L’Occitane Group has appointed Aline Valantin to the key position of Managing Director Travel Retail, Export, B2B & Spa Worldwide based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Valantin joined the natural beauty player in August after more than eight years at the beauty division of French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton. There she was, most recently, Managing Director Perfumes & Cosmetics for Travel Retail Europe.
Prior to that posting she spent more than seven years at one of the most prestigious perfume houses within LVMH – Guerlain – where she had a series of leadership roles including Middle East and Africa Travel Retail Director, and Travel Retail Worldwide Marketing Director.
L’Occitane Group had net sales of €1,426.9 million, up +8.7% (at constant rates), in the year ending March 2019. Sales were derived from its global presence in 90 countries and 3,420 retail outlets, including 1,572 stores operated directly by the company. L’Occitane en Provence remains the group’s core brand (of a total of six that are fully integrated), accounting for 87.4% of total net sales.
The company describes travel retail as a “key contributing channel” for L’Occitane en Provence sales. In L’Occitane Group’s last financial year, travel retail sales in Asia were strong with a mid-teen growth rate led by particular dynamism in South Korea and the Greater China region.
