In early November, at the Mondial Coiffure Beauté 2010 event, L'Oréal Professionnel introduced – together with its product lines (including the breakaway Inoa - Innovation No Ammonia) - a series of ... concept hairdressing salons!
This is the first time the brand dares to create salons, and at the same time, take advantage of the work the group has been doing over the years in the domain of consumer expectations. The result is surprising - and presented some very interesting trends. L'Oreal thus created:
- 3 "Green" salons
- Eco Recycling – equipped with recycled products;
- Eco Zen - where water is recycled and air purified;
- Eco Nomic - produced from recycled packaging, allowing it to dispose of a low-priced "green" salon.
- A "Men Only" salon – the Sports Grooming Bar, with LCD screens to watch sports programmes, video games, touch screens.
- An "Express" Salon - the Style Minute Lab - for women on the go, no haircuts, just styling and blow-drying. A single price policy: 10 minutes, 10 €, 20 minutes, 20 €. This salon is in the form of a carousel, and can be installed in a train station, an airport, a shopping mall or a business district.
This did not happen by chance: it demonstrates how L'Oreal (which has already created a L'Oreal Stores concept in the USA) reflects on the evolution of retail. Faced with a very conservative profession - where innovations regarding service are very rare - the brand is positioned as innovative and as a determining force. I cannot help but draw a parallel between this case and the efforts made by millers in France about 20 years ago wishing to restore the good taste of bread – and proposed special baker shops, new baking methods, special flours, to bakers. "Paul" was conceived in this way.
