Estee Lauder vs L’Oréal – Which Cosmetics Brand Is Better? 

Estee Lauder vs L'Oréal – Which Cosmetics Brand Is Better? 

Estee Lauder and L’Oreal are two beauty giants that are a favorite for many people. These beauty giants own most of the skincare and makeup brands in the industry. Despite owning some of the top skincare and makeup brands, they continue to produce their cosmetics and advance in the beauty industry. With both cosmetics brands offering top-quality products to users, it’s hard to determine which is a better option today. This Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison explores their history and marketing mix to select the better cosmetics brand. Without further delay, let’s take a look.

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – Estee Lauder History

Estee Lauder is a company in the USA that deals in different haircare, skincare, makeup, and fragrance products under various labels. Josephine Esther and her husband founded the brand. Josephine was born in Queens, New York, and is the ninth child of her parents who emigrated from Hungary to the United States. Esther has always been interested in cosmetics. She loved to make people up and was interested in people looking beautiful. Her first inspiration to enter the cosmetic business was her uncle, a chemist from Hungary. Esther started the cosmetics business by selling these products in New York and Miami Beach. He also established a New Way Laboratory in Brooklyn and sold six-in-one cold cream, Dr. Schutz Viennese cream, and perfume.

She started working in various New York Salons in 1944 and sold her product lines from behind the counter. In this line, there were three skincare products by her uncle. She also sold lipstick, eye-shadow, and face powder. Esther spent most of her Saturdays selling these products on the floor on Fifth Avenue. Her goal was to get her products into Saks Fifth Avenue by convincing them that there was a demand for them. One of the unique aspects of her cosmetics was that she sold lipsticks in upscale metal cases when most lipsticks were still being packaged in plastic.

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – Estee Lauder’s Official Launch

The year Estee Lauder began officially, the Saks connection assisted her in gaining the reputation that would let her sell her products nationally. In the late 1940s, she traveled to make personal appearances in department stores. She also trained staff on the proper sales technique.

One of the top-selling techniques used by Estee Lauder was the gift-with-purchase offer. She began offering free samples at any time to encourage customers to come back. Later, consumers had to purchase a specific dollar amount before getting free products. This strategy earned her large followings and was instrumental in helping to establish her business.

The brand started advertising with the help of Saks Fifth Avenue’s direct mail program because of a limitation of funds. As the profits continued to roll in, the brand launched a new product; the Youth Dew bathe oil. The Youth Dew bath oil came with a fragrance that lasted for 24 hours. This product became an overnight success, reaching 5000 unit sales a week. This product’s popularity also led to the sales of other skincare products within the brand. The brand also joined other top cosmetics brands in the 1960s in a race to develop a skincare cream like the famous European products. Their skincare cream Re-Nutriv contained a careful blend of 25 ingredients and featured an ad in Harper’s Bazaar. This product ad generated lots of free press for the company and increased sales significantly.

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – L’Oreal History

L’Oreal is one of the largest cosmetic brands in the world. Eugene Schueller is the founder of L’Oreal and was the son of two pastry shop owners in Paris. After his Baccalaureate degree, he enrolled in the Institute of Applied Chemistry, where he graduated first in his class in 1904. Afterward, he became a lab assistant and was well on his way to becoming a university researcher. However, a single event changed the direction of his life and his fortunes. 

In the 20th century, most French women avoided dying their hair because the dye contained heavy lead content that tended to irritate the scalp. A barbershop owner visited him for assistance to develop a synthetic hair dye. The request spiked Schueller’s interest, and he agreed to be the barber’s technical adviser. After a while, he cut ties with the barber and began experimenting with hair dyes on his own. He had a trial and error period with his dye but eventually created a successful formula in 1909. It was at this point that Schueller launched his company. He experimented with the name till he settled for L’Oréal, another word for Aureale, a famous hairstyle in that era. Soon Schueller began to create other products, one of which was the Ambre Solaire sunscreen.

During World War II, sales were up for the brand leading to the brand’s ability to procure raw materials to produce even more products. This period also led to the creation of lucrative partnerships, which helped further the company’s growth. Schueller died in 1957 and his daughter, Liliane, took over the company’s reins.

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – The Next Generation

Liliane started as an apprentice in the company. She started her career labeling bottles and mixing products. When she took over the company reins after her father’s death, the company expanded significantly by purchasing other companies. Today, the company controls several skincare and makeup brands and produces various products, including hair color, skincare, makeup, perfume, and many more. It continues to expand through the acquisition of other skincare and makeup brands. 

Estee Lauder Marketing Strategy

The Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison is incomplete without exploring each company’s marketing strategies. Estee Lauder’s strategies enable the cosmetic brand to position itself competitively in the cosmetic industry. Additionally, it also helps the company efficiently achieve its objectives and goals. This section will explore Estee’s pricing, promotion, place, and product strategies.

Estee Lauder’s Product Strategy

This company started with only four items. However, it has a vast product range today that provides quality products that are effective and gentle on the skin. Its skincare products include face oil, anti-blemish, cleanser, mask, repair serum, eye care, anti-wrinkle, and more. The brand also boasts of fragrances for men and women. It also delved into the makeup market producing concealers, mascara, lipstick, nail lacquer, accessories, blush, powder, and other makeup products. The Re-Nutriv product line includes face oil, skincare mask, eye cream, foundation, and concealer. The brand also produces occasion-based packages like the Night Power and Lips to Envy products.

Estee Lauder’s Place Strategy

In the Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison, Estee Lauder’s place strategy is an effective one that strategically places the company around the world. Estee Lauder has its network spreading all over different parts of the world, with its headquarter in Midtown Manhattan. It sells its products in over a hundred companies, and you can also find Estee Lauder’s products on its online store. Despite being available worldwide, Estee Lauder has a limited distribution system. This portrays the company as a luxury brand effectively. Its products are found in shopping malls and up-market department stores. Depending on profitability, Estee Lauder selectively expanded the distribution of some of its products. 

Estee Lauder’s Price Strategy

This brand portrays itself as a premium brand that offers top-quality products in great demand. The company focuses on the upper-income and the upper-middle-class as its target audience. Estee Lauder’s target woman in society has beauty at the forefront. They wouldn’t hesitate to spend extra money if they believed it would be advantageous and provide good results for their skin. Therefore, the brand doesn’t focus on the masses but rather on less sensitive people to prove its worth. However, to compete with other cosmetic brands despite its premium pricing policy, Estee Lauder offers customers incentives. These incentives are gift coupons, online shopping discounts, and first purchase discounts. With these incentives, the pricing seems reasonable, and it also helps to foster customer loyalty.

Estee Lauder’s Promotion Strategy

This brand is a recognized brand like L’Oréal in the Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison. However, it continues to undertake several steps to promote its products while increasing brand awareness. One of its promotion tactics is the first purchase discount. It also offers gift coupons once you meet some of the criteria set by the brand. Additionally, Estee Lauder also promotes the brand using direct mail, editorial coverage, and billboard ads. The brand also offers free samples while launching promotional campaigns like purchase-for-purchase and gift-for-purchase. Influencer marketing is also a promotional strategy by the brand as it uses famous faces like Willow Bay, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Rhoda, Elizabeth Hurley, amongst others. 

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – L’Oreal Marketing Strategy

This cosmetic brand has invested so much into the development of the brand. Below are some of the top marketing strategies that make it one of the leading cosmetics brands in the industry.

L’Oreal’s Product Strategy

When it comes to products, L’Oreal has a vast portfolio. Its product range is sure to meet the needs of its customers globally. This brand ensures that its products pass the international testing standard to reach global customers. Its favorite products are makeup products like mascara, eye and lip liner, foundation, primer, blush, powder, foundation, and many more. Additionally, the brand offers hair care products like hair dyes, conditioners, hair styling serums, hair sprays, and shampoos. You can also find skincare products like cleansers, toners, moisturizers, and more amongst its product range. Additionally, L’Oreal has a kids’ line, and its products are available in different sizes and price ranges.

L’Oreal’s Place Strategy

L’Oreal has research centers in different countries, and its products are distributed in over 100 countries. You can find L’Oreal’s products in perfumeries, supermarkets, beauty outlets, and even hair salons. Like Estee Lauder in this Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison, it also has a website where customers can carry out online shopping. With the available product information, customers can purchase from any corner of the world. 

L’Oreal’s Price Strategy

When it comes to pricing, L’Oreal also adopts the premium pricing policy. By providing the best value for customers, the brand caters to middle-class and upper-class society. However, it also offers several discounts and sales on its products. These incentives led to an increase in sales and also help the brand to achieve customer loyalty. 

L’Oreal’s Promotion Strategy

When it comes to advertising, L’Oreal has a slogan that continues to change as the brand grows. The changing slogans help to reflect the changing mindset of its consumers. The brand carries out several social media campaigns and indulges in traditional advertising methods like magazine ads, billboards, and many others. It also works with several celebrities and models from different parts of the world to connect with customers globally. Additionally, L’Oreal offers customers free samples with other products they buy and discounts on select products. This promotion strategy usually reflects an increase in customer satisfaction and opens the door for new customers for the brand.

Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal – Final Thoughts

As luxury brands, Estee Lauder and L’Oreal can be seen as similar in some ways. However, the brands also differ in their marketing strategies. Estee Lauder and L’Oreal are taking over the cosmetic industry as the brands continue to acquire other beauty brands. We hope this Estee Lauder vs L’Oreal comparison helped you understand the two cosmetics brands to determine which is better for you. 

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Estee Lauder vs L’Oréal – Which Cosmetics Brand Is Better?  This Estee Lauder vs Loreal comparison touches on both brands’ history and the varying marketing strategies that make them unique.
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