L'Oreal

L'Oreal

As part of its continued focus on the U.S. market, the firm formed L'Orйal Retail division in 1996, merging its U.S. hair care and cosmetics businesses under one umbrella. It continued to introduce new products in this market, including the Garnier hair care brand. By that time, its Cosmair subsidiary accounted for 23 percent of L'Orйal's entire cosmetics business.

In 1998, the company launched a global advertising campaign with the tagline, "Because I'm worth it." Under the leadership of Owen-Jones, L'Orйal began making a series of acquisitions that would bring it closer to its goal of becoming one of the world's top four brands. It also renewed its focus on its emerging markets including Asia and Eastern Europe. In China, Maybelline was sold in 40 cities and the company hoped to up that number to 80. Owen-Jones stated in a 1998 Women's Wear Daily article, "It's the beginning of the Chinese snowball. There have been three million Maybelline lipsticks sold. Our aim is to make sure every Chinese woman has a lipstick in her hand instead of the Little Red Book." Latin America also became a key market focus, especially after an economic crisis shook the Asian region in the latter half of the 1990s.

In 1998, Cosmair acquired Soft Sheen Products Inc., a leading ethnic hair care firm. The ethnic market was now considered to be among the top growth opportunities in the cosmetics industry. The following year, Elf Aquitaine and L'Orйal merged their pharmaceutical subsidiaries to create Sanofi-Synthйlabo, creating the second-largest pharmaceutical company in France. Long-known for its dedication to research and development, L'Orйal continued forging ahead on that front. The company signed a five-year partnership agreement with the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO) entitled "For Women in Science." As part of the program, female researchers would be given grants to pursue scientific research. During 1999, sales continued to increase--up 12.1 percent over the previous year. Western Europe accounted for 56.1 percent of company sales, while North America accounted for 27.1 percent. That year, the company reported the strongest profit growth of the decade.

L'Orйal entered the new millennium with continued success. It purchased Carson Inc., the leading ethnic cosmetics firm, cementing L'Orйal's position in that market. It also acquired Ylang Laboratories Ltd., an Argentine cosmetics firm, and the Scandinavian Respons