2023-07-19 12:00:00
Yves Rocher is a great business story of which the Bretons are proud. Those who start small but already saw big. Yves Rocher is one of them. It was at the end of the 1950s that the founder, passionate about the world of plants and convinced of their benefits for women, transformed the family attic into a laboratory where he experimented with the development of natural cosmetics.
Visionary too. In 1959, he launched an innovative concept: mail-order sales (VPC). Seventy years later, the Rocher group weighs heavily: 2.4 billion euros in turnover in 2022; 650 stores in France; 2,800 worldwide; 16,000 employees, a presence in 110 countries and more than 450 million products manufactured mainly in Brittany. The group also has 8 other brands, including Dr Pierre Ricaud, Petit Bateau and Arbonne.
Changes in consumer habits
But for several years, the group has been suffering. Losing momentum, it loses 335 million euros between 2020 and 2022, i.e. a 14% drop in turnover. In question, the Covid-19 – the group had to close its stores for seven months – but also changes in consumer habits – fewer products, less often.
Also penalized by the fall in sales of mail-order products and inflation, the Breton group must restructure and consider painful organizational changes: 300 job cuts are planned over 3 years, mainly in Brittany. The Ploërmel factory (Morbihan), which packages perfumes, could close its doors in 2025.
At the factory, which mainly employs women in their fifties, we are bitter: “We have known for a while that the manufacture of perfumes is no longer the priority of the group. But from there to consider a closure… ”breath Nelly Simon, FO delegate. On the side of the group, we procrastinate: “The closing of the factory is not at all recorded. Nothing is decided for the moment, wishes to specify Jean-David Schwartz, the new CEO. We have set up management of jobs and career paths in companies [Gepp] voluntary, so there are no job cuts. In addition, the first results are very good since we have 87% of people interested in Gepp on different aspects [mobilité interne, projets personnels, etc.]. It’s a dynamic and scalable tool that allows us to work according to the evolution of the market”, according to Jean-David Schwartz.But the employees hardly believe in it: “The management announced to us, in January, that it would be the closure”, says Nadine Doudard, FO delegate who will not stop there. The union filed an appeal with the court to have this agreement annulled on the grounds of a formal defect.
“One of the unions did not have the legal capacity to sign it. In our opinion, it is obsolete. This would allow us to renegotiate the agreement to increase the amounts of the departure bonuses. They reach 2,200 euros per year of seniority, barely, it is well below the national average ”, underline the two trade unionists. The hearing is scheduled for September 19.
Heading for Asia
So how does the group intend to return to growth? To bounce back, it has drawn up a 2030 plan. The first part of this reconquest concerns the acceleration of its internationalization, particularly in Asia: “The Asian market represents 10% of our turnover. Our objective is to double it to reach 20% in 2030, in particular by opening new stores,” explains Jean-David Schwartz.
READ ALSOGrégoire Heuzé, banker on the looseWhat about Russia, where the group had chosen to maintain its position despite the war? If the turnover there represents only 4% (15% a few years ago), the position of the management remains unchanged: “Obviously, we condemn the war and the violence suffered by the populations in Ukraine. Our line of conduct is the same, it is first the human. This means prioritizing and supporting our employees in Ukraine. But, in the same way, we have decided to also support our teams in Russia who have no responsibility for the political and military decisions of their country. Our first responsibility as an employer is to support the teams, wherever they are in the world. This is still our position today. »
“No store will close”
Second part of the 2030 plan, innovation with the manufacture of solid cosmetics: “We intend to invest several million euros in the industrial part of our activities. We are thinking about internalizing the manufacture of solid cosmetics, which is currently outsourced, continues the CEO. This implies the creation of a production line, therefore jobs. We will invest in this production in Brittany, in Morbihan. We are also in the process of evaluating investment projects so that our Breton factories are self-sufficient in water. Several million euros of investment are key for these dry factories. »
READ ALSOAutomobiles, iPhone and software: the boom of made in IndiaJean-David Schwartz wants to be reassuring for the future: “No Yves Rocher store will close, the network is our strength. We found 900,000 customers in France last year. We are increasing in market share and we have almost reached our historic levels for eighteen months. »
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