L'Oreal opens local training facility

L'Oreal China on Thursday opened an academy in Shanghai for training and developing talent in the cosmetics industry in order to promote sustained business growth in the world's most populous country.

Occupying a total area of 3,300 square meters of a seven-story building in the city center, the training center has 20 classrooms that can accommodate a total of 600 students taking classes at the same time.

The center integrates training with education, and it is devoted to the development of talent in all cosmetics-related jobs, including beauty advisors, hair stylists, skin care advisors, salespersons and managers.

The center will serve all four business divisions and 20 of L'Oreal China's best-known brands. The center plans to train 17,000 hairdressers in the coming year, according to an initial company estimate.

L'Oreal has a history of commitment to talent development. The company's leadership said it hopes to maintain high-quality human resources via various types of training, which will lay a solid foundation for the company's future growth.

Alexis Perakis-Valat, CEO of L'Oreal China, said it is important to not only focus on market share and other metrics of business success but to also pay close attention to talent development.

"Talent is a valuable asset to us. The establishment of this training center is one of the most important steps we have taken in China. It caters to the need of business development and is evidence of our confidence and promise of sustainable development in the Chinese market," he said.

The establishment of the center is one more piece of the puzzle for L'Oreal as it continues to grow its China business.

Since it entered the Chinese market in 1997, L'Oreal has managed to achieve steady double-digit growth for 11 consecutive years. It generated more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in total sales in China last year, further consolidating the country's role as one of the three most important markets for the entire group.

L'Oreal has about 3,000 employees in China. With two plants, one management development center, an Asia-Pacific operation center and a state-of-the-art research and innovation center dedicated to Chinese and other Asian consumers, it is one of the few multinational companies possessing R&D, production, logistics and human resources development facilities in the country.

Contact the writer at shijing@chinadaily.com.cn