L’Oréal Expands Presence in Africa With Kenyan Subsidiary

L’Oréal recently celebrated the opening of its new Kenyan subsidiary with an inauguration ceremony, marking the location as the hub for the company’s expanding activities in East Africa, a region that also includes Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia. Additionally, L’Oréal’s subsidiary in Nigeria opened in September, and the company is marking these as dynamic markets with a large number of potential new consumers. By opening these two new subsidiaries in Africa, the L’Oréal Group is reaffirming its confidence in the region's growth potential.

L'Oréal has been operating in South Africa since 1963, and its presence in the Africa and Middle East zone now comprises nine subsidiaries, a hair and skin care products plant in Midrand, and a research and innovation testing center in Johannesburg.

L’Oréal sees that Africa has a great tradition of beauty practices: most women spend a lot of time on beauty, paying particular attention to their hair. The three major markets are hair care, particularly straightening and relaxing products—nearly half of women say they use these products once a month—in addition to body care and deodorants. In terms of other beauty products, African women favor moisturizers for the body and concealers for the complexion.

L’Oréal will draw on its long history of expertise in ethnic hair and African skin thanks to its specialist research center in Chicago, as well as its experience with its Softsheen-Carson and Mizani brands. These brands will serve as the flagship brands for the conquest of new consumers in the region, and Garnier and L’Oréal Paris also have a presence in the zone, in South Africa, Morocco and Egypt.

The energy and growth potential of the Africa and Middle East zone makes it a source of talent and inspiration for L’Oréal as it strives to make beauty universal. Thanks to its multicultural teams and products that meet consumers’ specific needs, the company feels it is well placed to conquer a billion new consumers in the next 10–15 years.

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