WEBVTT - Loreal CEO Talks Haute Couture and Beauty 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:03.840 You always look different because you're the first woman of 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:06.520 the first brown person, the first Asian, the first Indian, 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:09.639 the first person of color to global luxury brand. You're 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:13.440 always the first. You're always underestimated. People don't know exactly 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:14.280 what to expect. 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.000 Lena Nair is in charge of one of the most 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.759 exclusive luxury brands in the world, Chanel, the French fashion 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.680 house known for its iconic designs and fragrances, made the 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:25.880 avant garde move to appoint her in the top job. 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:29.880 Previously a human resources veteran, she spent three decades at 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.239 Unilever before switching from the world of fast moving consumer 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:37.199 goods to oude couture and beauty. The firm's history is 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.280 a legendary, from its founder Gabrielle or Cucko to its fans, 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.519 including Marilyn Monroe. For Lena Naire, it's a chance to 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:45.200 make history. 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.640 Now. Want to change the world, but look good while 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:48.080 doing it. 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:50.760 On this episode of leaders with Laqua, I speak to 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.160 Lena Nair about her professional and personal job, how it 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:57.600 defines her leadership style, and her unique approach at the 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:03.200 top of luxury. Ina Area, thank you so much for 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:07.280 joining us here. On Bloomberg delighted to be here. What's 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.039 it like being a Chanel chief executive? It is the 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.200 best job in the world. It's creative, it's energetic. It's 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.000 why Brunt the sector is doing well. It's a great 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:19.399 place to be in. So what kind of difference do 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.240 you want to make a Chanel? Is it on the business? 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.959 Is it longevity? Is it what it stands for? Is 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:25.920 it sustainability? 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:30.280 You know, I want to lead Chanel into the future 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:35.000 along with my team, and lead Chanell into the future 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.680 by protecting what's core to us, by protecting our differentiation, 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:45.640 protecting what's unique about us, and by evolving as a scaled, 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:49.400 iconic business and brand. You know, it's always important to 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.000 understand the context we operate in. The context we have 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:59.280 externally is very very dynamic to political uncertainties, macroeconomic challenges, inflation, 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.640 complete fragmentation, media channels, ecosystems. I mean, winning hearts and 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.400 minds of people is so difficult in today's day and age. 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.080 So we see all of that externally AI. I mean 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:12.560 there's not a week you don't hear about AI. So 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.120 all of this is happening externally and internally. It's been 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.760 a phase of rapid growth. In the last ten years, 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:25.359 we have more than doubled our revenue. We've more than 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.679 double the number of people who work for us, We've 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:31.720 more than doubled a distribution presence, We've more than doubled 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.160 the number of countries we have presencing. So that's a 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.720 lot of growth. So my role, along with my leadership team, 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:42.480 is to ensure that we make coherent these changes, that 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:45.799 we make sense of these changes, and we are constantly 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:46.880 shaping what's next. 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.160 As far as I can remember, Chanelle was this beautiful, 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.280 high end luxury everybody wanted the products, but it was 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.000 always quite secretive. And then there's been an opening in 0:02:56.040 --> 0:03:00.600 the last couple of years through culture events podcasts. Why 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:01.000 is that? 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:01.280 Like? 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:05.200 Is there? You know, can a high end luxury company 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:07.119 no longer be secretive in twenty twenty four? 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:09.760 You know, for me, never having been in the world 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:13.200 of luxury or sophistication or refinement, didn't know what to 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:14.880 expect when I came to Chanel two and a half 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:18.120 years ago. But it's a very humble company. People are 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:22.200 truly humble, and you've met many of my teammates and 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.160 it comes from a sense of we don't say things 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.959 unless we've really done them so high integrity, so we'd 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:32.280 rather do things before we speak about them. So some 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.720 of the shyness has been to do with that, And 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.240 I think the part of the opening up is also 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:39.360 as we've grown larger, and I explained some of the 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:43.120 internal context. We've been through rapid growth, being in so 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:46.200 many markets, having so many people work for us, it 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:50.240 becomes important to be clearer and more open about who 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.800 we are, what we stand for. It's one hundred year 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.800 role company. It's important to say what we do to 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:57.840 have been a bagon of inspiration all this year is 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.800 and continue to be a bagon of inspiration for the 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:00.840 next hundred years. 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.200 Is that because we're buying a luxury differently so that 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:05.800 clients and customers now want more of a story than 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:07.480 they maybe did ten fifteen years ago. 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.760 You know, I think there's no typical client and there's 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.880 no one reason to engage in luxury. Truly, we see 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:19.800 all kinds of clients. People who are longtime fans of Chanel, 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.159 people who are dedicated buyers of Qutuo, people who are 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.080 first time buyers. In fact, first time buyers are thirty 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.640 percent of our clients, which is a lot. We see 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.679 a lot of gen Z and Alpha. Thirty five percent 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:33.839 of luxury consumers by twenty thirty are going to be 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:35.760 gen Z and Alpha. It's a hard number to believe, 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:40.280 but it's the vibrance. See, the vitality is huge because 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:42.480 each of those clients has a different set of reasons 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:44.680 for why they engage with us. So for gen Z 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.200 and Alpha, they buy because they want to buy less 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.680 and buy better. They want to buy because they see 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:53.440 it's a financially wise investment, but everybody buys for a 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:57.120 different reason. For me, it's part of continuing to build 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:03.240 our brand, our reputation, come company and telling our story 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:07.240 in engaging ways to all sorts of clients. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:12.400 But do you have to speak differently to the younger generation, No. 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:17.880 Not really. Our story of so Affare, our story of craftsmanship, 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.440 our story of how how many hours goes into making 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:25.840 this jacket, like a hundred hours, all handmade, is still 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:29.640 the core of our story, our craftsmanship, our so Affare. 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.000 It is still how people engage with luxury, the quality 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.520 of it, the beauty of it, a thing of beauty 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.160 gives us all joy. So that is still a very 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:41.880 very big reason how people look at luxury, the quality 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.080 the sub wire being part of that, and the story 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:47.880 of Gabriel Chanel and the story of her DNA and 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.400 what she means for us, a spirit of constantly inno 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:56.080 waiting and radical ways. Because when she designed clothes, it 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.919 was about the freedom of movement. It was about anticipate 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:03.760 the needs of the modern woman. It was about creating trousers, 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.520 crossbody bags so that women could ride bikes, ride horses. 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.640 So it was about supporting women to be and become 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.239 whoever they wanted to be and become. It was about 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.920 being on this journey of self discovery with women, and 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.800 that core part of our story doesn't change. It is 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:24.159 the story of being supporting women to be and become 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:28.080 the best versions of themselves, to discover themselves. And that 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.839 story still engages no matter what age you are, And 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.000 the core of our story really doesn't change. How we 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.440 say it might change. They're more channels than you and 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:42.520 I can count today. There's all sorts of things, Instagram, tiktop, 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.599 everything that's coming. So the media channels might change through 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.160 the ecosystem, and how we engage might change, but the 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.520 core of our story is still very much who we 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:51.279 are as you know. 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:53.920 Get my action was like a pioneer, and I feel 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.200 like when you talk about her, it's also maybe telling 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.279 a little bit about your story. I mean, you have 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:02.160 a unique story. You grow up in a town in 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:05.760 India where not many females were educated to a higher level. 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:08.320 So what was what was that journey like? 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:12.960 It was a long journey, it was. I grew up 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:15.960 in a small town in the southwest of India, col Kolhapur, 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:21.200 and the world of luxury, refinement, sophistication was very far 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:24.320 away from where I grew up. It was a small 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:26.440 town like any other. Most of my memories of me 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.560 running barefoot in the town or having my little bike 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.600 and running around women. Being ambitious was not the norm. 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.720 In fact, I remember my mother constantly telling me, who'll 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.160 marry you? You're so ambitious and do you really know 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.040 what you're going to do with your life? And so 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.840 very limited access to role models, to opportunities. I did 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:49.120 engineering after sort of convincing everybody in my family that 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.160 engineering was good for girls, which was great. It was 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.400 electronics and telecommunications, and I quite enjoyed again being in 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:59.800 the minority, but learning a lot more about the world 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.920 of technology, which we're all in now part of. Then 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.840 did my management studies. Worked all over the country as 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.560 part of Kindestani and Aliva. I worked. I had an 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.160 all round experience, a hands on experience. Worked in the 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:15.120 shop floor, worked in frontline sales, rode the trucks in 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:18.760 the morning, going to the trade selling tea. So it 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:22.560 was a fun experience, it was an adventure. It meant 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:28.400 being constantly underestimated. It meant that you always looked different 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.160 because you were the first woman of the first brown person, 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:33.400 the first Asian, the first Indian, the first person of 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.559 color to leader global luxury brand. You're always the first. 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:40.400 You're always underestimated. People don't know exactly what to expect, 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:45.040 they're suspicions of what your agenda might be. And along 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.480 with it comes the responsibility of making it easier for 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.479 those who come after you. So I feel a tremendous privilege, 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:54.679 tremendous sense of responsibility to make it easier, which means 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:59.000 questioning norms, being a role model, mentoring as many people 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:01.480 as I can, trying to make it easier for others, 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.560 constantly championing a more equal bird. 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.480 You like a challenge. Is there ever challenge that you 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:07.600 actually shine away from. 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.440 You know, every single thing I've done, it's almost as 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.200 if somebody had said it can't be done. I mean, 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:17.040 I remember I was in a fashion factory and I said, 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:18.600 I want to go in the night shift, and they said, no, 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.079 we don't put women in the night shift. I said, 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.480 how will I be a successful production manager or personal 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:24.559 manager of a factory if I never went into a 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.600 night shift and knew how a third of my people worked. 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.479 So in some ways it has fueled some of my determination. 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:35.000 It's fueled some of my Okay, I'm going to show 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.960 this is possible, a sense of I'm going to go 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.600 get on and do it. It also gives me courage 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:42.720 because I feel sometimes I'm not just doing it for me, 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:44.760 I'm doing it for everyone else who comes after me. 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.640 So it gives me courage too. So it fuels my determination, 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.719 fuels my courage. But it is I don't shy me 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.719 from challenges. And I always tell women who ask me 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.040 for advice, saying, put your hand up for the most 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.600 difficult job, put your hand up for things that are challenging, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.040 you know, go in there and lean into things that 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:04.520 are difficult, that are challenging, because that's what gives you 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:09.160 the greatest credibility, respect reputation as you built your career. 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.520 Coming up, Chanelle's lenonaire on the long term outlook for 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.320 luxury and the changing role of what it means to 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:24.320 be a chief executive. Chanelle is behind some of the 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:28.720 most recognizable designs and fragrances in modern fashion. The French 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:32.679 luxury house is still privately held by the billionaire family Vartheimer, 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.400 involved with the company over the past century. I continue 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:43.960 my rare interview with the firm's chief executive Lemannair. Do 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.640 you see that again, you know, the high end luxury? 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.760 Does that even go higher end luxury that actually there's 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:51.679 a lot of players in the fashion world right now, 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:53.920 in luxury world, and it's really the ones that are 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.360 very high that will do well. And does that also 0:10:57.440 --> 0:10:59.959 justify some of the price increases that we've seen at Channel. 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:05.440 Our prices are related to our cost prices. We use 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:10.600 exquisite raw materials and our production, as you know, is 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:16.559 very rigorous, laborious, handmade, so we raise our prices according 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.600 to the inflation that we see, so they're really linked 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.000 to the cost price. We've also made a commitment to 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:27.800 price harmonization across the world, which means our client should 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:32.280 not experience excessive price, different shills, price different shills, no 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:33.679 matter where they buy. 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.520 And secondhand the market is also something that we're saying 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:39.200 more and more in the last like four to five years. 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.440 What does that mean for a company like shanew. 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:44.640 You know, we've famously not been on e commerce. We've 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.800 always said we want our clients to buy from our 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:53.960 beautiful stores because we believe that clients must enjoy the 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:59.360 immersive experience, immersive physical experience where they build a relationship 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.480 with the fashion advice or the beauty advice or the 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.560 boutique assistant, which is so magical and so core to 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:05.480 the Chanell story. 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:07.520 And how do you see the China market right now 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:11.480 compared to the US market, because it's not that volatile. Actually, 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.280 you kind of have like a base set stage for 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:14.400 quite some time. 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:19.280 China is a very central market for the luxury ecosystem 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.240 because of the fast adoption of luxury, because of the 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.200 appreciation of refinement and sophistication. So it's a very important 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:30.400 central market for US. I came back recently from China 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:33.280 and I was really happy to see the energy and 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:37.200 vibrancy in the market, so we continue to run our 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:39.240 business for the long term and continue to invest in 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.880 China for the long term. Similarly, US, I see US 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.560 as a long term market for luxury. It always has been, 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.400 and all markets see a bit of ebbs and flows, 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.679 but if you keep a long term perspective, we continue 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.679 to invest. I mean, we just opened our beautiful Watches 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.959 and Fine to Restore on the fifth Avenue. It is 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:03.800 absolutely breathtaking, designed by Peter Marino, with everything that you'd 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:09.240 expect a nationally boutique, great personalization, intimacy, beauty, things that 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:13.320 uplift you. So we we believe in both these markets 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:14.240 and they important to us. 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.079 So it's probably tough for being a chief executive in 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.560 twenty twenty four than it was for the last twenty 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.240 years because of the constant change, and we don't really 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:22.440 know what AI brings either. 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.920 Yes, it is. It is definitely more challenging, and one 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.280 of my principles as a leader is about tapping into 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.600 collective intelligence because I truly believe the days of the 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.800 superhero leader are well and truly behind us. World is 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.719 so complex. There are crisis on multiple levels that you 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.559 imagine one individual, no matter how bright they are, how 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.160 experience they are, can have answers to all the questions. 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:50.880 No chance. That's why I believe in collective intelligence, diverse perspectives. 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.319 Go around the room, listen to every voice. It's very 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:55.160 important to me that I'm not just listening to the 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:58.120 dominant voices in my room, in my meeting room, but 0:13:58.160 --> 0:13:59.880 listening to all voices around the table. 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.080 So is that what you also lead by empathy? I 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.120 mean I'm always you always say you know you lead 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.480 and lived, which is not always easy. 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.120 I remember in my early days in my career and unilvel, 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.800 when I was going to a place in a factory 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:14.640 and I felt if it was not safe for women, 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.480 I would go back and fight the battle to make 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:18.560 sure it was made safe for women who came after me. 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:22.160 It was always questioning the norms, challenging what was happening 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:24.280 so I could make it easier for others who come 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.600 after me. It's beautiful in chanel Vius, seventy six percent women, 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.240 sixty percent of my management team are women, so it's 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:35.320 it's easier to set into place everything to support the 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.680 development and career of all these standard women and create 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:39.800 a more equal world. 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.720 Would you ever go into menswear with Chanelle? 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.000 If we're going to menswear, it's a rare time in 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:49.080 our history where we have a female founder, a female CEO, 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:54.760 female creative director of fashion. So it's a rare time. 0:14:55.160 --> 0:15:00.560 And I think we support women everyone such a beautiful 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.840 you know, we do make things for men. Blur is 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.160 one of the largest selling perfume for men, and I 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:11.520 hope it stays that way. We really buy women for women, 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.560 support women and were here to empower and support women 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:15.800 on the journey of becoming. 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.920 Yeah, and you're right the perfume. I forgot the perfumes. Yeah, 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:20.600 talk to me a little bit. I mean there's things 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:22.840 that people don't understand about Chanel or we talked about 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.760 the foundation because actually for so long it was all 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.320 kept you know, in house. But you also have other brands, 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.440 like how do you see all of these companies working together? 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:38.720 Yes, you know, we are the world leader in many categories. 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:43.200 There is all a fashion which is well known. We 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.960 are in fragrances and beauty and skincare. And one of 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:49.680 the things is we as with my leadership team, which 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.200 we started working on what we call a beacon of 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:54.680 inspiration for the next hundred years, or we call the 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.320 one hundred year of plan, you know, constantly thinking ahead. 0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.880 We started putting some building blocks of fit, which is 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.240 having a positive impact in the world. And there was 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:06.040 sustainability in my middle, social sustainability and the whole area 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:09.680 of women's empowerment and girls. So we are one of 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:14.720 the largest philanthropic organization dedicated to women empowerment and girls. 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.600 It's amazing because not many people know that. 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.400 One hundred and twenty five million this year, so one 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:21.520 hundred million as soon as they came in and now 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.840 we've increased that two hundred and twenty five million, so 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.200 we are truly one of the largest organizations in the world. 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:30.680 We work with two hundred and thirty seven partners in 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:37.080 fifty fifty cluss countries on beautiful programs that support women 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:39.840 to be free to shape their destiny. 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.120 Coming up, Lena Nair on how Chanel is trying to 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.480 change luxury and how her background in HR is helping 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:55.720 to shape her mindset. As a chief executive, Lena Naire 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.359 is used to breaking convention and changing norms in the workplace. 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:04.119 Her transition for Unilever and Human Resources to becoming the 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:07.720 chief executive of one of the most prestigious names in luxury. 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.560 She tells me how Chanelle is positioning for the future 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.040 of fashion and what it means for her legacy at 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:19.960 the iconic firm. How difficult is it for a big 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:23.239 luxury company to be sustainable? I mean, you have very 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:24.200 ambitious goals. 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:28.359 I'd like us to set the bar for luxury. I 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.719 would like other luxury players to be inspired by what 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.840 Chanelle does every day. We are one of the few 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.399 luxury players that has now publicly set a goal of 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.160 net zero twenty forty. So we want to really reduce 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:43.560 our corbon emissions. So, for example, we are in cobon emissions. 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:49.560 We are reducing our logistics, transport and corbon footprint to 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.119 do with digital Chanelle dot Com saw an increase in 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.280 traffic of thirty percent but a sixteen percent reduction in 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:56.240 carbon footprint. 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.160 How much of this comes from I guess the heart, 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.400 you know, try to to do good. And how much 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.400 does this also play with consumers because in five ten 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.439 years will be even more focused on this. 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:10.920 Yes, you know for insane. I think clients believe luxury 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:14.040 is sustainable because they know we make few things and 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.000 we make them beautifully, and we make them with hand, 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:21.840 and that genuine desire by clients to see us continue 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:23.720 to sustainable is only going to go up. And I 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:26.679 mentioned about more gen Z and Alpha buying, and they 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.160 buy because they want to buy less and buy better, 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.840 which is the right mindset to engage with luxury. So 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:36.880 it is going to be increasingly important in sustainability. 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.479 You need to be a risk taker, like the idea 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.199 that as a chief executive, I guess you need to 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.720 be careful, But do you need to Is there anything 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:47.240 coming where you, you know, will challenge I guess you're. 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:51.359 Risk taking, you know. I think for all of us 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:56.800 it's the world today is so complex and moving fast 0:18:57.359 --> 0:19:02.720 that you're constantly adjusting being a child taking. For me, 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.359 we are a courageous brand because we walk in the 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:11.320 footsteps of a courageous woman. Gabriel Chanel lived the life 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:16.320 she wanted courageously passionately, made the choices she wanted courageously passionately. 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:20.320 And one of our values is audacity. So for me, 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:24.159 audacity so important. Lean do you call it restaking, I 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:25.040 call it audacity. 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.679 I like, I actually prefer audacity. It has a certain 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:31.840 cachet that I'm sure Gabrielle Chanell would have loved. What 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.359 have you learned about yourself? As chief executive? So you 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:36.840 were in charge of HR for Uniliver, and this is 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:40.120 a massive company, it's one hundred thousands of employees. I mean, 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.959 is it different actually being in charge of a company 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:44.720 than being in charge of of HR. 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:49.000 When when I was moving to Chanel, a mentor told 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:52.440 me you're doing a quadruple jump. So what do I mean? 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:57.240 So it's changed on so many dimensions. It's public to private. 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:03.480 It's FMCG to LUG. It is from Anglo Dutch to 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:09.040 French heritage. I have weekly French classes. It's HR to CEO. 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.480 So it's been changed on all dimensions. It's not just 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:16.560 one dimension, It's been all dimensions. And luxury is very 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.960 different from fmcs. You know, the preciousness, the rarity, it's 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:24.760 not available everywhere every time. It's the balance between timeless 0:20:24.920 --> 0:20:29.240 quest for new it's all of that. It's different to me. 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:35.240 The principles of business and the principles of leadership are 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:39.760 transferable across sectors. How to run a business across multiple countries, 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:45.760 multiple product categories, multiple geographies, multiple cultures. How to galvanize 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:50.680 and inspire teams across again, multiple cultures, multiple kinds. There 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:53.919 are principles that hold you in good step because people 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:59.960 are people. At the end of the day, they have motivations, dreams, aspirations. 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:02.760 They won't to engage in a particular way. I must 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.400 say being in Chanel has taught me to be more patient, 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:11.520 more long term. The treadmill of quarterly results, etc. Is 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:14.800 a different world. So it's taught me to be more patient. 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:20.439 It's taught me to appreciate a lot more. And you know, 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:22.640 I want to change the world but look good while 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:23.080 doing it. 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:26.400 I love that. Do you think about your legacy? 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:31.359 Yes? I do. For me, I hope people say that 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:33.960 I'm a purpose led visionary leader, which means you spend 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.720 a lot of time thinking about what are you doing, 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:39.480 what are you giving back? What will be the difference 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:41.960 you make? I think for me, the biggest thing is 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:46.040 if a hundred years from now people look back and 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:50.119 say that we at Channel did stuff today that inspires them, 0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:55.120 that helped them question norms about what they're doing, Audacious 0:21:55.160 --> 0:22:01.919 things that have redefined the norms, supported women everywhere to 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:05.959 feel like they can be the best version of themselves. 0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:09.560 I think that would be something that I would feel 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:11.320