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YSL Beauté President Renaud de Lesquen |
FRANCE. “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future,” declared Niels Bohr, and YSL Beauté President Renaud de Lesquen must know exactly what the Danish physicist meant.
When he took the helm of the division in July 2008, following its acquisition by the L’Oréal group, de Lesquen immediately set about implementing a strategy to bring the flagship YSL brand in particular back “where it deserved to be”. Then the global economy went into meltdown, and the beauty business worldwide suffered significantly – to what extent did that derail de Lesquen’s ambitious renaissance strategy?
Not much, it seems. Urbane and unflappable, de Lesquen stretches and smiles as he considers the question. “It’s been an interesting year,” he eventually replies, in measured tones. “It was the year of YSL Beauté’s integration within the luxury division of L’Oréal, and yes, we had big ambitions.
“The initial plan was to reassess our DNA and begin anew with fragrances, as that’s the best way to express to the entire world what a brand stands for. And despite the troubled economy we were lucky enough to launch two new fragrances, La Nuit de L’Homme and Parisienne, which have both been quite successful.”
That’s something of an understatement. Parisienne – YSL’s new flagship feminine fragrance – burst onto the scent scene in autumn 2009, and thanks to an unprecedented animation campaign with Aelia and Aéroports de Paris (AdP) in its key home market, rapidly became what YSL Beauté Worldwide Travel Retail Director Christophe Marque described as “the best launch ever in French travel retail”. It did pretty well everywhere else too.
“That launch kept us quite busy in a short period of time,” admits de Lesquen, playing down what must have been a mighty hectic episode. “It was a great start for the first big collaboration between the L’Oréal and YSL couture teams, which really reinvigorated the relationship between the two. I am proud of the way we brought creativity and a contemporary vision of YSL femininity to the project. And I have to say, we really had fun doing it.”
“We are laying the foundations of the (YSL) brand’s future development, and I am confident we are well on the way to reaching our objective of a top five ranking worldwide” |
YSL Beauté President Renaud de Lesquen |
Fun? The F-word didn’t crop up much last year, and it’s a refreshing change to hear it now. “Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but it’s true, we did have fun,” says de Lesquen, “although not in a frivolous way. What I mean is that we decided to try to be innovative and bring something new to the market, something more surprising, audacious, even a bit provocative to try to ignite the fragrance market.
“And it worked. The launch in France was phenomenal, [in travel retail terms] at Paris CDG we had a market share of more than 11%.”
He enthuses: “What is really important is that while Parisienne definitely references the roots of the YSL brand, it’s a also a fragrance of today for a younger generation, and we want to attract younger consumers to the YSL world.
“So yes, even though the market is still tough and the business figures are not as encouraging as in recent years, all the work that we’ve done to try to reinvigorate the brand is already starting to have some effect, and we have more reasons to be confident.” He shrugs and delivers a dazzling smile: “So you see me still positive – as always.”
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YSL Beauté created an unprecedented animation plan with Aelia and AdP to support the launch of Parisienne |
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The high-profile Parisienne campaign targeted travellers both inside and outside the terminals |
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Finding new ways to tempt passengers into the stores is a key objective for the YSL Beauté team |
Does this mean de Lesquen thinks the worst is over? He considers. “The first six months of last year, particularly in travel retail, were really bad, like none of us had ever experienced before. In that situation, there are two ways to react: you stay still, wait and see; or you try to move forward, which is what we did. To be frank, that was the only choice, the only option for future development. So it wasn’t easy, but we carried on.
“It was never a case of “˜do we scale back our plans because of the crisis?’. If anything, we decided to take more risks, to accept no compromises.”
In typically modest fashion, de Lesquen says he spent the first six months as President of YSL Beauté listening and learning. How did that help him last year, as the beauty business went into meltdown?
“If we manage to convince all the players of the industry that it’s better to invest in long-term pillars rather than pay for fast, quick, short-term successes, I am convinced everyone will benefit” |
YSL Beauté President Renaud de Lesquen |
“Whenever you start a new job, the most important thing is to keep a fresh eye and listen to what people have to tell you,” de Lesquen replies. “I certainly listened when people told me to retain the uniqueness of YSL Beauté, but to take advantage of the power and the strength of the L’Oréal Luxury Division, and to harness it to make the [newly-acquired brands] more visible. Frankly, one of the reasons Parisienne is a major hit all over the world is because we were able to put so much support behind it.”
He adds: “But even now, I continue to listen. I know a lot more myself because I’ve been working with these brands for well over a year, and if we can keep the best of both worlds (YSL Beauté and L’Oréal) the future is very bright.”
Is de Lesquen yet in a position to quantify just how bright? “You cannot change the position of a brand in just one year,” he says firmly. “But we are laying the foundations of the brand’s future development, and I am confident we are well on the way to reaching our objective of a top five ranking worldwide.”
Aside from La Nuit de L’Homme and Parisienne, YSL is poised to reinvigorate Opium – which de Lesquen describes as “the soul” of the brand – with new luxury packaging and advertising. Make-up too will remain a priority.
“YSL is very strong with key products such as Touche Eclat and Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils,” notes de Lesquen, “and we will continue to emphasise these products with a new campaign that aims to recruit younger consumers, whom I very much want to discover the beauty of YSL.
“For that we need to find new ways to reach them, talk to them, interest them, surprise them, and make them feel excited about what we propose to them. It’s a big challenge.”
Skincare has historically been the weakest axis for YSL, and is surely an area which L’Oréal is ideally placed to address. “I know everyone is waiting expectantly to see what L’Oréal will do about this,” acknowledges de Lesquen, “and there is something in the pipeline, but it will happen only when we are totally ready. A major new technological innovation will be launched in 2011.”
In the meantime, however, the innovative Top Secret franchise is performing well, and will be expanded and repositioned as an “expert skincare line for make-up lovers”. YSL will also extend its foundation offer, before turning its attention in earnest to the anti-ageing segment.
GRAND DESIGNS
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La Nuit de L’Homme is spearheading the Yves Saint Laurent brand’s men’s fragrance renaissance |
There is, of course, much more to YSL Beauté than just the flagship YSL brand. And while Roger&Gallet (described previously by de Lesquen as “the cherry on the cake”) now comes under the auspices of L’Oréal’s Cosmetic Active Division – which is more focused on pharmacy distribution, which accounts for 50% of Roger&Gallet’s business – de Lesquen has plenty to keep him busy.
“Apart from YSL, the group’s unique portfolio of designer fragrance brands, which includes Stella McCartney and Ermenegildo Zegna, is another major priority for L’Oréal, and we have reorganised so that Viktor & Rolf and Martin Margiela are coming on board,” reveals de Lesquen.
“We are putting together a great team dedicated to those brands which will address the challenges of developing them creatively – and commercially. These brands might be smaller, but they still have a lot to contribute. We need to allocate the resources to help them express who they are and create a different vision of luxury – the luxury of tomorrow.”
He continues: “Basically, we have a new organisation within YSL Beauté, with two hands working next to each other: YSL is on one side; the fragrances division on the other. Whether a fragrance brand is big or small, looking after the relationship with the designer is key, and it takes a lot of time, specialist involvement and skill.”
While still niche, Stella McCartney in particular holds much potential, de Lesquen believes, given its on-trend eco-chic credentials.
“Stella herself is very smart, and was way ahead of her time, being the first designer to express within the world of luxury such eco-conscious feeling and engagement,” notes de Lesquen. “We think this is definitely a path for the future, and want to help her develop what we call the eco-luxury sector.
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YSL is building on its strong make-up heritage with a new long-lasting foundation,Teint Resist |
“In the future, luxury is going to stand for something more specific than it did in the past, and definitely sustainability is part of luxury. So we have to look for more sustainable, long-term initiatives, that continue to bring innovation, excitement, surprise, diversity and difference – but with a vision.”
He adds: “This fits perfectly with my objective of building long-term fragrances and cosmetics that people buy not just because of the brand, but because they are good for them, while bringing pleasure and results.”
The pursuit of longevity has become something of a crusade for de Lesquen. “One of the biggest challenges – and there are many”, he smiles, “is to find a way to help people understand that you cannot have breakthrough new fragrances every other month. I think maybe there has been too much “˜zapping’ and the consumer now needs to regain confidence in the beauty of this industry; in the drama we used to create and that we need to produce again. And you can’t do that by rushing from one launch to another and another.”
“Today, more than ever, we have to partner with our distribution to find new ways to succeed, because it is not going to be as easy as it was in the past. Times have changed and only those who are really committed to the business, and are prepared to help build it, are going to get through” |
YSL Beauté President Renaud de Lesquen |
He urges: “We need to nurture our key brands and we need to take time to tell stories – Parisienne for example will be focus of the entire 2010 calendar. If we manage to convince all the players of the industry that it’s better to invest in long- term pillars rather than pay for fast, quick, short-term successes, I am convinced everyone will benefit.”
De Lesquen continues: “For make-up and skincare it’s a bit different. Makeup especially is all about new colours and new statements; you have to sustain the magic. More specifically, at YSL the objective is to work hand-in-hand with the fashion team and further strengthen that partnership. We want consumers to see that YSL make-up reflects what’s on the catwalk and the vision of [Creative Director] Stefano Pilati.”
Yet another goal involves sharing the responsibility for enticing customers into stores. “The Luxury Division of L’Oréal is the number one partner of travel retail worldwide, so we are committing to bring more traffic into the stores, especially when passenger numbers are down and you have to make the most of every single one,” de Lesquen points out.
“Yet again, the launch of Parisienne highlights this. The teaser campaign we put together with JC Decaux, Aelia and AdP was so high-profile at Paris Charles de Gaulle, not just inside the terminals but outside too.
“It invited passengers to go into the stores and discover the fragrance, and the response was great, which is to the benefit of everyone. Today, more than ever, we have to partner with our distribution to find new ways to succeed, because it is not going to be as easy as it was in the past. Times have changed and only those who are really committed to the business, and are prepared to help build it, are going to get through.”
But where others see only doom, gloom and sheer hard graft, de Lesquen finds plenty to be positive about. “Behind every challenge lies an opportunity,” he underlines, “and I strongly believe we are really very fortunate to be in this industry. It changes lives, on so many levels. It can appear to be a little superficial to people who are not part of it, but that just shows outsiders don’t know much about it.”
And on that upbeat note, the interview draws to a close. De Lesquen concludes: “We have completed phase one of the integration and now we have to make stage two happen. There was a lot to do; there still is. But the team is now more motivated than ever. A year ago there was some anxiety regarding the changes – which is normal – but now everybody understands what is expected of them and the success we have already enjoyed has given people a lot of confidence.
“Ultimately, it was no disaster that the economic crisis forced us to go for it, faster than we perhaps would have done otherwise. Personally, I like to take risks and try things; after all that’s what life is all about.”
