How does a European legacy company and its namesake brand remain relevant and innovative in today’s profoundly changing beauty industry, where there’s a premium on newness? Virginie Courtin, managing director of Groupe Clarins, shared her insights at the WWD Beauty CEO Summit.
Groupe Clarins, which was founded in 1954 by Courtin’s grandfather, has linked beauty and well-being from its start.
Today, Clarins is the number-one premium skin care brand in Europe. Parent company Groupe Clarins generates more than $2 billion in annual sales, and its products are sold in over 150 countries.
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“At Clarins we like to say we are a 70-year-old indie brand,” Courtin said.
Clarins is pioneering. At its outset, the brand asked clients to share feedback on products through packaging inserts. “It was the first, and maybe an early, form of CRM,” Courtin said. “Today, we remain customer-obsessed.” Clarins’ Clara tech, for instance, is a customer-care bot powered by Microsoft.
“In the U.S., 40 percent of our contacts are managed by Clara,” Courtin said. “What is incredible is that the satisfaction rate is even higher than before it existed.”
The company’s use of AI allows for innovative customer experiences. “We have millions of customers, but every one of them is unique,” Courtin said. “This close relationship is, for us, the biggest source of innovation.”
The company’s holistic vision of beauty has always been at its heart, so the current notion of “longevity” is nothing new. “We promise results, not miracles,” Courtin said. “In a market full of exaggerated claims, credibility is a point of differentiation. We don’t overpromise. We say what we do, and we do what we say with one standard: proven efficacy, safety and sensoriality.
“It takes a lot of time to build customer trust and seconds to lose it,” Courtin said.
Clarins develops solutions responding to needs and wants to be part of a long-term beauty routine. Its innovations come from company laboratories that have more than 10 areas of expertise, and 120 scientists and researchers.
Clarins has no global brand ambassadors; its product are meant to be the stars. The group has developed a strategy of iterative innovation: When there is a bestseller, it’s improved over time. Double Serum — a hero product now in its ninth generation after more than 40 years — is an example. One bottle is sold every three seconds, and the latest iteration enabled Clarins to recruit 20 percent of its new customers.
The group perpetually aims to be fully responsible. “We have never thought that CSR is a constraint,” Courtin said. “On the contrary — it’s a source of innovation.”
Giving back is also key: Clarins supports 125 associations worldwide linked to children, biodiversity and health. “Wherever we operate, we try to have a positive impact,” Courtin said.
Plants are always at the core of Clarins’ strategy. It’s been 10 years since the company began growing its own organic crops in two French domains, which are like open-air laboratories where regenerative agriculture is used. Courtin called this “a distinctive and virtuous model that reduces dependency, secures our supply chain and protects the quality of our formula.
“We are the only company in the world to do it at that scale, and the only company who can really ensure customers the best ingredients for the product and for the planet,” she continued.
Clarins launched its T.R.U.S.T. platform in the U.S., billed to be the first based on blockchain technology, allowing for consumers to trace their products’ journey from seed to skin by scanning a batch code.
Clarins remains fully family-owned. “This gives us real freedom,” Courtin said. “We think in generations. It allows us to invest for the long-term in research, sustainability, product, people, and to make strategic decisions without the pressure of short-term profit. This long-term philosophy is very strong.”
Competition from other beauty and indie brands are considered a force, propelling Clarins to challenge itself perpetually. Its family office, Famille C Participations, invests in beauty tech and well-being companies that also enrich Clarins’ vision on beauty and bring new ideas.
“We build the strength of Clarins not by being necessarily the biggest, the fastest, the most visible, but on being the most robust and consistent,” Courtin said. “What makes the difference for us is true innovation that lasts. We say it is just the beginning.”