Occitane, Provence setting out to conquer Health Spas
Galya ORTEGA

Everybody in France knows Occitane, without necessarily associating the brand with health spas. The story began in 1976 when Olivier Baussant established the brand as a cottage industry, thus creating an image of authenticity which appealed to people all across France down the years.  As for exporting the brand, in particular to Asia and South America, it was a rather out of the ordinary success story, which began in 1994 when Reinold Geiger became the major shareholder and had the idea of exporting Provence to the whole world through own brand shops. His passion for expansion, precision and his strictness for market positioning and success are outstanding. Occitane is establishing itself in the domain of Health Spas and to find out more, we met up with Stéphanie Guinard, International Spa Development Director.


EMOTION SPA Magazine : How would you define the Occitane Spa concept ?

Stéphanie Guinard : The concept was kick started by Olivier Baussant who wanted to tell a true story, with Spas which have a real reason to exist. Spa is synonymous with water, and our territory is Provence. So, our concept is centred around the Camargue region which is the equivalent of Provence on water, which is completely in line with Occitane, with very soft pale tones: the dunes and ferns which are synonymous with relaxation and serenity.
We chose the Scalaa Architects agency to polish up the concept, select the materials and design as well as all of the codes. Of course we integrated the retail dimension into our Spas because one naturally leads to the other when creating an immersion into the Occitane world; it is like a motionless journey with authentic Provencal hints.  Then it was a case of using the concept designed by Scalaa Architects and selecting an architect according to the location, even if the architects are different, the concept on paper is the original reference and facilitates concept implementation.

E.S.M : What persuaded Occitane to get involved in Health Spas ?

S.G : The demand for Spas came from Brasil. In 2001 one of our subsidiaries there expressed the desire to open a Health Spa, it was a local initiative. The first one was opened in Sao Paolo and was integrated into a Provencal style house which incorporated our shop, an Olivier & Co. outlet, a Provencal theme restaurant with an inner courtyard and a Spa on the first floor.  It was a huge success. Subsequently, we quickly opened a second Spa in a splendid hotel on Comandatuba Island, then in Asia, Vietnam, Taiwan and then it all began to spread like wild fire. Our strategy involves opening a Spa either in a retail outlet or in hotels with 100% Occitane Spas where we can bring our operational expertise.  We are particularly interested in expanding little by little but in exceptional locations.

E.S.M : In Asia you are considered as a luxury brand. Do you have the same ambitions in terms of market positioning in France?

S.G : By its very history, the market positioning of the brand in France and abroad is different. In 1976 Olivier used to sell the products in the markets of Provence, and subsequently in gift shops, followed by luxury stores who wanted to sell the brand; until such a time as we left our origins as a “cottage industry”. For the last five years we have become focussed upon skin care products, and care products rocketed just at the time we were breaking into the USA and Asia. Abroad we are targeted as being very top of the range, particularly in terms of our facial care products. 

E.S.M : What sort of package do you offer to professionals in the hotel trade ?

S.G : We offer them a package by way of merchandising, décor, towels, uniforms, music programmes, care and products training. We additionally offer our expertise in terms of marketing and communication. What is very important in this partnership is that today we ask, above all, that there are no machines, all care provided should be done by hand. What is more, we aim at positioning ourselves in hotels with a background and deep emotional roots.

E.S.M : What is your current and medium term development strategy ?

S.G : Currently we have our own retail outlets which we control from A to Z with a high level of quality and high visibility. Our strong identity is particularly visible through our shop fronts which are in yellow, an emblematic colour of Occitane, and represent stores with warmth just like our brand; we have 1,400 stores with a new one opening every day. Our desire to expand can also be seen in the Health Spa sector and it is with this in mind that I am heading the World Development team for Occitane Spas, the Spa on Rue Sèvres in Paris being an example, just as that in Hong Kong. It is our wish to internationalise our concept across the entire world.

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More informations : www.loccitane.fr

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