Page 10 - EM EXPORT MAGAZINE PERFUMERY EDITION

INTERVIEW

licences. After a few years, we started
to make acquisitions and we continue
to take over existing brands, with very
positive results. These brands have all
interesting advantages, they find a new
energy in our Group to become stronger,
especially regarding brand awareness at
international level.
Considering our evolution and growth of
50% in two years, we have planned, in
2025, to increase our financial resources
knocking at the door of an investment
fund, while keeping the majority of the
Group.

EM: What is the key to your success? in our business is the financial side:
HJ: Certainly, being able to maintain a you have to invest a lot in advance, to
balance between the different faces of be able to develop and find a room in
the activity: creation, finance, choice of a market such as the Beauty one which
brands to answer precisely the demand offers an incredible potential. I’ve tried to
as much as possible and to develop reproduce in our dimension the strategy
them to the best. I am pleased with the that I learned when I was a manager at
direction we have taken and continue L’Oréal: for example, if you want to make
to follow, thanks to a very successful something profitable, you have to have
history with a still long way to go ahead the resources in terms of organization, EM: How do you operate on the French
of us. to protect your brands, you have to put market?
together several sources of turnover, HJ: In France we have our own branch
EM: In your opinion, is there a weak distributed in different channels. It is a and we work, depending on the brands,
side in doing business as entrepreneur magnificent strategy because through with independent perfumeries.
in the domain of Beauty? product development, you can cover the For Rexaline we also work with a chain
HJ: Before becoming an entrepreneur, different brands in the channels. Having of pharmacies. We run a retail activity
I was an executive at L’Oréal. I learnt a a critical mass in the different segments as well, with our Rive Droite signature,
great deal there on how a large beauty is the solution to putting a business on a through two premium perfumeries in
company works and this ‘theatre’ solid base. Our Group is independent and Paris. This gives us a direct contact to
fascinated me. However, I didn’t really I own 100% of the capital. the consumer and contributes to the
feel comfortable and I decided to become progress of our brands.
an entrepreneur. When you create a EM: You have diversified This also includes the point of view of on-
business, it is not by chance, this reflects your portfolio very well… site training. In these two flagship stores
a certain personality and that was my HJ: We have diversified since the we also organize events and a few press
case. To answer your question, the risk beginning, adding our own brands to the launches.
Claudia Stagno
8