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The Business of Beauty

To be number one in the skincare business you have to be a little bit different, says Christian Courtin-Clarins, Chairman of Groupe Clarins. You also need to be a good listener and love what you do.

"For example, when I was in love with my wife, I would listen to her. But when I stopped loving her, I didn't listen to her anymore," he jokes. "So to listen and to love what you do is very important."

Mr Courtin-Clarins' love affair with the family business of his namesake started when he was just a boy. "I used to have a massage in my father’s clinic when I was young, and I still have massages and I can tell you that I still love them."

His father, Jacques Courtin-Clarins, founded the company in 1954 quite by chance. Originally, he wanted to be a doctor, but unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on how you look at it -- he was forced to give up his studies due to the Second World War. Unable to carry on his medical studies after the war, he decided to become a chiropractor.

Many of his patients were women, who besides complaining about their aches, would also complain about their skin and beauty needs.

"So he said he had to do something to try and help them," Mr Courtin-Clarins says.

At the time, research into skincare problems was almost non-existent, but he was very impressed by the beneficial properties of plant extracts. To study their potential further, he founded Clarins Beauty Institute in 1954.

By the early 1970s, Jacques Courtin-Clarins "treatments" had earned a very good reputation, and so he decided to try selective distribution at beauty clinics and department stores.

"Since day one, we have been offering a professional product which sets us apart from the competition," Mr Courtin-Clarins says.

But the 1970s was also an era of synthetic breakthroughs and products that used natural ingredients were considered old-fashioned. Consumers wanted chemical-based cosmetics, which were at the time seen as high-tech and therefore very effective. Unfazed, Clarins persisted with its natural-only policy, which today has resulted in Clarins using only 100 percent plant-based extracts in its products.

Not giving in to the synthetic rage of the '70s allowed Clarins to grow into the number-one skincare company in France in 1980. The title opened doors to other markets and before long Clarins was selling its products in 15 countries around the world. Today, that number stands at 150.

The beauty chef

Mr Courtin-Clarins says the success of Clarins is not due just to the quality of its products, but also to its ability to listen and to help customers.

"We are constantly asking customers for their opinions on the products and what they want," he says.

Every morning when he arrives at the office, Mr Courtin-Clarins says he sits down and personally tries to answer three or four questions from customers.

"It is our ability to create the link with customers and our ability to listen and find solutions to their problems that is important. But most of all, it shows we have a lot of conviction. Also, a lot of products that we create are answers to the requests of our customers," he adds.

He also believes that the development of good skincare
products is like cooking, and that Clarins labs are its kitchens and its technicians the chefs.

"If you do not cook much, you just follow a recipe book and you can cook a dish that is okay. If you cook a lot, the recipe will taste a little better. But if you are a chef, it will taste incredible," he says. "It is the know-how of the chef, since the ingredients are the same, that makes the difference. And that is the difference that sets us apart from other skincare companies."

	Company: Clarins Ltd Business: Skin care, cosmetics, perfumery Established: 1954 Year joined HKGCC: 1999 Web site: www.clarins.com