Accelerating growth of a premium skincare brand in a highly competitive market

Background
La Prairie offers high-quality, innovative and luxurious products developed in Switzerland with a clear focus on skincare. Headquartered in Volketswil, near Zurich, in Switzerland, La Prairie has more than 1000 employees’ worldwide, of which approximately 150 are based at the headquarters. La Prairie has a multinational workforce who continuously strive to deliver the most ground-breaking scientific innovations, as well as the ultimate in global luxury skincare.

Today La Prairie has 14 affiliated companies worldwide, and a selective distribution network in more than 90 countries. La Prairie stands for a unique combination of advanced science, sumptuous formulas and the meticulous attention to the details of luxury. La Prairie Group AG is 100% owned by Beiersdorf AG, Hamburg (Germany) since 1990, and it is the luxury tier of Beiersdorf AG. The origins of the company date back to 1954, with the foundation of Juvena (International) AG in Zurich.

Currently La Prairie only partners with DKSH in Taiwan.

Challenge 
Taiwan’s premium skincare market is highly competitive. Ranked as the fourth largest market among Asian countries after China, Japan and South Korea, this small island is packed with premium skincare brands owned by major global players which have sustained high media and in-store investment over the past years. La Prairie was looking for a partner that could grow the brand sustainably in such a competitive environment, and appointed DKSH as their partner to grow the Taiwanese market.

Approach/solution 
DKSH focused on three key approaches.  

First, through in-depth market analysis, DKSH identified “Caviar” as the hero product range to focus on, based on a range of criteria. Marketing resources and efforts were then strategically allocated against this product to successfully recruit new users. 

Second, DKSH recommended offering luxury services instead of promotion activities to stimulate sales. Rather than running seasonal promotions to trigger short-term sales as is commonly done in the market, every new user received extras after their first purchase such as a facial service and trial-size sampling. 

Third, DKSH established a strong, stable and professional team of beauty advisors who successfully built and maintained relationships with loyal consumers. This was further supported with the deployment of a fair reward and promotion system as well as offering regular training and team building programs.

Results
The vision of “one team, one goal” has been well established among the staff.  The team’s winning spirit is also well reflected in sales volumes. Sales revenue accelerated quickly and sustainably. Through these promising results, and confirming the strategy is working, DKSH has been able to acquire more new users, drive more store re-visits and enhance the brand’s image, securing the brand’s long-term growth.

Local knowledge, coupled with the highest standards of marketing execution excellence through robust training of teams, has been key to our business partner’s success.