Dr. Eris: Cosmetics from Poland

Résumé du document

The story of the Dr. Eris brand started in 1982, when this Ph.D from the Faculty of Pharmacology at Berlin University inherited. With the money she received, she began creating nourishing facial cream with the most simple machines we can imagine. She began in the business only with her husband. At that time they produced only 3 000 packages per month.
After many development plans, the company registered more sales and more profit. Now, Dr. Eris is a bigger company. It employs 350 persons. The production is not only based on facial cream anymore. Dr. Eris proposes a range of 300 products divided into several brands. They are implemented in four different segments: economic products for mass consumption, premium products, dermocosmetics and professional cosmetics. The segment where the company makes the main part of its business is the premium cosmetics. Moreover, the company exports in 40 different countries where the products are sold in supermarket, pharmacies, beauty shops and beauty salons.
Acquiring a premium quality image including high respect for people was not that easy. The company had first of all invested huge amount in research and development. They set up a Center of Science and Research in 2001 where a large team of specialists works permanently to develop "scientifically advanced products". This is the core business of the company as long as the main target of the company is: "people who are interested in scientifically created cosmetics".
The quality standards are well respected by this company as long as they are certified ISO 9001 (which represents the global quality) and ISO 14001 (which represents the environmental aspect).
The quality of the brand of Dr. Irena Eris is undeniable. She was named Business Woman of the Decade (2003), listed as an influent woman in Poland (2004). She received Economic Award from the President of Poland (2005), she was nominated to the 2005 Beauty award for the best cosmetic introduced in Great Britain and won the British Gold Glamour. All those awards give the brand a high premium quality image all around the globe.

Extraits

[...] Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories have a good image now and successful products somebody would recommend that the management shouldn't change anything and not attempt anything. This strategy would possibly work for a certain time period. But after the major competitors bring as innovative products on the market as Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories the company will get problems. The global players can create a worldwide image, sometimes even through product placement in movies. As image is one of the important things in the beauty sector, these big companies have a competitive advantage. [...]

[...] As the main strategy and image is founded on innovation and development it would lose its image. The competitive advantage would be shared with another company which could rise to a major competitor afterwards. Another kind of cooperation is possible with retailers. For a middle sized, foreign company it could be a big chance when it gets the possibility to place its products in the shelves of a countrywide retailer. This shows the result of placing the products of Dr. Irena Eris in the retailer chain Boots in Great Britain. [...]

[...] The company already has experience because of the two cosmetic institutes abroad. The costs and risks are quite low and the possibilities for direct export after a successful franchise entry very good. So franchising is a good option for the company. Without a lot of risk it can go further with its internationalization and can become more competitive against the global players. (Czinkota and Ronkainen 293) Merger & Acquisition A possibility to stay competitive against the global players in the domestic market Poland could be found in mergers or acquisitions. [...]

[...] Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories as well as for the other approximately 270 domestic cosmetic producers. Worldwide operating companies such as L'Oreal make big revenues in a lot of countries and therefore have the money and the resources to invest in Poland. With their worldwide distributed products they use economics of scale and can use a big R&D budget to create innovations. These kinds of companies have normally a good image, standing for the modernity and for the west, and well known brand names, found by international advertisement campaigns. [...]

[...] But the strategy of the global cosmetics companies is very aggressive. They entered the premium market many years ago implementing their international image of quality, settling the prices they wanted to guide the market and communicating a lot about their brand. This strategy pushed the small Polish companies to do a mass consumption strategy, to decrease their price and they are promised to disappear soon or latter to leave the market only to the large global cosmetics companies. But with its high quality and scientifically developed products Dr. [...]