Foreword: Permanent Reinvention in the Genes ix

Introduction: Building a Beauty Powerhouse xiii

Part I Four Foundational Pillars 1

1 Orchestrate Creativity 3

The Importance of an Evangelist 4

Time to Improvise 6

From Creative Chaos to Orchestrated Rigor 13

Enabling Resonance 16

2 Cultivate Healthy Doubt 21

Productive Anxiety 22

Challenging the Status Quo 23

Permanent Questioning 24

The Dual Innovation Channel 25

Balancing Passion with Science 26

Tensions and Achievements 27

Market Leader and Challenger 28

3 Learn and Innovate with Rigor 37

Innovators Are Most Valuable Players 39

Do, Undo, and Redo 42

Incubators as Promoters of Change 47

4 Listen with Curiosity 51

Politeness of the Heart 54

Seizing What’s Emerging 59

L’Oréalization 60

Full Color Palette 61

Ban the Boring 64

An Open Innovation Ecosystem 65

Part II A Human-Centered Transformation 71

5 Centering Customers 73

A Focus Shift 75

Precision Marketing 80

Seamless Customer Journeys 81

The Strategic Use of Data 84

6 Becoming Social 89

Social Centricity 92

Friends Find Solutions 94

Friends Give Advice 95

Friends Take You Places 96

Friends Share Their Looks 97

Friends Shop with You 98

Friends Stick Together 100

7 Transforming Relationships with Partners 105

From a Chain to an Ecosystem 106

Ecosystems’ Key Attributes 108

Ecosystems Perform in Times of Crisis 114

8 Putting People First 119

Teams Are the New Heroes 122

Customer Satisfaction Is the New Product Performance 124

Eat What You Cook Is the New Leave Before It Burns 125

Frame and Trust Is the New Control 128

Problem-Solving Together Is the New Meeting Behavior 130

Empowerment Is the New Management 132

Test and Learn Is the New Perfection 133

Cooperation Is the New Confrontation 135

Conclusion 139

Acknowledgments 143

About the Authors 147

Appendix 1: L’Oréal’s History: A Timeline of Significant Dates 151

Appendix 2: Timeline of L’Oréal’s Acquisitions and Strategies 153

Appendix 3: A Selection of L’Oréal Brands by Category 2020 159

Appendix 4: Global Beauty Industry Data 161

Notes 167

References 175

Index 183 

LEARN HOW L’ORÉAL ACHIEVED DIGITAL DOMINANCE WHERE SO MANY OTHERS FAILED

The push for digital transformation is one that remains fraught with unpredictability and risk. Only a quarter of corporate digital transformations in the last five years have resulted in lasting performance improvement. But L’Oréal succeeded where so many others had been disappointed, by relying heavily on finding a natural place for people—their customers, employees, and partners—at the very heart of their digital enterprise.

Organized around illuminating case studies, Digital Makeover tells the fascinating story of a beauty company that embraced all manners of digital channels and tools, including e-commerce, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, influencer marketing, and programmatic advertising, without allowing its transformative digital disruption to interfere with its market dominance. The book also discusses how L’Oréal achieved its uncontested leadership in the most digitally innovative market of them all, China.

The distinguished authors discuss how L’Oréal maintained its market leadership in the face of digital disruption and leveraged their organizational and cultural assets to help find a place for digital technology in every part of their organization.

Ideal for executives, strategists, marketing and brand professionals, and other businesspeople hoping to understand the digital mindset, Digital Makeover is also an invaluable resource for academics, researchers, business historians, and management students seeking insights into digital transformation in any industry.

Digital transformation and innovation are processes that stymie, and ultimately defeat, many companies across a wide range of industries. But unlike those firms, L’Oréal succeeded where others had failed, and managed to transform its operations from head to toe into a digital powerhouse. Now, with annual sales of $30 billion and a presence in 150 markets around the world, L’Oréal is technologically poised to maintain and expand its hold on the beauty industry.

Digital Makeover tells the story of a digital transformation that put people at the center of the company’s strategy, trusting human, social, and cultural resources to define a natural role for digital tech at the core of L’Oréal. The accomplished experts and authors tell a variety of success stories, ranging from a new approach to the beauty market, to the development of virtual reality apps, an embrace of e-commerce and programmatic media buying, and a push into the most digitally innovative market, China.

Told as a series of exciting and memorable anecdotes, the book delivers an in-depth and highly relatable best practice story that incorporates a critical and realistic perspective with useful end-of-chapter “transformation tips.” The authors examine how L’Oréal maintained its market leadership in the face of digital disruption, took a social-centric approach to beauty tech, e-commerce, and digital services, and leveraged its human and legacy resources to drive its push for digital dominance.

Perfect for executives, business strategists, and marketing and brand professionals, Digital Makeover will also earn a place in the libraries of businesspeople seeking to understand the complexities of the digital mindset and needing a comprehensive analysis of what is required to embed the digital approach in all facets of an organization. Academics, researchers, business historians, and business and management students will also find the book invaluable.