L'Oréal Production.


			Eugène Schueller, a young French chemist, created the first synthetic hair dye.

			Golden Ltd was founded by H S Laurenson, with the rights to manufacture and sell L'Oréal products in the UK through hairdressing salons.

			L'Oréal began to flourish in the UK and moved into mass-market products.

			The L'Oréal Colour Trophy, the renowned professional hairdressing competition was created. Today the competition attracts over 700 entrants from around the UK and the list of previous winners reads like a 'Who's Who' of the greats of Britsh hairdressing! 1956 also saw the launch of Ambre Solaire sun protection products in the UK.

			L'Oréal's expansion continued and the company opened a new technical training centre for salon professionals and expanded the sales force which sold products directly to salons to 60 people. The decade also witnessed the opening of a new factory in Leighton Buzzard.

			The luxury brand Lancôme, which had been available to British consumers since 1946, was bought by the L'Oréal Group.

			Throughout the 70s, many key brands were launched which are still top sellers for L'Oréal today, including hair colorants Rcital and Belle Color, and the fragrance, Anas Anas. As a result of the fragrance launch, the new Prestige & Collections division was set up.

			In the early 1970s, work began on a new factory in Llantrisant, South Wales, to cope with soaring production demands. The factory was opened in 1973 and is today a L'Oréal Centre of Ellence for hair care, hair styling and sun protection products.

			Golden Ltd moved to new offices in Kensington Church Street, West London.

			The company's rapid growth continued during the boom years of the 1980s. Laboratoires Garnier, a second mass-market products division, was set up to bring together the brands Ambre Solaire, Belle Color and the Synergie skincare range. L'Oréal expanded its product portfolio with the first ever styling mousse, Elvive Freestyle, closely followed by a complete hairstyling kit, Studio Line. Plnitude skincare products quickly became favourites with consumers.

			Throughout the 1990s, new acquisitions enhanced the L'Oréal portfolio…

			Incorporated into the L'Oréal Group in 1989, the rejuvenation programme of Helena Rubinstein began in the UK in 1991.

			The L'Oréal Paris make-up range was introduced in the UK and soon became a market leader. On the professional products side, Redken brought New York flair to the UK collection, and a new range of styling products, Tec Ni Art, was launched by L'Oréal Professionnel.

			L'Oréal Paris introduced the Elvive hair care range which was launched with the now famous signature "because I'm worth it".

			L'Oréal (UK) Ltd, the holding company for L'Oréal, was formed. In the same year, the make-up brand Maybelline New York arrived in the UK and Laboratoires Garnier launched Fructis shampoos and conditioners.

			L'Oréal signed a five year partnership agreement with UNESCO entitled "For Women in Science" to promote the role of women in scientific research. Two major new fragrances were launched in the UK: Noa by Cacharel and Romance by Ralph Lauren. L'Oréal Paris introduced the L'Oréal Kids range with shampoos, conditioners and styling products for 2 - 10 year olds. In November, all L'Oréal UK businesses were brought under one roof in the new headquarters in Hammersmith, London.

			Matrix, the number one professional products brand in America, was acquired by L'Oréal. Also in 2000, in partnership with the Royal Institution, L'Oréal set up the Science Graduate of the Year Award to recognise and encourage young scientists working in ground-breaking research.

			British scientist, Dr Anne McLaren, received the L'Oréal-UNESCO 'For Women in Science' award. As the European winner, she was one of five laureates from around the world. In May Kim Howells, MP for Pontypridd, officially opened the new distribution centre in Llantrisant, South Wales.

			L'Oréal endowed a Chair in Marketing at the Sad Business School, University of Oxford with an investment of 1.8 million. At an awards ceremony in London in November, L'Oréal was presented with the Global Corporate Achievement Award 2002 for Europe by the Economist Group. Shu Uemura and Kiehl's both opened their first European stand-alone boutiques in Covent Garden, London.

			Top three Chinese brand Mininurse acquired. L'Oréal opens the world's first Ethnic Skin and Hair Research Centre in Chicago. L'Oréal announces it will become the majority shareholder in Shu Uemura. The Financial Times ranks Lindsay Owen-Jones as the 16th Most Respected Leader in the World. America's Fortune magazine placed L'Oréal at 23 in its All-Star list of businesses in the world. L'Oréal ranked Number 1 Company of Leaders in Europe by global HR firm Hewitt Associates.

			FT survey placed L'Oréal as the 26th Most Respected Company and Lindsay Owen-Jones as the 14th Most Respected Leader in the World. L'Oréal signs agreement to acquire leading Chinese make-up and skincare brand Yue-Sai. L'Oréal named the first ever recipient of Diversity Best Practices' Global Leadership Award. L'Oréal Chairman and CEO Lindsay Owen-Jones named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. The 'Universum Graduate Survey 2004' and 'The Trendence European Student Barometer 2004' both named L'Oréal as The Company Most Business Students Would Like to Work For on graduation.