Jonathan Zrihen, the new president and chief executive officer of Groupe Clarins USA, is a 34-year-old executive with a probing curiosity.
His boss, Christian Courtin, president and ceo of the parent Groupe Clarins Worldwide in Paris, described the newly named young ceo as “a sponge.”
“He is a problem-solver,” Courtin said with beaming admiration, adding, “Jonathan never comes into my office with a problem — always he gives a solution.”
Zrihen joined Clarins 14 years ago as an intern, his first big job out of college, and quickly rose through the ranks, with assignments in Spain, Australia, Singapore and Canada. Courtin said he had been looking for a country organization for Zrihen to head and give him the right seasoning, because “when you run a subsidiary, you face all of the problems.” Courtin pointed out that when Zrihen was based in Asia, Clarins shot up in the standings of Thailand, landing in the top five within three years.
The ceo’s intellectual appetite should prove useful, considering the ambitious mission that Courtin has given Zrihen. Following a recent presentation in New York on Sept. 15, Courtin discussed his ambitions for the U.S. subsidiary. Clarins now ranks fourth in U.S. treatment rankings, and Courtin and Zrihen would like to see the brand take its natural place as “a leader in skin care.” For that to happen, Courtin estimates, the U.S. subsidiary would have to double its turnover in five years. While perhaps not doubling, sources indicate that Clarins executives now are drafting an aggressive double-digit growth plan that could increase volume by 50 or 60 percent in that period.
The goal is to raise Clarins skin care market share in the U.S., now reportedly at 5.5 percent, in line with the company’s global average of 10 to 11 percent.
Neither Courtin nor any other Clarins executives would talk dollars, but industry sources estimate that the U.S. subsidiary — encompassing the Clarins brand and Thierry Mugler fragrances, as well as Chrome and Azzaro scents — now generates about $200 million at wholesale net a year.
Zrihen, who sees strong growth possibilities for both the Clarins and Thierry Mugler brands, adds a corporate dimension to an already-solid organization. Reporting to Zrihen are Eric Horowitz, president of the Clarins brand division; Ben Gillikin, president of the Clarins Fragrance Group, and Marc Rosenblum, president of group operations.
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Courtin was careful to point out the contributions of the brand managers, who continue to run the day-to-day business. Speaking of Horowitz, Courtin said: “Eric has great talent. He is very close to the field; he knows every retailer and every store.” In an interview, Zrihen expressed gratitude for strong retail relationships built in the U.S. by the local brand management, relationships that will allow him to dwell on larger issues. “I can concentrate on the development side of the business,” he said.
The position Zrihen has taken has been occupied by Courtin, who took the ceo slot two years ago upon the retirement of Joseph Horowitz, Eric’s father and the longtime chief of Clarins in the U.S. Courtin acknowledged that, with all his duties in running the global parent, he wasn’t able to devote as much time to the U.S. as he would have liked. He repeatedly stressed the need to continue nurturing the brand’s relationship with consumers. “We want to give more service to the customer,” he added, noting it is a key challenge in this time of severe retail consolidation.
Zrihen, during another interview, reiterated the position held by other Clarins executives that the brand’s position in the market “always has been focused on service.” He added, “Once you establish loyalty, you don’t lose the customer.”
This way of looking at the market — purely through the relationship with customers — explains why Zrihen is not panicking over the impact of the department store consolidation. He simply does not see a significant loss of customers, although Clarins’ volume growth has been trimmed. Speaking of the impact of the door closings in Clarins’ 1,250-door distribution, Zrihen said, as a result, “the business has not grown this year, but it is not decreasing.” According to industry sources, the Clarins brand has shown an 8 percent growth in the remaining doors through July, twice the department store skin care average. When the closings are taken into account, however, the growth shrivels to 1 percent.
Zrihen praised Macy’s management for the care they have taken in closing doors, and he pointed out the key for Clarins is customer retention. “The most important thing for Clarins,” he said, “is that we will see the customers again.”
Although Zrihen sees the growth engine for Clarins’ future in department stores, he also is curious about other possibilities, such as the Internet, TV shopping and the potential of marketing other brands, specifically from Europe, either created by Clarins for alternative distribution or picked up in distribution deals. One example is the Innocent Secret scent developed by Gillikin’s division for Victoria’s Secret.
To facilitate brand development, Zrihen maintains that it’s important, particularly in a French company headquartered in Paris, to have a strong internal dialogue. To that end, he plans on creating a North American executive committee to meet with the product developers in the home office and make sure they remain cognizant of the specific needs of U.S. consumers. In the exchange of ideas, he said, it is important “to make sure the U.S. has a voice.”
Within a few months, Clarins will go live with its own Web site. Clarins had been part of a trio, operating a nonmerchandising site on Gloss.com with Estée Lauder and Chanel. “We came to the conclusion that we have to operate an Internet Web site,” he said.
Zrihen also is interested in taking a look at the world of TV shopping, possibly with the addition of different brands. He is curious about how TV shopping may interact with department stores, to which he is firmly committed. But then, Zrihen points out, “you can’t dictate to consumers where they may want to shop.”