Rémy Gomez's - The Moodie Report

INTERVIEW • Rémy Gomez January 2007
Rémy
Gomez’s
bearable
lightness of
being
From performing professionally in ballets by Prokofiev and Debussy to a glittering
career in the beauty industry, Beauté Prestige International (BPI) President Rémy
Gomez is no stranger to centre stage. He talked to Martin Moodie about his diverse
career, about BPI’s hugely successful designer fragrance family, and about the
values that matter most to him.
For a man who danced professional ballet for many
years, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rémy Gomez
describes one of the key tenets of his management
philosophy as “lightness”.
Heading French fragrances and cosmetics company
Beauté Prestige International (BPI), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Japanese beauty house Shiseido, seems
a very long way removed from dancing in Romeo and
Juliet or Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune, but the charismatic
54-year-old Frenchman sees much common
ground.
“Apart from the fact that in one case everyone is on
stage, it’s all the same kind of fears,” he says with a smile.
But as we chat on a glorious autumn afternoon on the BPI
balcony overlooking the beach during the TFWA World
Exhibition in Cannes, it’s hard to imagine this gregarious,
sanguine character having any fears.
Tie-less and relaxed, he speaks in a fascinating and wholly
unpretentious manner about his corporate culture and
development strategy for what he describes as BPI’s three
“pillars” – designer fragrances Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey
Miyake and Narciso Rodriguez – as well as his artistic past.
Why did he quit dancing for the world of business? “I
reached the point where I could have gone on for another
ten years, but I was no Nureyev,” he replies candidly.
With a business degree under his belt he went from
dancer to stage and technical director to corporate life
with one of the world’s biggest multi-nationals, Procter
& Gamble.
The journey from there has embraced various tenures as
President of P&G Health and Beauty Care in Germany,
President of skincare house ROC and President of Hermès
fragrances before taking on the challenge of heading
BPI in 2000.
96 The Moodie Report
Photo: Michael Fryer

January 2007 INTERVIEW • Rémy Gomez
Succeeding the charismatic Chantal Roos who had
departed for Sanofi Beauté, the Gucci-owned operator of
Yves Saint Laurent fragrances and cosmetics, Gomez set
about implementing his own style – an approach which
has paid rich dividends since.
In late 2003 the hugely successful designer duo of Gaultier
and Miyake became a trio with
the roll-out of the first fragrance
from hot US Hispanic designer
Narciso Rodriguez. With Gaultier,
BPI had taken a French brand and
made it international. It worked the
same magic with Japan’s iconic Issey
Miyake. Now it planned to make
lightning strike for a third time, this
time with an American brand.
The intervening years have been
good ones, for Gomez and BPI,
with travel retail playing a prominent
role in the development of
each brand. While 2006 was a year of relative consolidation,
2007 will see a major focus on male fragrances – “it
will be the year of men” says Gomez – with key launches
for Jean Paul Gaultier, Narciso Rodriguez and Issey
Miyake (see panel, page 99).
All this represents a flurry of activity after a year which,
though commercially successful, was muted in launch
terms. “2006 will go down as a very good year, especially
if you look at in the context that we didn’t bring to the
market any new brands or new lines,” says Gomez. “It
really has seen a sustained growth in the existing business.
We will do more than our budget, both turnoverand
profit-wise, globally.”
At the time of the interview
in late October, BPI’s
travel retail operation –
headed by International
Travel Retail Director
Louis-Benoît Barth – was
set to make budget, despite
an initially drastic impact
from the aviation security
crisis sparked on 10
August.
Travel retail had been “well
ahead of plan” until that
point, Gomez says. But
like most beauty or liquor
“You were seeing
people buying
something and
then having it
taken away –
disaster”
companies BPI was hit not only by the initial crackdown
on liquids being taken onboard but also by the resultant
consumer confusion.
“The impact varied very much by country. It was up to
25% in some countries, more than that in some hubs,
and less in continental Europe. But it really hurt a lot.
We will still finish the year with
some growth, but obviously not
what was originally planned. It’s
very unfortunate.”
Continental Europe and Asia
remained strong, but the worstaffected
markets were slow to
recover and, Gomez says, it’s still
hard to read how 2007 will shape
up.
“I travelled a lot between September
and late October. At the beginning
of the period the airports were
lost, the girls in the stores were lost, the airline company
people were lost. You had conflicting information on
whether you could buy or not buy and you were seeing
people buying something and then having it taken away
– disaster.
“It has improved, but still the field of communication is
very difficult. You have to communicate with the security
people, the regular airport staff, the airline staff, the
girls in the store and the [mainstream] press, which is generally
only interested in the bad news.”
And yet this “significant blip” (as Gomez describes it)
failed to significantly dent a fine year for the company. So
Key pillar:
Through BPI Jean
Paul Gaultier has
moved from being
an iconic French
name to a top
international
brand
The Moodie Report 97

INTERVIEW • Rémy Gomez January 2007
Rémy Gomez: “When the product is there, we launch”
without much in the way of newness, where did the 2006
growth come from?
“Basically all our established pillars from L’Eau d’Issey to
L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme to Le Mâle are all substantially
up – the only line that is doing a bit less well is Le
Classique which is only slightly up. The others have all
shown major growth.
“The most satisfying to me is
L’Eau d’Issey, which came back to
substantial growth. It was a line
where we had been stagnating.
This year we found the clue.”
Which was?
“Two things. One is that we
regained confidence internally.
The whole idea behind L’Eau
d’Issey is that it is a classic… but
[that can mean] people tend to
talk about it in the past. That
mindset can translate into inertia,
something perceived by both trade and consumer.”
BPI revised the classic’s packaging and advertising and
will launch a new bath line in early 2007. “We’re very
proud of what we have done there,” enthuses Gomez.
Narciso Rodriguez also showed double-digit growth, a
momentum that is expected to carry through into 2007.
Distribution is strictly controlled, in line with the ultraselective
distribution in place when the brand was
“Travel retail is the
most reactive
channel by far, and
the one that is
quickest to bring
about change”
launched, and that’s an approach that is paying off,
Gomez argues.
“Distribution remains extremely concentrated and limited,
and that works extremely well,” he says. “That strategy
was a commitment to the stores from the start, so if
they wanted Narciso they would have it with a very high
degree of exclusivity.”
Why, I ask, a ‘three-pillar’ strategy? Why not more?
“It’s an eternal subject of debate,” Gomez admits, noting
that there are other designers who would like to work
with the house on fragrances, and some indeed that BPI
is interested in adopting. But for now, he insists, three
remains the magic number.
“Today I still make the assessment that the three-dimensional
schizophrenia that we have is not digested enough
to go into four-dimensional schizophrenia,” he says with
the quirky and evocative phraseology that studs his conversation.
“We simply wouldn’t be able to give the same
service or have the same dedication.”
I ask him what dictates a launch strategy. What, for example,
drove the fact that 2006 was a fallow year in terms of
new launches while 2007 will see
a flurry of them? Is it linked to
long-term commercial plans or
simply to creative readiness?
Gomez keeps his answer simple.
“When the product is there, we
launch,” he says.
“Before deciding to launch three
new men’s products in 2007 –
which is a hell of a job – there are
a lot of pros and cons. There
could have been two, or one, but
there happen to be three because
the three were ready.
“Each designer brand has its own logic of development,
and that kicks off the creative process. But the arrival
point of the creative process is unpredictable.”
One thing that is predictable, though, is that travel retail
receives the new launches simultaneously with domestic
markets – again underlining the channel’s importance to
the company, and Gomez’s personal belief in it.
“To me travel retail is the most reactive channel by far, and
98 The Moodie Report

January 2007 INTERVIEW • Rémy Gomez
the one that is quickest to bring about change. If you look
back over the past ten years it has had to go through several
major structural crises, from the loss of intra-EU duty
free, through the threat to tobacco sales, to the recent security
issue. To survive those structural dynamics you have to
be able to adapt and bring change rapidly.
“The key issue for the future is how to communicate the
major structural changes and the crises. Travellers are going
to have to change their habits. But remember this only happened
on 10 August, so the track that has been covered in a
short time since is enormous, covering various ministries and
hundreds of airlines and airports. I find that remarkable.”
BPI prepares to boost its man power
Beauté Prestige International
(BPI) is gearing up for a strong
year within men’s fragrances in
2007, writes Rebecca Mann. Key
launches are planned across its
three brands: Jean Paul Gaultier,
Narciso Rodriguez and Issey
Miyake.
The debut men’s fragrance from
Narciso Rodriguez will be
unveiled in August, following the
designer’s recent entry into the
men’s fashion arena. And the
original Narciso Rodriguez For
Her feminine fragrance will be
refreshed in the first half of the
year with a limited-edition version
of both the edt and edp,
featuring new ‘ribbon’ packaging
and a new visual.
The ancillaries collection will also
be boosted by the introduction of
a body slimming product,
described by the company as an
“unexpected” item that combines
pleasure with performance,
courtesy of parent company
Shiseido’s skincare expertise.
L’Eau d’Issey will be updated in
March with a seasonal limited
edition, designed to capture a
moment of pure nature, according
to the company. ‘Une Goutte
sur un Pétale’ (A Drop on a Petal)
features a juice reworked with
so-called ‘guest notes’, courtesy
of Firmenich’s Alberto Morillas.
These are mandarin orange zest,
mimosa and amber.
The bottle and box have also been
redesigned, while maintaining the
original’s iconic visual identity.
The new flacon sports an opalinepinky/white
livery and name,
topped with a satin-finished steel
cap.
The outer carton is perforated
white cardboard, with a pattern
inspired by a highly pixelised
photograph of flowers, finished
with a fuchsia-pink border around
the metallic label. L’Eau d’Issey
Une Goutte sur un Pétale will be
available in 50ml or 100ml sizes,
priced at €49 and €67 respectively.
A fragrance tree-style mobile of
blotters has been created to help
sample the scent, which will also
be supported by a new promotional
visual.
For men, a new interpretation of
L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme will be
introduced in September. And 12
years after the launch of the then
ground-breaking Le Mâle, BPI is
poised to introduce a new men’s
fragrance from Jean Paul Gaultier.
Fleur du Mâle will be unveiled in
On a global basis, BPI’s market share is significantly
higher in travel retail than in domestic markets. Part of
the reason for that, Gomez reasons, is that “the quality of
the partnership has a meaning” in travel retail.
“There is a constant partnership,” he says. “That doesn’t
mean we don’t fight sometimes, but almost always there
is a reciprocal hearing available.”
So is travel retail for BPI primarily a showcase, or a revenue
generator in its own right? Gomez ponders
thoughtfully. “That’s a good question. But the answer is
it’s both – not an either/or.”
spring 2007. As the name suggests,
flowers will be a key component
of the concept.
Other innovations for Jean Paul
Gaultier next year include new
collector and Christmas editions
of the Jean Paul Gaultier Classique
feminine fragrance; new
limited-edition summer
fragrances for Classique and Le
Mâle; a numbered, limited-edition
two-size set (60ml and 20ml) for
Gaultier to the Power of Two; and
new travel retail exclusive sets
featuring a passport theme and
graphic.
The Moodie Report 99

INTERVIEW • Rémy Gomez January 2007
A breath of fresh air: Gomez outlines his views to
The Moodie Report Publisher Martin Moodie
As the interview nears its close, I ask what really motivates
him – what makes him get out of bed in the morning.
There’s a long silence, followed by a short answer.
“I want to make things different… with ethics.”
“What do you mean by ‘with ethics’?”
“Two things. It can be very satisfying and rewarding to be
the CEO of a great house like BPI but to me the real
reward is in doing things internally which develop values
that have little to do with the traditional principles of
management.
“Internally, I consider my job to be more important in
promulgating values ranging from creativity, which is
obvious, to lightness, which is not so obvious; and to self
development.
“And in terms of the second part of my job – the relationship
with the designer and the creation of brands and
products – I always try to make things different. Not just
for the sake of being different, but in recognition of why
the consumer in the end chooses your product over all the
products he or she is exposed to.
“It goes beyond being creative – you have to have substance
and surprise.” Underlining the importance of the
designer relationship he adds: “In one sense I see BPI as
having four shareholders – Mr Issey [Miyake], Mr Gaultier,
Mr Narciso [Rodriguez] and Mr Shiseido.”
I ask Gomez to tell me about ‘lightness’. “It’s the most difficult
value to bring to life, and to today’s corporate
world,” he replies. “Lightness is the ability to take the
plug out whenever it is needed. Lightness is always keeping
in mind the right perspective about your job and
your responsibility.
“Lightness is building the working environment and
process and finding the right balance between efficacy and
the non-procedural. Lightness is developing procedures
that are both top of mind and yet forgotten, so they are
kind of a second nature; and that is very, very difficult,
because we need procedures.”
One of those procedures lies with the relationship
between BPI and parent company Shiseido. Gomez has
the standard reporting obligations to the shareholding
company, but he is given considerable freedom to operate.
“They know and trust what BPI can do, and they
know we deliver,” he says.
Here’s a man who has thought much about his own place
in the sun. He admits there is something “frivolous”
about working in the beauty industry, but says that that
very frivolity is essential to the industry’s creativity, image
and success.
Does he still dance? He roars with laughter. “Not at all!
I’m too fat to move my ass the way I used to do. When I
moved to P&G I still had a few contracts, and danced a
bit in the first year. But the physical commitment is
something you cannot do on a macho basis.”
What was his favourite ballet to dance? Probably
Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, he says (he danced both
Romeo and Tybalt in different productions). He also
loves (and has danced) Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-midi
d’un Faune (Afternoon of a Faun) – “it was fantastic but I
was pretty dreadful” – and a host of modern ballets.
Watching, as opposed to dancing, ballet is a very different
proposition and Gomez admits to having been a poor
spectator at first. “Watching ballet was frustrating because
I was not on the stage. Your body and your thinking as a
ballet dancer move with those who are dancing, but
you’re sitting down and that’s frustrating.”
As he reaches his mid-50s, with two successful and contrasting
careers behind him, what lies next for Rémy
Gomez? “There is still a long way to go here,” he laughs,
“but who knows, one day I may be happy to bring the two
worlds together more directly than I could today.”
Whether in the theatrical or corporate world, Gomez has
long understood the value of entertaining the consumer, of
delivering both value and values, and, clearly, of enjoying
himself. In his self-deprecation, exuberance and understanding
of the human condition he’s a compelling, gregarious
and warm individual. Whatever the stage, an audience
with Rémy Gomez will always be a fascinating thing. ■
100 The Moodie Report