Premium Beauty News - Massilly was already active in the luxury segment. What are the changes with "My Box"? A new marketing approach, new targets?
Hervé de Rivoire - Massilly has a long history in the metal packaging sector. Our business in its current industrial configuration exists since 1959 (we have just celebrated our fiftieth anniversary!) but the group’s origins and its presence in metal goes back to 1911.The group has a turnover of €220 million and employs 1350 people across the world and through 24 companies.
Our activity in boxes and promotional packs has actually always offered solutions to the perfumery-cosmetics sector and we designed a few years ago beautiful cases for Sephora, boxes, for Yves Saint-Laurent Parfums, Biotherm and for a few other brands less recently. In the wine and spirits sector, we designed promotional canisters for Ballantine’s among other brands.
We launched the "My Box by Massilly" division at the last Luxepack. This new entity provides a dedicated offer with premium cases and boxes for brands. In addition to having industrial resources (see below), it offers a new marketing approach with a new sales team. Our booth at Luxepack reflected this change with the presentation of our new website www.myboxbymassilly.com, a new visual chart and simulation samples dedicated to premium markets. Twenty premium decorations were showcased.
Premium Beauty News – Apart from some famous examples, especially with Jean-Paul Gaultier and Calvin Klein, metal appears to have slightly declined in the perfumery and cosmetics packaging sector. During your business meetings, how is this material perceived today by brands?
Hervé de Rivoire - Above all, brands try to positively surprise and astonish their customers. The promotional packaging sector for end of the year festivities, Mothers Day, etc..., remains dynamic and most brands traditionally present a gift pack usually containing an eau-de-toilette and a bath product. Metal is still very topical. It remains a very qualitative material when it is finely wrought. It can be beautifully decorated thanks to the offset process using up to 6 colors. We can use mat or shiny lacquers to give a depth of field aspect or play with optical effects. With the embossing process we can increase the visual impact. Metal is an excellent media for brands having a particular story to "tell"!
Premium Beauty News – Did this new strategy call for specific industrial investments?
Hervé de Rivoire - In our European factories (in Burgundy and Wales) We have the proper tools to offer a wide range of boxes and cases with cylindrical and square shapes. We are thinking of expanding this range in order to adjust with the current trends in shapes.
We are on permanent watch with our printing ink suppliers to offer new decoration finishes. The Massilly group annually invests an average of 7% of its turnover in the industrial tool.
Premium Beauty News – Shouldn’t’ the success of My Box by Massilly partly rely on Asia in terms of industrial tools?
Hervé de Rivoire - We carried out a market study, end of 2008 - early 2009, on our clients expectations. They want to surprise and innovate. The promotional pack they are looking for must follow the same direction.
We can print on boxes of standard shapes and our European entities have a leadership in that domain. If brands want to go beyond the visual impact, Asia has tremendous advantages to offer: we can then work on the most daring shapes, by associating for example, metal with other materials, this was very trendy in 2008 (metal and faux leather, metal and plastic, glued fabric, etc..). Metal can be wrought, cut with an openwork design to unveil the product. This can be achieved within very attractive time limits,. "My Box" offers a dual approach: an European offer for standards, an Asian offer for innovative shapes.
What also emerged strongly from the study we undertook, is our customers expectation to rely on an "industrial" service even if production comes from Asia. Our customers are not just looking for a purchase/resale offer; they want industrial support throughout project development and quality monitoring once the goods are delivered. This is where "My Box" stands out by providing our customers with this industrial rigor which has been illustrating the products of the Massilly group for 50 years.
We can also offer storage space in our French and European production sites which can also contribute to optimal service.
Premium Beauty News - A new year begins. What goals have you set yourselves to improve the marketing of your products in the beauty sector?
Hervé de Rivoire - We want to be in a leading position within 5 years. In addition to the contacts already established with some perfum and cosmetics brands, we will, this year, carry on our communication and canvassing actions, in addition to our participation in the following shows, Pack&Gift, Emballage, Luxe Pack and probably in an unusual way, at MakeUp in Paris.
