France
www.loreal.com
Sales: $25.8 billion

Key Personnel: Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive officer; Jean-Francois Grollier, executive vice president, research and development; Laurent Attal, president and chief executive officer of L’Oréal USA; Joseph Bitton, general manager, Latin American Zone;Jean-Philippe Blanpain, operations general manager; Beatrice Dautresme, executive vice-president corporate communications and external affairs;Nicolas Hieronimus, L’Oréal Professional Products division; Brigette Liberman, general manager, active cosmetics; Marc Menesguen, president, L’Oréal Luxury Products; Christian Mulliez, executive vice president, administration and finance; Geoff Skingsley, executive vice president, human resources; Jochen Zaumseil, general manager of the Asia Zone.

Major Products: Hair care, skin care, sun care, color cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances sold under many brand names in different channels. Consumer—Garnier, L’Oréal Paris, Le Club des Créateurs, Maybelline, SoftSheen-Carson. Professional—L’Oréal Professional, Kerastase, Redken, Matrix, Mizano, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Keraskin Esthetics. Luxury—Lancôme, Biotherm, Helena Rubenstein, Kiehl’s, Shu Uemura, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel, YSL Beauté. Active Cosmetics—Vichy, LaRoche-Posay, Innerve, SkinCeuticals, Sanoflore. Personal care—The Body Shop.

Comments: L’Oréal’s sales for 2008 were $25.8 billion. The company’s professional products division saw sales rise 1.3%, consumer products were up 4.1% and active cosmetics gained 4.2%. The company’s luxury product division took a hit, however, as sales declined 0.7% on a like-for-like basis.

This global beauty powerhouse is celebrating a major milestone this year—its 100th anniversary. For more on the company’s long history of product success and business savvy, see “L’Oréal at 100” on Happi.com