After The Body Shop, it would be the turn of this French family brand, founded in 1959, to find itself in the post-pandemic economic turmoil. Decryption.
Between the consequences of the health crisis, inflation and a sharp decline in mail order sales, we can no longer count the brands at the heart of the economic tumult. If fashion brands were the first victims, beauty was quick to follow suit. Indeed, for several years, competition has been fierce in the natural cosmetics market. While new names are starting to overshadow the pioneering brands, Lush and Rituals in the lead, this is without taking into account the rivalry between e-commerce sites and K-Beauty, whose numbers exploded during confinement.
This French beauty brand closes its perfume production factory as well as some boutiques
It’s a disaster for the natural beauty market. While the British brand, The Body Shop, announced at the beginning of February the closure of numerous stores in the United Kingdom and Europe, the question of the fate of its French counterpart, boasting more than 30 million customers around the world, is on everyone’s lips. Indeed, if certain brands are in full expansion since the pandemic, take for example Aroma-zonewhich has seen its attendance explode in the space of a few years, others are struggling to stay in the race and this is unfortunately the case of the Yves Rocher group.
“The beauty brand favored by the French for 65 years has just closed a few stores. Can it”
Already at the end of January 2023, the group shared, via an official press release, the upcoming closure of its perfume production factory, opened in 1985 in Ploërmel in Morbihan. A few months later, the group decided to close the activity of its 15 Swiss brands, putting around fifty jobs at risk. The news did not fail to worry the brand’s employees. And for good reason: the plant-based cosmetics giant has reportedly lost nearly 25% of its sales volume since 2020, due to the impact of Covid-19 and a change in consumption patterns: direct marketing having always been essential in the group’s strategy.
What future for this iconic brand?
Remember, still in January 2023, the Rocher group signed an agreement with the CFE-CGC and CFTC unions to cut 300 jobs over three years, a decision which threatened no less than 2,700 employees in France, mainly in Brittany. However, the Vannes court canceled this agreement in November 2023 following a complaint from Force Ouvrière, criticizing the CFTC’s lack of financial transparency. The Rocher group then appealed this decision. At the end of January 2024, a new GEPP agreement was signed with the majority unions, confirming the terms of the initial agreement.
More recently, during the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO), which ended at the beginning of February, many Yves Rocher employees expressed their dissatisfaction. The reason ? Management reportedly refused to increase their salaries, despite the inflated prices. Instead, they would have only received a one-time bonus. So far, none of the unions have accepted the agreement and negotiations have failed. Some have even called for a strike, but management is said to remain firm on its stance.
The company, founded in 1959 in La Gacilly, in Brittany, has always been recognized for its plants grown in agroecology and certified organic. Note that the eponymous group, present in 96 countries with some 2,900 stores, also owns nine other brands, including Dr Pierre Ricaud, Arbonne and Petit Bateau.