AFRICA: BEAUTE LUXE
David Dayan: ‘I still believe in the extraordinary potential of Africa’
As Beaute Luxe CEO, David Dayan tells Charlotte Turner, the African continent has reacted ‘rather well despite the lack of resources compared to other continents’ as it was able to anticipate the virus and learn from the mistakes made by other regions first to face it. While he still has great faith in Africa’s potential he believes that we must all rethink the definition of ‘travel retail’.
Europe, and hopefully we will continue to develop our distribution networks across the globe.
Above: Beaute Luxe has divisions in Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific.
W
hile initially, Africa appeared to be faring well in the face of the
global coronavirus pandemic, places such as South Africa’s Western Cape have struggled to effectively contain the spread of infections. Data from Africa CDC revealed that coronavirus cases had increased
by 42% on average across the continent in October, however the number of new deaths reported declined by 17% during the seven days ending 21 October compared to the previous period. As the sands continue to shift,
TRBusiness asked Dayan, if he still views the region as a place of opportunity for travel retail businesses.
“We can say that the entire African continent has reacted rather well despite the lack of resources compared to other continents.”
David Dayan, CEO, Beaute Luxe
38 TRBUSINESS
Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, Beaute Luxe confirmed its game- changing agreement with L’Oréal for the African continent. Tell us how this partnership had been progressing prior to Covid? Before the advent of Covid-19, we had already opened a dozen points of sale in East and West Africa with the L’Oréal group by introducing the Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Cacharel brands at borders and airports such as Douala or Bamako. We have since opened a great number of additional points of sale. Beaute Luxe is fortunate to work in several regions, including Asia Pacific and Eastern
Since March I can imagine that your business has faced wide- ranging challenges. How would you describe the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic thus far to Beaute Luxe in Africa? Beaute Luxe is a strong group that has been able to remain in business despite the pandemic, all the while supporting its partners and employees. Firstly, our priority has always been the safety of our employees. Teleworking arrangements were made, salaries were paid at 100% and no job loss had occurred. Secondly, we supported our retailers by giving them significant deferrals and by extending payment deadlines of three to six months for those most affected. We also provided them with hydroalcoholic gel and masks, with the participation of the Puressentiel brand, with whom we have been collaborating for many years.
How has the company ‘adapted to survive’ during this period? In March we put a crisis-response unit in place in order to determine the consequences of the pandemic on each country. The African continent has been the least affected since it had effectively anticipated the arrival of the virus. Numerous borders remained operational during confinement, which for many was the only point of access to remote regions on the continent.
Are things improving? Not as fast as we would hope. A great number of airports remain
NOVEMBER 2020
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