Taking advantage of the reflection period due to the slowdown related to the COVID crisis, CEO Anne Delleur Cabarrus launched a brand performance analysis covering the last months of 2019 and early 2020.
Determined criteria
“The analysis highlighted a considerable loss of turnover due to our operations despite the investments made since 2016 as part of a high-performing SAP Business One system of information. We found that we could not handle a number of firm orders because some of our suppliers did not deliver on time or did not have reliable stocks, or there was progress to be made in terms of communication. It was the right moment to re-examine it all, so we could count on safe operations in the future,” she explains.
As an ‘Excellence’ BPI France member, the company was granted the support of two consultants appointed by the French organization, Lysiane Bessonnet and Christine Le Guennec. The mission consisted in listing all the suppliers that were not part of the brand’s active partners and who satisfied determined criteria.
“Our selection criteria are very precise. The companies need to be able to get organic, Cosmos certifications to develop clean, organic makeup and skincare products as soon as 2021, whether their size is adapted to ours or not, and whether they have a family profile or are directly related to the shareholder. We also ask for information about the production chains and technologies, and require that the whole production be managed internally. Lastly, it is important for us that their structures be digitalized and that they have efficient information systems to communicate quickly,” adds Anne Delleur Cabarrus.
About a hundred 90% French companies were selected as part of this first screening; they are answering the RFI (Request for Information) questionnaire set up according to the criteria.
“Based on this selection and on videoconferences with these companies’ General Managers, we will make a choice in late July to find our three to five partners for the next five years. Any entity that thinks they correspond to the profile and has not been contacted can still fill in the questionnaire by writing to Lucile Froment, who is in charge of the sourcing [1]” adds the President.
The market situation as a transformation driver
“The current situation shows we need to make transformations even more quickly,” she continues. “Today, we require much flexibility, agility, and fast development for smaller quantities and with much transparency and sincerity in our exchanges. We need to quickly adapt to the market and optimize our own internal resources. It is essential in the current context, so we need to change our processes, and other people should be able to question themselves and change too.”
Accelerating the availability of the green range
Launched as part of an exclusive partnership with Monoprix a year ago, the clean, vegan range Le Lab Végétal by Arcancil Paris became available in 60 additional stores last June, which makes 108 stores, all in all. This acceleration illustrates the brand’s commitment to systematically making “green” products for the past two years.
“It is also in this context of accelerated deployment with Monoprix, Arcancil Paris’s historic partner, that we needed to find partners perfectly familiar with this field. We want to focus makeup innovation on this, so we need to select partners that are better informed as regards the clean and vegan criterion, and more precisely formula/packaging,” concludes Anne Delleur Cabarrus.
