Premium Beauty News - You became the Head of Meiyume in September 2022. What were your objectives?
Thierry Rabu - Meiyume’s strength lies in our being present in the different phases of the product value proposal, thanks to our network of partners and to our five plants located all around the world. Our business covers primary and secondary packaging solutions, filling, formulation, digital retail solutions, etc. So, it was somewhat tricky to define the company. As a result, my mission consisted in refocusing Meiyume on its core business to stimulate our growth, post-Covid.
We mainly offer an added value in the form of innovation. Our innovative solutions are not limited to products: they also have to do with the value we provide in points of sale with our digital merchandising concept. It is all based on exceptional agility, thanks to a supply chain which benefits from a network of almost unique, both Asian and regional partners.
Premium Beauty News – How was that conveyed in terms of organization?
Thierry Rabu - First, we put the company in line with the regional strategic approach. We used to have a centralized decisional process. We have now given regions a real strategic value, and autonomy.
The second phase consisted in even more smartly keeping this regional focus as part of a local market intelligence cooperation, so we could identify the right trends on each market. Meanwhile, we aimed to make our support services even more efficient, including Finance, Human Resources, and IT, so we could take advantage of a more advanced and agile backbone.
Lastly, we modified the organization of our supply chain, which was also centralized per market category, and adapted it to our regional approach. After the pandemic, most of our clients focused on a more regional approach to supplying, so that we had to meet their demand with a better-adapted method, whether it be in the US, Europe, Asia, or South-East Asia.
Premium Beauty News - Can you tell us about the company’s global vision?
Thierry Rabu - It is still defined as “Empowering Beauty for a Sustainable Future”. CSR prevails in our clients’ demands. We really need to integrate this commitment to all of our company’s functions. We got the Ecovadis Gold label, and we are aiming for the Platinum grade. This new social and environmental focus helped us reshape our approach to both primary & secondary packaging and formulation. We invested in ecodesign for multinationals and independent brands alike. In-house, we strengthened our Regulatory Compliance team as regards formulation. Regarding product development, we systematically try to offer at least one or two ecodesign options.
In parallel, we set up workshops focused on three main values: Agility, Creativity & Trust (ACT). Agility represents our ability to adapt to the different markets. Creativity is the very essence of Meiyume, in relation to product and solution innovation, while Trust is crucial for open and transparent exchanges, whether in-house or with our external partners. These notions have already been successfully integrated.
Premium Beauty News - Did you have to make any specific adjustments in certain regions?
Thierry Rabu - We completely transformed our approach to certain markets. In Continental China, our approach to the Chinese market used to be focused on export, rather than on the local market. We have been changing this strategy to boost our growth. Although export sourcing in China remains big for us, we can now meet the local demand.
In the United States, we have been setting up a new partner entity in the form of an incubation cell. It will support independent and already well-established brands in developing tomorrow’s products more quickly, thanks to our innovation and formulation power, with a partner in a complementary business.
Meiyume’s turnover is well-balanced between the different regions. We achieve almost similar revenues in all our four regional divisions, i.e. the US, Europe, the UK, and Asia.
Premium Beauty News – How is your business divided?
Thierry Rabu - The trading part accounts for almost 60% of our business, while production in our own plants represents about 35%, and activities in points of sale, 5%. Recently, we refocused the last part, putting an emphasis on digital solutions, which helps brands better manage their supplies, and collect data to better optimize and manage sales efficacy in stores. To this aim, we have our own referenced solutions.
As for categories, our perfume business is the most important, because it generates the largest growth, ahead of skincare and makeup. Globally, perfumes are still on a roll, but it is a cyclical market. As regards makeup, hybrid products combined with care are really growing, and so are foundations, while the eye segment achieves an acceptable growth rate. However, demand for lip products has not reached its pre-Covid level yet.
