The global brand’s regional chief explains the strategy for post-pandemic recovery in the cosmetics business DUBAI: All the Middle East’s citizens and residents unable to travel to their favorite European destinations this summer can take some consolation in the fact that there is a little bit of France at their local mall, or available at the click of a keyboard. L’Oreal, the French brand that epitomizes so much of the style and beauty of the country, is weathering the pandemic storm and is as committed as ever to the region, where it has had a presence for the past 60 years. Remi Chadapaux, regional managing director of the Paris-based company, told Arab News that L’Oreal has been affected by the fall in consumer demand in the first half of the year, as lockdowns and curfews hit the retail industry hard. “Now it’s a little complicated by COVID-19 and the oil price, but I think things will settle down,” he said. Like the rest of the consumer sector, the brand was badly hit when people in the region were told to stay at home for most of April and May. Even when they could go out, they were less inclined to use L’Oreal’s range of beauty products. Makeup and face masks are not natural companions. “Makeup is huge in the region. It’s taking a bit of a hit right now, but I’m confident we can recreate the bond with makeup,” Chadapaux said. “The local GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) citizens are very heavy makeup consumers, so there’s a bit of a pause right now because they’re not going out that much, or because they’ve been wearing a mask,” he added. “There’s a change in consumption within the makeup category. The lips category is going down whereas the eyes category is still resilient.” Other parts of the business have also suffered. L’Oreal began its 110-year history as a supplier of professional products to salons and coiffeurs, so that side of operations halted immediately and is only slowly opening up. But mass-market products and derma-cosmetics have remained available through pharmacies, and Chadapaux believes that the business has a good chance of breaking even by the end of the year. “Right now, what we have in our new budget is a slightly negative result of the year. But it’s work in progress. I’m trying to motivate the team to end the year flat,” he said. If L’Oreal achieves that, it will be in no small amount due to the boom in e-commerce, which Chadapaux calls one of the “silver linings” of the COVID-19 crisis.