L’Occitane en Provence is adding a new channel to its business model.
The brand is launching a social selling platform that allows its community members to become consultants and sell products. Called MyL’Occitane, the program aims to open a new channel for the brand to reach consumers. First and foremost, though, the company is recruiting past retail store employees.
“Last year was a challenging year for retail overall, and as we try to find new ways to connect with our customers, it’s about giving access,” said Yann Tanini, managing director of L’Occitane North America. “With brick-and-mortar and e-commerce, there is debate on the general definition of retail. We saw in the last 18 months, everything changed in terms of how we interact with people on a personal and business level. We are offering a new channel where you can actually direct conversation one-on-one.”
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New technologies and a digital-first background have also made it the brand’s logical next step, Tanini said.
“We have the opportunity to leverage products that we have. It’s leveraging technology to access the consumer wherever they are. We have one channel that is quite successful — that is e-commerce. Now, we are offering a new channel where you can actually direct conversation one-on-one.”
Tanini didn’t comment on sales, but remained optimistic about the program’s success. “Our vision behind this project is about relationships and who we are,” he said. “We believe it’s going to be a significant channel for us.”
It’s the latest move from L’Occitane to rethink its distribution methods. Earlier this year, L’Occitane U.S., the American branch of the business, filed for Chapter 11 amid low brick-and-mortar foot traffic.
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