Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Lancome has been on the market since 1935. It began selling its products in about thirty countries in the first six months of the company's existence. The company has been a global brand since it became a subsidiary of L'Oreal Group in 1964. It entered the United States in 1950 and now sell its products in over 160 countries around the world. Its products  are sold at department stores, exclusive beauty stores, duty-free shops and boutiques. Lancome owes its global market growth to country-specific advertisement.

One of Lancome's advertisements that target the
Chinese market.

For example, Lancome developed  the Teint Miracle foundation in their Japanese laboratory with the Japanese consumer in mind. However, it became a global success because woman around the world wanted to have a beautiful skin like the Japanese. Lancome began selling its products in Japan in 1978 and it now has 112 shops, mainly in department stores. But Lancome's real conquest is the China market where it has spread into more than 40 Chinese cities and 18.000 retailers.

However, the company's tremendous success in China is mainly due to the web and by the adaptation to the local culture. Many Chinese customers for instance still do not feel comfortable making their payments online. In order to get around these concerns, Lancome's e-boutique allows clients  to pay for their products at the time of delivery. In addition, the goods are delivered by bike to improve the delivery time even though this method o delivery is incompatible with the Western idea of  luxury brand. Another strategy for enhancing e-market in China was creating the community website Rose Beauty. Rose Beauty not only raises awareness about products among clientele but also gathers information about the needs and desires of customers. The uses Chinese local social networks (Kaixin, Renren, Sina Weibo) to help brand build one of the biggest online community in cosmetics.

Lancome has grown to become one of the largest and recognizable cosmetic brand in the world with sales exceeding 350 million dollars in 2010.