L'Oréal China Chief: We embrace Shanghai and China market

L'Oréal sees the Chinese market as one of the most exciting consumer stories in the world, in their words, "because we've seen this market going and upgrading in the past years."

"We witness this growth, we benefit from this growth, and we see that still there is a lot of huge opportunities for the future," said Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oréal in North Asia and chief executive officer of L'Oréal China.

L'Oréal is a member of the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, which will held its annual meeting on Friday.

"We've been here in China for 24 years and we've been witnessing how Shanghai kept transforming itself and indeed today is the capital of consumption," he said.

"And still we believe that Shanghai will keep evolving even to be one of the top-tier cities in the world in terms of offering this consumption."

At last year's International Business Leaders' Advisory Council, L'Oréal proposed the "5 I's" model – Instant, Ideal, Insightful, Innovative, & Inclusive – to help Shanghai become a global landmark of "Consumption for Good."

This year, in the light of recent macroeconomic and consumer trends, the company has re-examined the model, merging "Insightful" into "Innovative" to emphasize the role of consumer insights in innovation.

It has also added a new element – "Intimate" – to reflect the emotional connection they believe Shanghai should establish with consumers, according to the company.

Megarbane also mentioned their new beauty tech hub opened in Shanghai this year, which is "here to serve not only Asia but also to work closely with the other two hubs in Paris and in New York."

"The hub in Shanghai is here to bring the best of the world to Shanghai, but also to inspire the rest of the world," said Megarbane.

"It's true that Shanghai is in a way so developed in the ecosystem that is super-powerful and super-advanced which also inspires us a lot."