History of L'Oreal
Ekaterina Estevez
The History of L’Oreal. L’Oreal is a cosmetic giant that never stops to surprise competitors. It always contrived to satisfy a demanding taste of consumers. The company is well known for the research and development. According to Marc Vernon, “it has a twenty percent stake in the pharmaceutical company Sanofi /Synathélabo.” Liliane Bettencourt and her family own 51 percent of L’Oreal’s main holding company, Gesparal, with Nestlé owning the rest (Vernon). It is one of the largest companies in France and the largest global player in its sector. L’Oreal operates all over the world and owns various brands including Lancôme, Garnier, and Matrix. Eugene Schueller, a founder of L’Oreal, came from a poor background and had to work since his childhood helping the family. His grandfather was a shoemaker, his father a pastry cook, his mother a baker’s assistant. He was bright and his parents determined to give him a good education, whatever it might cost. M. Schueller made a deal with the head of the College Sainte-Croix de Neuilly, if he made part payment in cakes, he could just afford a place for his clever son (Brandon, 43). Good education and natural commercial aptitudes opened him many doors in the future. After two years as an instructor, he glimpsed a way of escape. According to Ruth Brandon, he found academic life “dusty”. It was very disappointing for him (Brandon, 46). A hairdresser came to the Pharmacie Central, where Eugene worked, and offered to pay fifty francs a month to someone who would help him find a safe and reliable artificial hair dye. Schueller eagerly volunteered. As Ruth Brandon explained in Ugly Beauty, -
“He discovered that hair dyes were based upon four groups of substances: anilines, silver nitrate, pyrogallic acid and lead acetate. The first group was the most dangerous. Aniline derivatives are very soluble, going through many intermediate stages before forming the lacquers which give the hair its new
The History of L’Oreal. L’Oreal is a cosmetic giant that never stops to surprise competitors. It always contrived to satisfy a demanding taste of consumers. The company is well known for the research and development. According to Marc Vernon, “it has a twenty percent stake in the pharmaceutical company Sanofi /Synathélabo.” Liliane Bettencourt and her family own 51 percent of L’Oreal’s main holding company, Gesparal, with Nestlé owning the rest (Vernon). It is one of the largest companies in France and the largest global player in its sector. L’Oreal operates all over the world and owns various brands including Lancôme, Garnier, and Matrix. Eugene Schueller, a founder of L’Oreal, came from a poor background and had to work since his childhood helping the family. His grandfather was a shoemaker, his father a pastry cook, his mother a baker’s assistant. He was bright and his parents determined to give him a good education, whatever it might cost. M. Schueller made a deal with the head of the College Sainte-Croix de Neuilly, if he made part payment in cakes, he could just afford a place for his clever son (Brandon, 43). Good education and natural commercial aptitudes opened him many doors in the future. After two years as an instructor, he glimpsed a way of escape. According to Ruth Brandon, he found academic life “dusty”. It was very disappointing for him (Brandon, 46). A hairdresser came to the Pharmacie Central, where Eugene worked, and offered to pay fifty francs a month to someone who would help him find a safe and reliable artificial hair dye. Schueller eagerly volunteered. As Ruth Brandon explained in Ugly Beauty, -
“He discovered that hair dyes were based upon four groups of substances: anilines, silver nitrate, pyrogallic acid and lead acetate. The first group was the most dangerous. Aniline derivatives are very soluble, going through many intermediate stages before forming the lacquers which give the hair its new