “We are a tech company, we are a beauty company, but we are a tech company”. 

What did you learn from this brief case analysis about the growth of L'Oréal in the beauty business?

What can you implement in your business today that is innovative & builds longevity?

Case Analysis: B001

Bianca Renee - M.S.C.S

The Guru of Business Intelligence

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