hair type, length, appearance andimage, among other things- and from the way sha mpoos were

used- washing frequency, amountused, use of one shampoo by one or mor e members of the same family, use of conditioners etc.The implementation of the global strategy could not overlook other aspects such as the presence ofthe Elsve brand and its competitive position in the different countries or the re source LOral had in the different markets. France: In France the penetration rate of conditioners was the lowest in Europe.Greater demand was being generated for more sophisticated products with more technology becausethese kinds of products gave tangible cosmetic effect to hair and did not simply clean it.The French market was becoming increasingly saturated and highl y competitive.There is a tendency between low cost products and more sophisticat ed products. Any brand that wasnot firmly ensconced in one of these two categori es ran the risk of finding itself in a poor positioningsituation and losing effe ctiveness.One of the primary challenges was to achieve greater penetration in th e segments of traditional non-users of the product- men and younger consumers- b ecause the brands positioning was closely linkedto cosmetic products, mainly use d by woman.Product image and profitab ility was another problem for Elsve. Elsves price was too low for LOrals premium posit ioning, thus profits were low. But French retailers did not want to raise their prices. Germany: France: In France the penetration rate of conditioners was the lowest in Europe.Greater demand was being generated for more sophisticated products with more technology becausethese kinds of products gave tangible cosmetic effect to hair and did not simply clean it.The French market was becoming increasingly saturated and highl y competitive.There is a tendency between low cost products and more sophisticat ed products. Any brand that wasnot firmly ensconced in one of these two categori es ran the risk of finding itself in a poor positioningsituation and losing effe ctiveness.One of the primary challenges was to achieve greater penetration in th e segments of traditional non-users of the product- men and younger consumers- b ecause the brands positioning was closely linkedto cosmetic products, mainly use d by woman.Product image and profitab ility was another problem for Elsve. Elsves price was too low for LOrals premium posit ioning, thus profits were low. But French retailers did not want to raise their prices. Germany: An important feature of the German market was that it was becoming more popular to add naturalingredients to shampoo formulasAnother significant differences bet ween the German and other European countries: A high proportionof the population had very fine hair, although they were not necessarily known for buying specifi cshampoos for fine hair.The German consumer was also more interested in using tr eatment to get hair healthier and betternourished hair.Procter and Gamble was th e shampoo market leader in terms of value, while Henkel had the biggestmarket sh are in volume.The local competition was more price aggressive. What are LOreals major barriers to pursuing a global strategy ? Overall LOrals decision to fight the European shampoo battle required considerable coordina tion between company headquarters and the subsidiariesBalancing the global strategy for Elsve with different market characteristics and particularities wasgoing to be one of the most crucial issues for success.Competition had traditionally been based on price, which made margins relatively narrow. The resultwas a rather lucklustre m arket where brands were unable to differentiate themselves in the eyes of thecon sumer or position themselves to stand out from the rest.The global strategy had

to be implemented in the different markets, bearing in mind that each of thosema rkets had its own special characteristics and quirks.In LOral s case, the differences arose from the nature of hair itself hair type, length, appearance andimage, among other things- and from the way sha mpoos were used- washing frequency, amountused, use of one shampoo by one or mor e members of the same family, use of conditioners etc.The implementation of the global strategy could not overlook other aspects such as the presence ofthe Elsve brand and its competitive position in the different countries or the re source LOral had in the different markets. France: In France the penetration rate of conditioners was the lowest in Europe.Greater demand was being generated for more sophisticated products with more technology becausethese kinds of products gave tangible cosmetic effect to hair and did not simply clean it.The French market was becoming increasingly saturated and highl y competitive.There is a tendency between low cost products and more sophisticat ed products. Any brand that wasnot firmly ensconced in one of these two categori es ran the risk of finding itself in a poor positioningsituation and losing effe ctiveness.One of the primary challenges was to achieve greater penetration in th e segments of traditional non-users of the product- men and younger consumers- b ecause the brands positioning was closely linkedto cosmetic products, mainly use d by woman.Product image and profitab ility was another problem for Elsve. Elsves price was too low for LOrals premium posit ioning, thus profits were low. But French retailers did not want to raise their prices. Germany: An important feature of the German market was that it was becoming more popular to add naturalingredients to shampoo formulasAnother significant differences bet ween the German and other European countries: A high proportionof the population had very fine hair, although they were not necessarily known for buying specifi cshampoos for fine hair.The German consumer was also more interested in using tr eatment to get hair healthier and betternourished hair.Procter and Gamble was th e shampoo market leader in terms of value, while Henkel had the biggestmarket sh are in volume.The local competition was more price aggressive.