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Andrea Barbier: “I consider travel retail to be absolutely strategic for the company.” | |
FRANCE. The beauty business, like show business, has its share of hard acts to follow. When YSL Beauté’s leading lady, Chantal Roos, exited stage left earlier this year, vacating her position as Chairman and CEO for a new role as Strategic Advisor to Gucci Group for the fragrances and cosmetics sector, it brought the curtain down on a high-profile tenure that, over two acts, gave the industry iconic scents such as Opium, and which virtually rebuilt YSL Beauté post-2000, following a wilderness period where, in Roos’s own words, the brand had “lost all momentum”.
It also meant the departure of an unashamedly driven, demanding diva, who didn’t suffer fools, could charm and terrify in equal measures, and who revelled in being tough, outspoken and challenging. Roos was a one-off, welcome breath of fresh air in an increasingly homogenised industry. Who could possibly replace her?
Step forward one Andrea Barbier, most recently General Manager of the Latin American “Produits Grand Public” division at L’Oréal. Outwardly unassuming, softly-spoken and smiling, initially he appears to be the antithesis of Roos, although it soon becomes clear they have much in common, most notably a hunger for growth and a deep respect for brand power.
“I am absolutely delighted to be in this role,” he tells The Moodie Report. “The reason I joined was because of the brand, and its portfolio. My initial focus in launch terms has been to oversee the introduction of [new women’s fragrance Elle], plus we have a lot of ongoing projects too.”
Barbier is clearly aware of Roos’s successful legacy – and formidable reputation. “First of all it’s a big honour to succeed Chantal,” he acknowledges. “And I am not here to start a revolution. I am here to develop the wonderful job that has been done so far, and to build on the work that Chantal and the company have started”¦My main objective is to speed up the growth.”
He expands: “Our mission is of course to be one of the leading French luxury beauty protagonists. And to do that we need to exploit to the maximum our entire portfolio of brands: Yves Saint Laurent, Boucheron, Stella McCartney, Oscar de la Renta and Zegna. Each brand deserves its own projects that respect its personality. And we give to each brand a specific role.”
In addition to his time at L’Oréal, Barbier is a qualified lawyer and has also worked for Kraft. How valuable has this diverse experience been? What were the most useful things he learned pre-YSL and how will he transfer that knowledge?
“It’s true I studied law and then I did an MBA in economics [at the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan],” he relates. “But my past is all about managing brands. And by that I mean managing brands from a marketing point of view – and a commercial point of view.
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YSL’s new feminine flagship, Elle | |
“I know how to work at adding value to a brand. Building portfolios, setting priorities, refining objectives: these are all things I have done before and will continue to do in the future.”
Barbier believes that having worked in a different sector brings a valuable, diverse perspective to the table. “It helps to bring ideas,” he confirms, “and a different way of seeing things, while always respecting the luxury DNA which is about quality, technology and dreaming.”
Another special relationship?
Roos was much admired within the travel retail channel, and was one of its great supporters. How significant a channel does Barbier consider it to be for the group, and what can we expect from it in the channel going forward?
“Well, the fact that I came [to Cannes] should answer that,” he replies smiling. “I consider travel retail to be absolutely strategic for the company. There are several reasons why: mainly that airports are becoming more consistent settings for luxury brands. The environment is very favourable, and the quality of the point of sale keeps improving. So for international brands like Yves Saint Laurent travel retail represents a fantastic business opportunity, both in terms of showcasing the brand, and in terms of sales.”
Partnership, notes Barbier, is the way to maximise that potential. “For me it’s always a matter of partnership,” he explains. “I want to create partnerships that enhance our brand, while respecting the personality of the brand, and also the personality of the client.
“The important thing about partnerships in business is that you share objectives, results – and risk.” He shrugs: “There is always some risk in business if you want to succeed.”
In one sense every major launch is a risk, given the investment such a project now requires. Barbier reports that the initial results for Yves Saint Laurent’s new pillar feminine fragrance Elle, which launched in September, are very encouraging.
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The Boucheron brand: “strongly anchored” in French culture yet well known internationally too | |
“Elle represents a new target, another target in our rich portfolio of brands,” he comments. “It targets a different style of woman. Elle is urban, young, modern, and creative. It’s also very YSL. In fact it has all the DNA and heritage of Yves Saint Laurent, complemented with a touch of the contemporary.”
Yves Saint Laurent might be the flagship, but it is flanked by other significant brands in the group’s portfolio, each of which answers a different need.
“We have brands like Boucheron, which are strongly anchored in the French culture,” explains Barbier. “But Boucheron is also an international brand. Stella McCartney is very well represented in Anglo-Saxon countries, while Oscar de la Renta is popular in the US.
“Add to those Zegna and Roger & Gallet, and you can see that we have a very rich portfolio that represents very well different cultures, countries and divisions. Importantly, each brand is complementary to the other.”
Does Barbier consider there to be any gaps in that portfolio? “In life, there are always gaps,” he laughs, “but I believe that before you fill in gaps you first have to do the maximum with what you have, and then keep an eye open for future opportunities.”
One high-profile opportunity that the group has chosen not to take advantage of to date is the celebrity fragrance sector.
“Yves Saint Laurent has always created celebrities, rather than used celebrities,” explains Barbier firmly. “We prefer to discover models who are going to be celebrities.”
He adds: “Using celebrities is just one of many ways to address the needs of your portfolio, but it is not in the DNA of Yves Saint Laurent. And I understand that the celebrity market is not shining so brightly. Celebrity can be a wonderful opportunity – or very risky. Everything depends on the celebrity, of course.”
“I am not here to start a revolution. I am here to develop the wonderful job that has been done so far, and to build on the work that Chantal and the company have started“ |
Andrea Barbier, YSL Beauté |
Barbier is keen for Yves Saint Laurent in particular to be known for other qualities. “Yves Saint Laurent embodies in its culture and heritage a mix of quality, creativity and technology, always with a touch of the unexpected,” he explains.
“This is why both women and men are fascinated by Yves Saint Laurent and why the brand is never average or banal. It’s what we call in French the alchimie de contraire, why we always do things in an unexpected way.”
While never losing sight of what luxury means. “Luxury products is all about the dream,” notes Barbier. “Dreaming and technology, and never, ever compromising on quality. We are consistent on this.
“And as long as you continue to have creativity, quality and innovation I think there is a wonderful future for luxury. Nobody should compromise on those values. And the most famous houses never do.”
Barbier was arguably not the most obvious choice to succeed Chantal Roos. What made him want the job – and just as importantly, what made the job want him?
“I wanted the job because I think that the world of luxury is a fascinating business, that blends together art, creativity, technology, culture and dreams. It’s very rich.
“What I have learned is how to add as much value to brands in an efficient and effective way. Efficacy and efficiency are two words that are very common on the mass market, but [harnessing them] does not necessarily mean you compromise on the luxury element.”
Barbier continues: “I think that Yves Saint Laurent is a fantastic brand with enormous potential. The group has a wonderful portfolio and I think we can go very far. (I began in May) and what I have enjoyed the most is [working on] the brand, the products and being part of a fantastic team that wants to be the best.”
Chantal Roos couldn’t have put it better herself. Outwardly Andrea Barbier seems to be her complete opposite: calm, controlled and measured, he chooses his words carefully, answers questions quickly and efficiently, revealing glimpses of a dry yet subtle sense of humour.
Inwardly, however, Barbier appears to have the same drive and determination to protect the qualities of his brands while ensuring they grow globally – allied to an absolutely first-rate intellect. YSL Beauté has discovered a different, but no less gifted, class act.
MORE STORIES ON YSL BEAUTE
YSL showcases new fragrances in Cannes – 08/11/07
Yves Saint Laurent gets in the mood for Love – 06/09/07
YSL Beauté unveils new limited-edition fragrances – 18/07/07
Yves Saint Laurent celebrates Opium anniversary and extends Hydra Feel – 28/06/07
