Investments are the ‘proof of love’

He speaks Greek, owns a location successful the Cyclades, and loves fishing. French businessman Jean-Paul Agon, president of L’Oréal, was awarded the Apollo prize by the Delphi Economic Forum, with the Acropolis arsenic a backdrop.

In an interrogation with Kathimerini, the powerhouse of the French concern country spoke astir his archetypal steps successful Greece successful 1981, his vocation successful the cosmetics products industry, and the company’s concern activities successful the country, while noting the restoration of French cosmetics and quality firm’s assurance successful Greece.

A noteworthy notation successful your biography is that you began your vocation successful Greece successful 1981. If you could spell backmost successful time, however did your acquisition successful Greece signifier your aboriginal nonrecreational journey?

In fact, I did not start here. I started successful France successful 1978 when I was 21, but I had the accidental to beryllium promoted very aboriginal when I was 24 years aged arsenic a wide manager of L’Oréal successful Greece. It is simply a comic story due to the fact that astatine that time, the Greek subsidiary of L’Oréal was very small, tiny, I would say, and not successful very bully shape. And successful fact, cipher wanted to take the job, but I did not cognize that when I was offered the job. I said, “Wow, fantastic.”

Let’s delve deeper into the world of concern and marketing. What cardinal lessons did you take from the Greek marketplace that you aboriginal applied connected an planetary scale?

As I told you, I learned everything, but possibly much importantly, I had the accidental to truly dive into the culture, into the people, and consciousness the “empathy” with the radical of Greece. In our job, quality is linked to the way radical spot themselves, linked to the culture, the tradition, the habits, and their values. And so, this is what I learned present first, and then I applied the aforesaid look successful different countries.

Last year, you returned to Greece arsenic caput of a French concern delegation. From your perspective, however has the commercialized scenery changed, and however is the Greek marketplace present perceived by the French concern community?

The Greek system is highly well perceived. The Greek marketplace has besides truly recovered, and L’Oreal’s concern successful Greece is 1 of the champion successful the world. We person astir 24% marketplace share, which is 1 of the highest, so 1 [cosmetic] merchandise retired of 4 sold successful Greece is from L’Oréal. And the marketplace has truly bounced backmost aft the crisis.

Has trust been restored?

Yes. The situation was difficult. And I person to accidental that I truly respect the Greek radical due to the fact that they were very brave during this crisis. The marketplace had dropped by 30%, but then it bounced backmost supra where it was earlier the crisis. So trust has been restored. In fact, the occupation is that galore French companies near Greece. Not the lawsuit of L’Oréal. L’Oréal stayed here. The occupation is that France is not adjacent successful the top 10 investors successful Greece and we should beryllium successful the top three.

President Macron emphasized successful Athens the strength of the Franco-Greek alliance. Do you judge we are entering a caller signifier successful economical relations betwixt the two countries?

I cognize that Mr Macron said that to the Greeks, that “France loves you,” but I person to accidental that it is not new. France and Greece had very bully relations and with Macron, it is adjacent much exceptional than ever. But, you know, successful emotion [there] indispensable beryllium besides proofs of love. And the impervious of emotion are the investments. So we person to propulsion and person the French companies to put successful this country.

You led L’Oréal arsenic CEO from 2006 to 2021 and today you service arsenic chairman. A defining constituent of your vision has been “universalization: quality for all.” How bash you spot this doctrine evolving?

It is simply a very important conception for me. In fact, I imagined it close aft the Lehman Brothers situation successful 2008. It was a situation infinitesimal for the world and I wanted to person a caller vision for L’Oréal for the adjacent 10-20 years. And “universalization” is simply a very special concept. It is simply a word that we invented and what it means for us, it means “globalization of beauty,” but respecting the differences of the radical astir the world. What we want to bash with L’Oréal is to beryllium global, but to beryllium perfectly applicable for each section state and each section people. The thought that we will person planetary brands of the institution that will accommodate the products, the formulations, to the special desires and needs of each section population.

One of the astir transformative trends shaping the quality manufacture today is personalization driven by artificial intelligence. Do you judge AI will fundamentally reshape the assemblage successful the adjacent future, and successful what ways?

I think it will, and it will help. First, it will assistance us successful our strategy of “universalization.” Why? Because we use it (AI) to amended our teams, our research, and our merchandise efficacy. So AI is truly a tool that will maximize our capableness successful the individualization of beauty, due to the fact that the large thought for the adjacent 20 years is to spell from “beauty for all” to “beauty for each.” Twenty years ago, we did not person adjacent the “beauty for all.” We said, “Okay, we are a quality company.” So, aft that, we went to “Beauty for all.” But now, thanks to “digital first,” the integer gyration that happened 15 years ago, and now, thanks to the AI revolution, we are going to beryllium capable to bash this, “beauty for each” idiosyncratic astir the world. This is truly our dream, and this is why we telephone ourselves successful L’Oréal the champion of “beauty tech company.”

What proposal would you springiness to a young Greek entrepreneur? And to grow connected that, person you tried immoderate Greek, locally made cosmetics products?

I bash not think that Greek entrepreneurs request proposal due to the fact that I think they are very good. That is, by the way, something I besides discovered successful Greece, that Greeks are very entrepreneurial. When I was present 45 years ago, I was surrounded by guys who wanted to make their companies, and it was not called a “start-up” astatine that time. Greeks are very entrepreneurial, and I bash not think they request maine to go an entrepreneur. But if I had 1 portion of advice, it would beryllium conscionable to travel their dreams, you know, to bash what they want. I person tried galore Greek brands, and they are very good. I think the situation for a section marque is to go international. And it is not easy, and that is why beauteous often astatine L’Oréal, when we bargain a company, we bargain a institution that has reached a definite level of success, but that stops earlier becoming international. This means that what we want to bash with L’Oréal is to person a planetary beingness while remaining applicable to each state and section population.