Laurent Duffier: Saudi Arabia drives L’Oréal’s regional growth ambitions ...Saudi Arabia

L'Oréal is deepening its long-term investment in Saudi Arabia, positioning the Kingdom at the center of its regional growth strategy as demand for beauty, sustainability and women-led workforce initiatives accelerates under Vision 2030.Speaking in an interview during the L’Oréal For the Future Summit in Jeddah, Managing Director Laurent Duffier said Saudi Arabia had become one of the group’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by a young digital population, rising consumer sophistication and expanding opportunities in the beauty economy.1. Why is L’Oréal to hosting this year’s L’Oréal For the Future Summit in Jeddah? What does the city represent for the business today?Saudi Arabia is a strategic market for L'Oréal Groupe. When we talk about our ambitions in this region and globally, Saudi Arabia is at the core of that conversation. It is a market that is growing rapidly, with a young, digitally engaged population and an increasingly sophisticated consumer base. In 2025, L’Oréal Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, was the top 5 contributor to the growth of the group worldwide.We have been present in the Kingdom for over 15 years, building deep roots across our brands, our partnerships, and our people. Our work is directly aligned with Saudi Vision 2030; from investing in local talent, empowering women to advancing our sustainability and elevating the beauty industry, our priorities mirror the Kingdom’s own national objectives.This year, we inaugurated our state-of-the-art offices in Jeddah, specifically designed to support our growing workforce, which we plan to double in size this year.Hosting the Summit in Jeddah for the second time in a row is a strategic and deliberate choice. The L'Oréal For the Future Summit is our annual platform to showcase our progress across four strategic pillars: stewarding the climate transition, safeguarding nature, driving circularity and supporting communities. This edition is particularly meaningful because we are hosting it in our newly inaugurated Jeddah office marking a key mid-term milestone for our program since its launch in 2020.2. How did the idea for the Hairdressing Academy first come about, and why has L’Oréal continued expanding the initiative across Saudi Arabia? The Hairdressing Academy is at the very heart of L’Oréal’s foundations. We were founded in 1909 by a chemist who invented the first hair dye, and today, we are the leaders in professional hair products. Because the mastery of this profession has always been central to our story, we take responsibility towards the industry. This is why we invest in the professionals who bring beauty to life every day the hairdressers, the stylists, the craftspeople behind the chair.In Saudi Arabia, the Academy’s mission extends far beyond technical training. It is a strategic engine for socio-economic impact. By certifying Saudi women as professional hairstylists, we are actively contributing to female workforce participation and the economic diversification that Vision 2030 is driving. The scale of the Academy speaks for itself. We now operate five academies across the Kingdom, in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. The academies are accredited by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), subsidised by the Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF), and held in partnership with Princess Nourah, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal and Effat Universities. To date, we have certified over 150 Saudi women with a 71% employment rate. In 2025 alone, we upskilled over 800 hairdressers with 10,000 hours of training. By 2029, we aim to certify over 1,000 women.3. The Academy is clearly a flagship initiative, but what other programmes is L'Oréal running to support women in the Kingdom?The hairdressing academy is central to our work in Saudi Arabia, but it is part of a much broader strategic commitment to women's empowerment that runs across everything we do in the Kingdom.L'Oréal Saudi Arabia runs the Beauty for a Better Life programme in partnership with Education for Employment. The programme provides vocational training, digital upskilling, education and employment opportunities for women seeking careers in the beauty sector. The L'Oréal Foundation has dedicated over SR600,000 to this program, and we expect 100 women to graduate and enter the beauty workforce in 2026. Furthermore, our Kérastase Power Talks initiative, in partnership with Al Nahda, is a mentorship programme designed to equip Saudi women with the tools, and courage to thrive in their careers. By helping them maximize their full potential and professional self-expression, we are fostering a new generation of female leaders. In 2025, the programme has mentored 200 women across the Kingdom.These programmes reflect something we feel very strongly about at L'Oréal Saudi Arabia: that empowering women is an ongoing, multi-layered commitment, and one that we will continue to scale in alignment with the Kingdom’s vision. 4. We can see that refillable beauty is a big theme at this year’s Summit. Is this something Saudi consumers are actually embracing, and how is L’Oréal making it accessible?Saudi consumers are conscious and according to recent studies, they actively seek out eco-friendly and responsible products and brands that reflect their personal values. And refillable beauty is one of the most powerful ways we can empower Saudi consumers to make meaningful and sustainable choices without compromising on the experience and quality they expect from our brands. This is why we have launched the Refill Movement campaign to accelerate this shift in behaviour and to empower consumers to incorporate refills into their regular beauty routines. The response has been encouraging, and we are continuing to expand availability across the Kingdom to make this shift as easy as possible.What makes our refillable offer so compelling is its breadth. Refillables are now available across all beauty categories, makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrance, spanning our luxury brands like Kiehl's, Prada Paradoxe and YSL Libre, our dermatological beauty brands La Roche-Posay and CeraVe, and our professional range including Kérastase Huile Sublime and L'Oréal Professionnel shampoos; ensuring that there is truly something for every consumer. All of our beauty advisors are also trained to educate consumers on the environmental benefits of refillable formats, so the conversation is happening at every point of sale across the Kingdom.5. When you look at L’Oréal’s presence in Saudi Arabia, how do you measure the impact the Group is actually having here?Impact is something we measure independently and transparently. In 2025, Asterès, an independent Paris-based economic research consultancy, has conducted the first socio-economic impact study to measure L’Oréal’s impact in the KingdomThe study showed that L'Oréal's value chain in Saudi Arabia supports 8,765 jobs and generates SR3.2 billion in total sales. This goes far beyond our own offices and teams, encompassing our suppliers, our distributors, our retail partners, our salon network, and every business that touches our products on their journey to the consumer. Beyond the economic figures, our social programmes have reached more than 35,000 people across Saudi Arabia, with a focus on women's empowerment, education and upskilling. For us, the true measure of success in the Kingdom is the legacy we build. It is about the lives we touch, the professional careers we help build, and the communities we invest in. We are here not just to be a player in the Kingdom’s market, but to be a fundamental partner in its transformation. 6. Saudi Arabia has incredibly ambitious goals for the next decade. How does L’Oréal see its own future here fitting into that bigger picture?We don’t see ourselves as just a business in the market, but as a locally anchored partner committed to the Kingdom’s transformation. Our future is in line with the ambitions of the Vision 2030. Our strategy is to bring the best of global beauty, innovation, and sustainability to support Saudi Arabia’s national priorities. This future focuses on three key areas: Empowering Talent: We are accelerating the professionalization of the beauty sector by creating high-value career paths for Saudi women and youth. Our goal is to ensure that local talent is not just part of our team but leading our growth in the region. Sustainability: We remain fully committed to the Saudi Green Initiative through our ‘L’Oréal for the Future’ programme, where we are pioneering more sustainable and circular ways of doing business.Innovation: As a Beauty Tech leader, we are bringing the most advanced AI and data-driven solutions to the Kingdom, supporting Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global hub for technology.We are not just investing in a market; we are investing in a nation’s acceleration. Our mission is to create the beauty that moves the Kingdom.

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