L'Oreal closes factory in Monaco

L’Oreal has announced the closure of its factory in Monaco responsible for the manufacture of the Biotherm brand.

The factory, which is currently located at Fontveille in Monaco, will be closed from March 2011 as production at the site is no longer viable, according to the company.

Biotherm brand relocated

Manufacturing of the Biotherm and Helena Rubenstein brands will be relocated to the company’s industrial facility in Sicos de Caudry, Northern France.

The research and development laboratories will be transferred to the company’s laboratories in Chevilly-la-Rue, near Paris.

Furthermore, the product dispatch services were relocated to Nice last May.

According to the company, the site posed logistical problems that couldn’t be overcome and the facility couldn’t be improved to comply with the tight regulations in the region whilst retaining its competitive edge.

Alternative employment in other L’Oreal facilities will be offered to the employees of the Monaco factory.

Increased productivity supports results

The France-based cosmetics company recently released its results for the first half of the year which illustrated the success of the company’s cost saving strategies.

Sales growth remained relatively low at only 1.6 per cent for the six month period ending June 30, however operating profit increased by 3.9 per cent.

Earlier in the year, CEO Jean Paul Agon, told investors that the company planned to improve margins by cutting the number of buying offices and targeted partnerships with suppliers to reduce costs.