France
www.clarins.com
Sales: $1.5 billion

Key Personnel: Christian Courtin-Clarins, Clarins Group supervisory board chairman; Dr. Olivier Courtin-Clarins, managing director for the Clarins Group; Philip Shearer, chief executive officer of the Clarins Group; Lionel de Benetti, managing director of Clarins’ laboratories and logistics; Pierre Millet, managing director member of management board; Isabelle Herbreteau, president of the Clarins brand; Joel Palix, president, Clarins Fragrance Group.

Major Products:Skin care, fine fragrance, color cosmetics and sun care products.

New Products: High Definition Body Lift, Bright Plus HP Intensive Brightening Botanical System, Multi-Active Day.

Comments: It’s all in the family for Clarins these days, since the Courtins-Clarins clan last June took the cosmetics company private.

One of the firm’s goals is to grow its U.S. operations. To that end, Clarins plans to open new skin care spas in department stores as part of its effort to bolster its U.S. presence. In addition, the company will be courting Hispanic/Spanish-speaking consumers in the U.S., having early this year tapped RL Public Relations for a one-year contract focused on this consumer group.

On the product development front, Clarins describes High Definition Body Lift as the newest and most innovative cellulite control treatment it has ever produced (or seen on the market). The primary ingredient—blue button flower—helps to optimize the release of excess fluids around fat cells, thereby helping the overall formula to work more effectively including increasing the penetration of caffeine, also known for its fluid reducing capabilities.

In anti-aging, Clarins’ new Multi-Active Day helps correct the appearance of early wrinkles, combats new signs of aging and delivers high antioxidant protection all day long through a “time-release” system.The formulation also includes two key ingredients—soothingambiaty andprotective hesperidin—which work in tandem to reduce the appearance of wrinkles by targeting the dermal-epidermal junction, which is where sagging starts to appear.