Essay About Acquisition Of Kiehl And Main Question

Loreal and the Globalization of American Beauty
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Overview of the Situation and Problems
Kiehls started as a small American beauty company established in 1851 in New York City. It was purchased in 2000 by LOreal, the worlds largest beauty firm. The acquisition of Kiehls was a part of LOreals long term globalization strategy, which also included the addition of popular American brands like Maybelline, Redken, Matrix, SoftSheen-Carson, and Ralph Lauren to its international brand portfolio. LOreals approach to acquisitions has historically been to choose brands with long, deep rooted history that would introduce them to a new segment of market share and with strong growth potential. Kiehls did not deviate from this pattern; it was a small family luxury brand with a grass-roots culture and deeply rooted in New York City and would strengthen LOreals positioning in the specialty store high-end segment. Kiehls identity was well defined and as a result, the main question to be addressed was: How far to take Kiehls in the global marketplace while maintaining its integrity as an alternative brand with a cult following? The decision to go global was already made, the next steps will be to assess Kiehls organization and to decide to what extent it is globalized, as well as how to do so without losing sight of the companys core identity.