L’Oréal’s Canadian head office is celebrating its 60th anniversary this fall and inaugurating its completely redesigned and renovated 117,000 square foot (10,869 m2) head office in the heart of downtown Montréal.

Cosmetics giant L'Oréal celebrates 60 years of presence in Canada and...

Cosmetics giant L’Oréal celebrates 60 years of presence in Canada and inaugurates its brand-new head office in downtown Montréal (CNW Group/L’Oréal Canada Inc.)

The new head office - where more than 500 employees, 60% of whom are millennials, work every day - now offers 656 open-plan workstations on two floors.

"The objective of the renovations was to provide L’Oréal Canada with a modern work environment that is adapted to our needs and that is as closely related as possible to the spirit and behaviour of our employees," said Frank Kollmar, President and CEO of L’Oréal Canada. "We are growing and our teams are growing rapidly, which is why it is important to ensure that the space provided is of the most flexible, and to offer a sustainable solution. We also wanted a more collaborative and entrepreneurial culture," he went on to say.

This new space provides original areas for an office such as a Hairdressing Academy, a technical centre where hair colour products are tested, a Content Factory, an employees’ cosmetic boutique, training facilities for point-of-sale employees, a sprout garden in the cafeteria, a coffee bar, a library, where yoga classes by certified employees are given, and an in-house graphics studio.

"We wanted to stay in the heart of downtown Montréal where we are fortunate to be located in a historic building, the former Eaton’s store, which has a lot of charm and character, a unique and sustainable place, with a LEED certification and exceptional brightness due to its many large windows," continued Mr. Kollmar.

60 years in Canada

It was in the fall of 1958 that the L’Oréal Group decided to open a subsidiary in Canada. "L’Oréal’s early years in Canada began very modestly. We built the notoriety of our products during the 60s, slowly but surely, one hair stylist at a time, promoting our only division at the time, L’Oréal Coiffure," recalls Philippe Dalle, President and Founder of L’Oréal Canada.

Today, L’Oréal Canada, with its four divisions, 39 brands, and sales of $1.192 billion in 2017, has more than 1,300 employees and a distribution centre and manufacturing plant in Ville Saint-Laurent. The Canadian factory specialized in the production of professional hair colouring products as well as hair care and hair styling products. More than 215 million units will be produced in 2018. L’Oréal Canada exports close to 94% of these units to the United States. It has doubled its production capacity since 2000.

L’Oréal Canada

- L’Oréal Canada was founded in 1958 and is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2018

- 39 brands and $1,192 billion in sales in 2017

- more than 1,300 employees, including 70+ different nationalities and 65.7% millennials

- 62.5% of managers are women

- 45% of Executive Committee members are women

- a plant and a distribution centrer that became carbon neutral in 2017