L'Oreal's Global Branding Strategy

L'Oreal was organized as a clutch of small profit centers, some with as few as ten employees. The company's work culture encouraged audits and budget meetings to focus less on the spilled milk of the past, and more on leading indicators of how things would look at year-end.

These meetings encouraged discussions to find out which overlooked products showed signs of life but were undercapitalized and which products were not matching expectations and needed pruning. The structure allowed L'Oreal to move fast...

As Owen-Jones raced to expand international sales, he realized the need to ensure that his brands did not confuse consumers, leading to brand cannibalization. Owen-Jones also faced uncertainty surrounding the company's future. Bettencourt, 79, had indicated she did not want the arrangement with Nestle to change in her lifetime. Nestle had promised to respect her wishes. But after her death, it was not clear whether Nestle would be as compliant with her only child, Francoise. Nestle had about $13 billion tied up in L'Oreal, and with 26% of its shares, it could launch a takeover bid...