L’Oréal reveals a Europe-wide coronavirus solidarity programme
The world's largest beauty and cosmetics group, L’Oréal, launches a Europe-wide solidarity programme to support stakeholders against COVID-19. Front-line defence like hospitals, care homes and pharmacies striving to 'flatten the curve', food distribution stakeholders,who guarantee the essential needs of consumers; hair salons, perfume stores and suppliers of VSE/SMEs, who are particularly exposed to the economic crisis resulting from this epidemic; and lastly partner non-profit organisations who are committed to combating insecurity.
The Group will implement the following measures with immediate effect:
- Solidarity with health authorities: The Group’s factories, which had already started making hand sanitizer last week, will now ramp up their production to manufacture significant quantities over the next few weeks to support the needs of French and European health authorities.
- Solidarity with healthcare and pharmacy staff: La Roche-Posay will equip all partner hospitals, care homes and main partner pharmacies in Europe with hand sanitizer. These establishments are our first line of defence against coronavirus and are committed to protecting us and curbing the epidemic every day. The brand is already supplying free bottles to French pharmacies that are able to produce hand sanitizer in their own dispensaries.
- Solidarity with food distribution stakeholders: Garnier will supply and distribute several million units of hand sanitizer free-of-charge to all its European food distribution customers so that their employees, who are continuing to work to meet consumers’ basic needs, can protect themselves by following the recommended precautions.
- Solidarity with VSE/SMEs in our distribution networks (hair salons, small perfume shops): L’Oréal will freeze their payments until their businesses resume.
- Solidarity with our most exposed suppliers: For our suppliers who have been most exposed to the crisis, L’Oréal will shorten its payment times with systematic immediate payments.
- Solidarity with the most needy: The L’Oréal Foundation has decided to donate one million euros (USD 1,088,800) to its partner non-profit organisations, who are committed to fight insecurity. This will help the most needy to follow the recommended precautions, combat the coronavirus and withstand the consequences of this epidemic. These non-profit organisations supported throughout the year by the L’Oréal Foundation will also be offered hygiene kits (shower gel and shampoo) and hand sanitizer for social workers, volunteers and beneficiaries.
Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, explains: “In this unprecedented crisis, it is our responsibility to contribute to the collective effort in every way possible. Through these actions, L’Oréal expresses our recognition, our support and our solidarity towards those who are demonstrating extraordinary courage and selflessness in their efforts to combat this pandemic.”
