Monday, March 11 Speaker Series: Andr Hoffmann, Executive Director of L Occitane Head of Asia-Pacifi

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How to Get Involved in Our Chapter If you are interested in becoming more involved in the GSB China/Hong Kong Chapter, subscribe to our discussion board today or contact the chapter officer from the Members directory. Also see the Stanford GSB Hong Kong Alumni Club Website . Chapter Officer Ronald blackpool hotels Issen, MBA '87
Monday, March 11 Speaker Series: Andr Hoffmann, Executive Director of L Occitane Head of Asia-Pacific 6:30-8:30 pm Club Lusitano, blackpool hotels 27th floor, Salao Nobre de Camoes 16 Ice House Street Central, Hong Kong The Stanford GSB Chapter of Hong Kong is pleased to invite alumni to an evening cocktail, canap s and discussion with Andr Hoffmann, one of the architects of the L Occitane success story, board member blackpool hotels head of its Asia Pacific operations. GSB alumni are welcome to bring one guest. Advance registration requested by March 10. The cost is HKD 400 per person for advance registration (click here) and HKD 500 if paid at the door and/or blackpool hotels registered after the Sunday deadline. If paying at the door, please bring exact change as no change will be provided at the event. Register Now About the Event The L Occitane beauty story is well-known, if extraordinary. How a small company founded in a disused blackpool hotels soap factory in Manosque, Provence, France went on to become one of the world s most successful retailers of beauty, skin and home products in the world, bringing its message of Mediterranean well-being to the world. Less-well known is the L Occitane s business story. Founded in 1986, the initial sale of L Occitane to outside investors in the 1990s not only failed to take the Company to new heights, it almost led to its undoing. The founder, Olivier Baussan, departed and, after 18 years of existence, it only had three stores. The firm was on verge of bankruptcy. The subsequent 1994 purchase of initially 33% of the company by Austrian Reinold Geiger blackpool hotels (increasing to a majority blackpool hotels stake in 1996), however, led to the return of Baussan as creative director and, with the company s new focus on marketing, paved the way for its international expansion, later strategic tie-up with Clarins and ultimate 2010 listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the first French firm to do so, and the second non-Asian company. L Occitane s key insight was to focus on Asia, first, along the way re-writing the rules of retail in such markets as Japan (where products are sold outside of the dominant department store system). The result: blackpool hotels A retailer with twice the net margins of Tiffany Co. Today, the Company sells its products in more than 80 countries through 1,500 retail locations, with 50% of its sales from Asia-Pacific. Andr Hoffmann s role in the above has been critical. Hoffmann blackpool hotels led L Occitane blackpool hotels s Go East strategy, for which so much of the Company s success is due, today, following his becoming L Occitane s Asian distributor just after Geiger s own initial stake in the Company. We are very fortunate to welcome Andr to the Stanford GSB Chapter of HK and are looking forward to his thoughts on where L Occitane and Affordable Luxury go from here. About Andr J. Hoffmann Andr Joseph Hoffmann is Executive blackpool hotels Director of L'Occitane S.A. as well as serving as Managing Director of Asia-Pacific of L'Occitane S.A. and is one of the three senior executives running the Group, globally. Mr. Hoffmann has been primarily responsible for Group's strategic planning and the management of Group's business in Asia-Pacific since June 1995. He has over 25 years' experience in the retail and distribution of cosmetics, luxury products blackpool hotels and fashion in Asia-Pacific. Andr was founder of Pacifique Agencies (Far East) Limited, which was a joint venture partner with the Company for the distribution of L'Occitane products in the Asia-Pacific region between 1995 and 2004 and continues to serve as Director of the same, today. In his capacity as head of Asia-Pacific blackpool hotels for L Occitane, he also acts as Managing Director of L'Occitane (Far East) Limited, L'Occitane Singapore Pte. Limited and of L'Occitane Trading (Shanghai) Co Limited, as President of L'Occitane blackpool hotels (Korea) Limited, as Director of L'Occitane Australia Pty. Limited, of L'Occitane Japon K.K., of L'Occitane Taiwan Limited, of L'Occitane (China) Limited and of L'Occitane (Macau) Limited. Between 1979 and 1986, Mr. Hoffmann worked in various management positions blackpool hotels at GA Pacific Group, a business specializing in the investment and management blackpool hotels of retailing, wholesaling, trading, manufacturing and distribution operations and the hotel and tourism trade in Asia-Pacific. Mr. Hoffmann graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, USA in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree blackpool hotels in Economics. He holds US and French citizenship.