Until recently, cosmetics were ordered by mail, and for the French cream, you had to defend a 200-meter queue. How the beauty industry in Russia began and what it has come to – in this nostalgic review.
1991: the fall of the wall
The Iron Curtain separated the USSR not only from the benefits of civilization but also from cosmetics. Ordinary Soviet women were content with the Ballet cream, and on their 50th anniversary, they received a shrine – the Red Moscow perfume. Only the elite had access to the Beryozka store, where French perfumes and creams could be bought with foreign currency. By the way, all foreign luxury brands were then called French.
Everything changed in August 1991. On the 17th, the first mono-brand cosmetics boutique, Yves Rocher, opened. It is located on Tverskaya, 4, in Moscow. The queue stretched all the way to the Okhotny Ryad metro station, which is about 200 meters! The flow of buyers did not dry up even after the official opening, so a turnstile had to be installed at the entrance. It was removed only in 1994.
Creams vs Cucumber Lotions
Russian women did not give up on foreign trends so easily. For a long time, the ladies mixed vegetable oil into ready-made creams and replaced the tonic with cucumber water. It took ten years to teach them how to use cosmetics. Ampoules are applied to the skin, and not taken orally, wash off the milk, and do not use instead of a cream. Brand consultants have done a huge educational campaign for our moms. The same Yves Rocher opened 56 boutiques in 43 cities of our country in six years. And in each woman could receive care instructions and high-quality herbal cosmetics that had nothing to do with homemade.
The 2000s: beauty goes to the regions
The beauty market grew at a tremendous pace, at 18-20% per year, but there was a severe inequality between megacities and regions. In the outback, women supported the domestic manufacturer – because there was no other. And then a breakthrough – foreign cosmetics with home delivery! As the greatest value, catalogs were passed from hand to hand on weekends. It was a special kind of pleasure: flipping through bright pages and writing out product codes.
Yves Rocher was one of the first to establish mail deliveries in 2001, and by 2002 he had sent a millionth order. The managers collected the first parcels personally in order to see the entire chain of relationships with the client.
Since 2004, the Yves Rocher online store has been operating in Russia – and again it was one of the first. The Internet at that time was connected by cards or from the city telephone network. To order a cream, you had to spend precious minutes and megabytes of limited traffic – but it was worth it.
The 2010s: all green!
Until recently, Russian tourists brought reusable shopping bags from Europe instead of souvenirs. They told with surprise how the owner of the rented apartment asked them to sort the garbage. How cosmetics stores accept containers for recycling.
Gradually, the eco-trend comes to Russia. Smart brands come not through edification, but through convenience. Yves Rocher was one of the first to sell reusable shopping bags in 2007. Russian women do not fully understand why, but they agree: it’s beautiful.
In 2010, Russia was swept by unprecedented forest fires. Yves Rocher was able to unite the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund, authorities, forestries, and volunteers and organize tree planting in the Arkhangelsk region and Altai. Over 10 years, 8.5 million trees have been planted, and 2,000 jobs created for residents of these regions.
Since the same 2010, the brand has been supporting the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University “Aptekarsky Ogorod” – helping in the creation of eco-projects. Including creating the natural-educational project “Middle Strip of Russia”.
In 2017, the brand launches an unusual novelty: concentrated shampoos and shower gels, one drop of which is as effective as a regular “portion”. The mini-tube uses 2x less plastic to produce, and less transport is required for delivery. All this helps to reduce carbon emissions.
Yves Rocher gives grants for the development of eco-projects within the framework of the Terre de Femmes – Land of Women award. Since 2006, 48 of our compatriots have been awarded.
The 2020s: major revisions
In 2020, our country entered the top 5 in the European cosmetics market. We are considered: Russia, they produce separate lines of products, shades of cosmetics, and fragrances. And we follow global trends, the main of which is clean beauty: the rejection of components harmful to nature and skin, and conscious consumption. Yves Rocher is ahead of its time again: the company has already switched to bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, although by law European manufacturers can do this by 2025 (there are no such requirements at all in the Russian Federation).
It is not enough to buy a product with an environmentally friendly composition and packaging, you also need to properly dispose of it. With Yves Rocher, it’s easy: in the same boutique on Tverskaya, 4, a project was launched to collect used tubes. Very soon, such “reception points” will open in other stores. After all, it is so natural to return to nature the beauty that it gives us!
In 30 years, our beauty industry has gone the way that Western countries spent 100 years on. Domestic women were ready to change themselves and change the world. All this time, the Yves Rocher brand was nearby, which was one of the first to “bring” and adapted to world trends.
This year the brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary in Russia and giving gifts – discounts on beauty hits that will save not only your skin but also the planet!
