L'Occitane

L'Occitane en Provence (French pronunciation: [lɔksiˈtan ɑ̃ pʁɔvɑ̃s]) is an international retailer of body, face, and home products based in Manosque, France. The company was founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan with the purpose to create a company that celebrates and preserves the traditions of his native Provence. L’Occitane means “the woman from Occitania”.^[1]
The company aspires to be "the worldwide reference for Mediterranean well-being, with unique body, face, and home products". The company's brand values are: "Authenticity and naturalness," "Effectiveness and pleasure," and "Respect and responsibilty."^[2] In 2010, the company became listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

History

The storefront in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

In 1976, 23-year old Olivier Baussan used steam distillation to produce essential oil from wild rosemary^[3] which he sold at open-air markets in his native Provence. L’Occitane was named after Occitania, the ancient province that once covered the south of France, north-eastern Spain and northern Italy.
The first L’Occitane boutique opened in 1978 in Volx, a small French village in Provence.^[4] Baussan found a disused soap factory in Manosque, another Provençal village, which he took over to manufacture vegetable-based soaps using traditional methods. In the 1990s, Baussan sold a majority stake in the business to a venture capitalists to finance expansion. As their approaches were incompatible, Baussan found himself excluded from daily management and strategic decision-making.^[5]
In 1994, Austrian businessman Reinold Geiger bought a 33% stake in the group.^[4] Through a series of capital increases, Geiger became majority shareholder in 1996.^[4] Geiger, as the new Chairman, asked Bussan to return as creative director and lead product development. The company's new focus on marketing strategy paved the way for international expansion.^[5] In the late 1990s the company changed its name to 'L'Occitane en Provence', to strengthen the connection with the company's roots.^[6] On 20 April 2001, Clarins became a financial investor in the company through subscription to approximately 5.18% of the company's shares and €11,433,750 convertible debenture loan. On 22 February 2005, Clarins further invested €16,525,580 in convertible debentures. When the debentures were converted, Clarins held 23.33% of the shares. The management executed a leveraged buyout in May 2007 following which Reinold Geiger's stake rose from 31.9% to 48.7%, and Clarins' stake was diluted to 10.0%.^[4]
L’Occitane has shops in 70 countries, in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; with 170 shops in the United States.^[7][5] At the launch of its IPO in 2010, the company announced that its products were sold in over 80 countries through over 1,500 retail locations; it had 753 L’Occitane Stores. In the year ended 31 March 2009, it generated sales of €537.3 million;^[4]. It planned over 650 store openings with the capital raised.^[8]. In July 2010 L`Occitane opened it first store in the Dominican Republic at the Blue Mall Santo Domingo.

[edit] Listing

In March 2010, the listing committee of Hong Kong's stock exchange approved its plan for a $400–$600 million initial public share offering of L'Occitane International S.A., underwritten by CLSA, HSBC and UBS which the company had originally planned in 2008, but postponed because of the financial crisis.^[9] The company stated that two-thirds of the proceeds will be to finance store openings^[8] China Investment Corporation invested US$50 million in the company's IPO as the cornerstone investor (for approximately 1.9% of the shares).^[10] Following the listing of shares in L'Occitane International SA, L'Occitane Groupe SA detains 75% of the shareholding of the company; shares owned by Geiger, Clarins and other shareholders are indirect.^[4]

Beauty products

Lavender fields in Provence

Except for the L'Occitane do Brasil sun range which is produced in Brazil, all of L'Occitane's products are developed and produced from its base in Manosque.^[11] The company sources the majority of its production from local producers who rely on traditional production methods.
L'Occitane contributes to preserve traditional cultivation methods by:

• Supporting the program to cultivate almond trees in the Alps of Haute-Provence.
• Preserving certain rare species through the planting of their own field of Immortelle flowers in Corsica.
• Developing partnerships with organizations that support the development of scented and aromatic plants, such as the Office National Interprofessionel des Plantes à Parfum,^[12] and
• Encouraging traditional cultivation, particularly that of lavender.

A tin of L'Occitane shea Butter

In addition to products sourced from Provence, Shea butter is purchased directly from women's groups in Burkina Faso at what the company says is a "fair price" and in respect of its traditions — the tree is considered sacred, and its butter is known as "women's gold" because the harvesting is performed solely by women in the region; only fallen fruit may be collected.^[13]
The company eschews animal testing, and no animal product or by-product, except for beehive products, which include honey, propolis, and royal jelly, is used in the manufacturing process. L'Occitane claims to develop its products in line with organic cosmetics specifications of Ecocert;^[14] belongs to the Cosmebio association, a professional association for the ecological and organic beauty products sector; and is linked to One Voice, a European coalition whose goal is to put an end to animal experiments.^[15]