L’Oreal Case Study Essay -- Business Marketing

L’Oreal Introduction     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   L’Oreal is the largest cosmetics company in the world. It shouldn’t be a surprise that L’Oreal doesn’t sell all of its product lines in every market in which it sells, and the market in the Netherlands is no exception. Upper management of the Netherlands’ L’Oreal subsidiary have to make decisions on which product lines will succeed in their respective market and which ones will falter. In this particular case, L’Oreal needs to decide if it would like to introduce Garneir product lines such as the Synergie skin care line and the Belle Couleur permanent hair colorants line into the Netherlands market. The basic problem is whether or not to introduce these lines into the Dutch market. Situation Audit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Netherlands, unlike in France, L’Oreal and Garneir are both sold under the same sales force. This must be taken into consideration considering that L’Oreal has products in both hair colorants (Recital) and in skin care (Plenitude). Fortunately, the Dutch market maybe able to handle both of these product lines from L’Oreal and Garneir if it is felt that they could both be profitable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When looking at the Dutch market, the most surprising thing is the youth of population. 40% of the population is under the age of 25. This is an important demographic stat because a lot of younger women are the ones who use cosmetics, but it is important to note that the fastest growing populations are those of age 25 and older which might be important to the market of hair colorants. Another interesting trend is the number of Dutch women who work outside the home with a labor force rate of 29% and it is increasing more rapidly than those of other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. This is very interesting because these women will have more money, independence, and self-confidence. In these terms, these women will more than likely use more cosmetics because of the increase in time that they spend outside of the home. A final insight into the Dutch market shows that Dutch women tend to shop for value, especially in cosmetics, which needs to be taken into account. The overall Dutch market looks somewhat promising to the introduction of Synergie and Belle Couleur lines, but other factors must also be looked at.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While the overall Dutch market is important in the analysis, the product markets might give a be... ...o use our product because they are out in public and they also have more money to spend on things such as cosmetics. The Dutch women in this market need the Synergie line to give off the idea of a self-concept that can relate our brand image to their needs as a workingwoman. An idea for the advertising campaign could be â€Å"You’re working the hardest, shouldn’t you look the best too!† While this product line is marketed towards the workingwoman, the L’Oreal product Plenitude could be marketed towards keeping a youthful look with its ability to delay the signs of aging. The best bet for the profitability of both products is to effectively find a certain image that each consumer can identify herself with. With this, I believe that both products can succeed in the same market and both can have the potential to have large market shares. Bibliography Datamonitor, Feb. 2004. Haircare In The Netherlands. Retrieved on April 23, 2005. http://dbic.datamonitor.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/industries/industry/?iid=Haircare Datamonitor, Feb. 2004. Makeup In The Netherlands. Retrieved on April 23, 2005. http://dbic.datamonitor.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/industries/industry/?iid=Skincare