Staking a legitimate claim

It's all about legitimacy for Osama Rinno. He says whoever stakes a claim on the burgeoning global men's grooming market has to have plenty of admissible evidence – and the pedigree.

As president of Clarins Group Middle East, the 40-year-old says many of the segment's growing number of players have no expertise or the right lineage to deliver the goods.

"Personally, I would never buy skincare from a fashion designer," he says. "It's the knowledge and the history that makes the products. Not the name.

"We have some of the best laboratories in the world and we have the expertise and the know-how."

Rinno's company, which was founded more than 50 years ago in France, recently collaborated with well-known design company Porsche Design to introduce a line of male grooming products. Called, The Essence, the President says the new range reflects the expertise both companies have in their respective fields.

"We share a lot of core values and we are both still family run. When we first suggested the idea to them, they immediately liked it. Then we began to work closely together. We worked hard to maintain the quality of the products because they care a lot about their image," says Rinno.

The Essence range includes deodorants, aftershaves and eau de toilettes, each in their carefully designed containers, in keeping with Porsche Design's philosophy of clean, simple yet striking designs.

"From the products to the packaging, we wanted to reflect the spirit of Porsche Design," adds Rinno. "At the same time, we didn't want anyone to associate it with the automobile company like the others have done."

Founded in 1972 by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the grandson of the founder of Porsche AG, the automobile company, Porsche Design has established itself as a leading design company, creating luxury products from chairs to mobile phones and pens among others.

The UAE, along with Germany, will be one of the first countries where The Essence will be sold, says Rinno. And the move is a reflection of the parent company's growing faith in the Middle Eastern market.

"We have a strong fragrance market here. Ever since we set up a subsidiary in the region in 2000, our growth has been 350 per cent and we are now one of the biggest cosmetics players in the Middle East," he says.

According to Clarins' research, the perfume industry in the Middle East grew by 18 per cent in 2007. While fragrances comprise 72 per cent of the total cosmetics market, make-up covers 17 per cent and the remaining 11 per cent consists of skin care products.

The company, founded by medical student Jacques Courtin in 1954, established itself as a leading women's skincare and fragrance expert. Now headed by Courtin's son, Christian, the company has more than 19 subsidiaries around the world.

About 10 years ago, it acquired 83.5 per cent of French designer Thierry Mugler's Thierry Mugler Couture with the designer retaining the rest. The fragrances marketed under the Mugler and Azzaro brand are until today, one of Clarins' star products. Then, five years ago, it launched its luxury men's cosmetic range.

"Around that time, men's grooming stopped being a taboo subject and the market was growing. Now it is an extremely successful division," says Rinno.

One of the last remaining large-scale independent beauty companies in the industry, the Courtin family has in the past vowed to remain so, despite speculations over potential take-overs. Earlier this year, French authorities finally approved the company's proposed buy back of outstanding shares that would eventually lead it to delist from the Paris Bourse.

But despite the current global economic scenario and with many global luxury players propagating grim prospects, Rinno is optimistic about the role the subsidiary he is in charge of could potentially play.

"I am not very worried about the Middle East. The fragrance market here is good and as an emerging market, we still have a lot to do and a lot to grow," he says.

"It's a very important market and very dynamic. The future is in countries in the Middle East, in China and Russia.

"Clarins Group Middle East controls the company's subsidiaries in the region, the Levant and the Subcontinent except India.

"Of course nobody should not be worried about the worldwide crisis and like everyone it will set us back. 2009 will be a bit difficult but will hopefully recover soon after. But it will not affect us that much."

His company's established reputation and the market it plays in, will see it through hard times, says Rinno.

"The uncertainty will be with makers of very high end luxury products, jewellery and accessories," he says.

"Skin care however is a part of our daily lives. It will always be there and the market is not going to be too affected because it's a necessity. It's a need."

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