Kérastase: Defining Luxury in Hair Care & Style
In an exclusive chat with Beauty Launchpad’s Esha Gakhar, Rachit Mathur – GM, Kérastase India details the luxury hair care brand’s plans down the lane as COVID-19 brings about major changes in the industry and consumer behaviour.
Moving with the Times
The current scenario, though challenging, has actually opened up new opportunities for all of us. We are testing and learning every day. We are perfecting new ways of working and collaborations with our partners have only become stronger. The industry was immensely hit due to the complete shut-down a couple of months ago, however, we can see it inching towards revival week on week.
We are working closely with our partner salons to devise plans to connect with new and existing consumers, be it through our Social Commerce channel, in-salon promotions and offer, or advocacy and media campaigns. Consumer sentiment is also changing with people learning to live with the virus and willing to step back into salons. Ensuring a safe and comfortable consumer experience is something our salons take seriously and they have therefore taken all possible measures to make this happen.
Social Commerce – The Way Forward
Right from the lockdown period, we have been working closely with our partner salons to enable doorstep delivery of products to their consumers. This led to the launch of our Social Commerce Platform – a model built for salons to offer potential and existing consumers the opportunity to discover, consider, consult with an expert, and finally, make a purchase – all online using social media and our own website. This Social Commerce model gives consumers the convenience of online experience, without eliminating the personalisation and human element of the salon/hair expert conversation.
Globally, this is a rapidly growing avenue for brands to reach their end-consumers and Kérastase is pleased to bring it to the Luxe Salon industry in India at this scale. One of the biggest bonuses of Social Commerce for salons is being able to use the power of digital to reach out to new consumers and introduce them to personalised luxury haircare.
Virtual consultation
These days, most Kérastase salons offer a virtual consultation with a Brand Expert to guide consumers on what their hair care regime should be. We strongly recommend following a 3-step hair and scalp care regime, comprising of a shampoo (to cleanse), conditioner or mask (to treat and nourish) and a leave-in product (to finish/style).
Learn & Connect
Education forms the very backbone for Kérastase as our hairstylists are our biggest strength and advocates. All hairstylists have to undergo a 14-day Education Program – Le Voyage, a multidimensional & progressive education journey that allows them to upgrade themselves across 3 levels and eventually, be certified as Kérastase ambassadors.
To ensure that training remains a continuous and on-going process in spite of the challenging times, we launched Kérastase online – Learn & Connect, L’Oréal’s online training platform. This has ensured the brand stays connected and engaged with the hairstylists at all times. To further our online/digital reach we recently launched our education handle on Instagram as well.
The objective of educating hairdressers is to deliver the Kérastase brand’s core values of luxury upgrading and reducing the gap between the “Promise of the Brand” and the “Perception of the Consumer”. Luxury is the interaction of many different elements, all curated to give a superlative experience to the consumer:
- The imagery; i.e the persona that the brand embodies
- The products, which must be in line with what people expect of the brand.
- The communication, which must be consistent.
- The distribution, i.e. the places that stock the brand, which must be in line with its image.
- The quality, which must never disappoint.
- The services that accompany the products.
An essential and intense luxury module is part of the Le Voyage Education program which takes the hairstylist through the evolution of luxury, its relevance today in the salon industry as well as understanding the luxury consumer.
Read the full interview in Beauty Launchpad’s October Digital issue.