Cosmetic valley
COSTMETIC VALLEY history
Find the main stages in the history of perfumery and cosmetics division.
A story that began in the 1970's
The decentralisation policy of the 1970’s prompted the leading perfume companies to withdraw from the Paris region. Many of them set up production facilities to the south of the greater Paris region (Ile de France) such as Guerlain, Coty-Lancaster and Paco Rabanne, which set up in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), Dior in Orleans (Loiret) and Hermès in the Eure department. The presence of these leading industries led to an increasing number of SME’s to set up both upstream and downstream of the position occupied by the leading brands and included manufacturers of raw materials, perfume compositors, plastics specialists and logistical experts as well as cosmetics specialists, marketing designers and control laboratories, etc. Similarly, foreign investments in the industry decided to set up their European bridgeheads in the heart of this region where the combination of beauty companies and many other professionals made it easier to start up operations. The Japanese company Shiseido set up in the Loiret whereas the Korean Pacific and the German company Reckitt chose Eure-et-Loir.
1994: Cosmetic Valley ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED
Players in the beauty industry in Eure-et-Loir were the first to organise a network in 1994. Some 20 companies established professional association chaired by Jean-Paul Guerlain. With support from local authorities, an ambitious strategy quickly enabled Cosmetic Valley to carve out a solid reputation. Thanks to its “SPL” label (Système Productif Localisé or local production system) issued in 2000 by DATAR, Cosmetic Valley soon became one of the most dynamic skills centres in France. Between 1994 and 2000, Cosmetic Valley helped create 3,000 jobs locally.
2005: Cosmetic Valley ACQUIRES THE LABEL OF ‘COMPETITVENESS CLUSTER’
When the French state decided to implement a new economic policy to set up competitiveness clusters, Cosmetic Valley was naturally mandated by all operators in the territory to see through an ambitious project for a competitiveness cluster labelled as such in July 2005. The association then made a quantitative and qualitative leap; its terms of reference were extended from one department to six covering three regions, Centre, Ile de France and Haute Normandie. Universities and training institutes joined the cluster and contributed their expertise.