Digital Makeover: How L’Oréal Put People First to Build a Beauty Tech Powerhouse, reviewed

We look at this interesting analysis of how L’Oréal has attempted to adapt and remain relevant over the last century. The book is available from Wiley here.

Digital Makeover: How L’Oréal Put People First to Build a Beauty Tech Powerhouse, reviewed

L’Oréal has been on a long journey, the images of it’s first five CEOs, from 1909 20 2021, all old white guys, shows that in many ways it still has a distance to go if it plans to remain relevant with it’s intended audience. The authors of the book, Béatrice Collin, Marie Taillard are well informed and make a good, critical analysis of the new trends emerging in this market and the challengers threatening to eat L’Oréal’s shampoo breakfast so to speak. With the rise of influencer marketing, and brands by pop stars it is a fluid and changing market.

L’Oréal have definitely not been unresponsive to these threats, and the authors dig deeply into what has been tried, what has worked, what has not, and what needs to be done if they are going to remain relevant. While the foreword is written by the CEO of L’Oréal, the authors are academics who study digital trends, and at times you did find yourself wondering if this was a potential playbook of what L’Oréal should be doing, rather than a completely compelling presentation of what they had done. A book like this will certainly secure lucrative advisory work for sure.

An interesting read, with plenty of food, or rather cosmetics for thought.

More about the book ->

Get an insider’s perspective into how this 110-year old world leader in beauty built on its legacy to transform itself into a digital and tech powerhouse

Digital Makeover: How L’Oréal Put People First to Build a Beauty Tech Powerhouse examines L’Oréal’s successful people-driven digital transformation. Professors and authors Beatrice Collin and Marie Taillard set out exactly how L’Oréal turned itself into a digital and tech powerhouse by building on its legacy to reimagine relationships inside the company, and with its customers and partners.

Digital Makeover comprehensively describes L’Oréal’s strategy, including:

• Maintaining market leadership in the face of disruption
• Believing in the transformative power of the organization, its legacy and its people
• A social-centric approach to beauty tech, ecommerce and digital services
• The company’s successful play for market dominance in China
• Case studies that showcase best practices for digital transformation across sectors

Digital Makeover is perfect for anyone interested in business strategy, marketing, or digital transformation, as well as businesspeople and leaders from inside and outside the beauty industry and belongs on the shelves of anyone with an interest in organisational transformation, management, leadership, and digital strategies.

More. about the authors ->

BÉATRICE COLLIN is Professor of Strategy and International Management at ESCP Business School. Her research focuses on digital innovation and transformation, and she is recognized as a leading global expert on L’Oréal.

MARIE TAILLARD is Professor of Marketing at ESCP Business School. She has over thirty years of experience supporting small and large companies worldwide and teaches across continents in graduate and executive learning programs. Her research focuses on digital transformation and customer centricity.

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