Cosmetics giant L'Oréal celebrates 60 years of presence in Canada and inaugurates its brand-new head office in downtown Montréal Français
MONTRÉAL, Oct. 19, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - L'Oréal's Canadian head office is celebrating its 60th anniversary this fall and inaugurating its completely redesigned and renovated 117,000 square foot head office in the heart of downtown Montréal.
60 Years of Beauty in Canada
It was in the fall of 1958 that the L'Oréal Group decided to open a subsidiary in Canada. "L'Oréal's early years in Canada began very modestly. We built the notoriety of our products during the 60s, slowly but surely, one hair stylist at a time, promoting our only division at the time, L'Oréal Coiffure," recalls Philippe Dalle, President and Founder of L'Oréal Canada. L'Oréal's adventure in Canada started with Mr. Dalle, who gave his all to it: vision, ambition, excellence, leadership, sensitivity to the profession and respect for collaborators.
Today, L'Oréal Canada, with its 4 divisions, 39 brands, and sales of $1.192 billion in 2017, has more than 1,300 employees a head office in downtown Montréal and, a distribution centre and manufacturing plant in Ville Saint-Laurent. The Canadian factory specialized in the production of professional hair colouring products as well as hair care and hair styling products. More than 215 million units will be produced in 2018 with the most stringent requirements in terms of safety and quality. L'Oréal Canada exports close to 94% of these units to the United States. It has doubled its production capacity since 2000. In 2017, some 1.2M orders (including 350,000 e-commerce orders) were shipped from its impressive 300,000-square-foot distribution centre in Ville Saint-Laurent, inaugurated in 2001 and one of the most modern in the Group. It also includes the L'Oréal Kids daycare centre, which today welcomes 67 children.
New Head Office, Transformed Space
During the past year, L'Oréal Canada has completely redesigned its head office, where more than 500 employees, 60% of whom are millennials, work every day. The 117,000 ft2 building in downtown Montréal has undergone major renovations. "The objective of the renovations was to provide L'Oréal Canada with a modern work environment that is adapted to our needs and that is as closely related as possible to the spirit and behaviour of our employees. The work environment is the sounding board for behaviours and ways of working," said Frank Kollmar, President and CEO of L'Oréal Canada. "We are growing and our teams are growing rapidly, which is why it is important to ensure that the space provided is of the most flexible, and to offer a sustainable solution. We also wanted a more collaborative and entrepreneurial culture, because we have a strong team spirit," he went on to say.
The new head office now offers 656 open-plan workstations on two floors. Due to the nature of its industry and its population which is made up mostly of millennials, this new space provides original areas for an office such as a Hairdressing Academy, a technical centre where hair colour products are tested, a Content Factory, an employees' cosmetic boutique, training facilities for point-of-sale employees, a sprout garden in the cafeteria, a coffee bar, a library, where yoga classes by certified employees are given, and an in-house graphics studio.
"We needed a new work environment that supports and promotes more modern, agile, efficient, stimulating and collaborative ways of working. In addition, we wanted to stay in the heart of downtown Montréal where we are fortunate to be located in a historic building, the former Eaton's store, which has a lot of charm and character, a unique and sustainable place, with a LEED certification and exceptional brightness due to its many large windows. One of the project objectives was to take full advantage and get a better use out of the qualities of this unique place," concluded Mr. Kollmar.
Over the past 60 years, L'Oréal Canada has distinguished itself within the Group through its sustainable development initiatives, digital strategies, innovations and talent pool, whose expertise is highly sought by the Group's other subsidiaries around the world.
About L'Oréal Canada
L'Oréal Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the L'Oréal Group, the world's leading cosmetics company.
L'Oréal Canada, headquartered in Montreal, achieved sales of $1.192 billion in 2017 and has 1,300 employees. The company includes a portfolio of 39 brands covering all aspects of beauty and is present in all distribution channels: mass market, department stores, salons, pharmacies and branded boutiques.
SOURCE L'Oréal Canada Inc.
Virginie Hotte-Dupuis, Manager, External Relations and Philanthropy, L'Oréal Canada, T: 514 287-4618, E: [email protected]
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