L’Oréal Canada expands distribution center to keep pace with beauty ecommerce boom

Ecommerce is shaping up to be a central theme of economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The economic recovery is now well underway, and it is accelerating trends such as e-commerce,”​ confirms Lucie Lecours, the National Assembly of Québec’s Minister for the Economy, in her remarks to the press about L’Oréal Canada’s expansion.

“To remain competitive in the economy of tomorrow,” ​she says, “companies of all sizes must accelerate their technological transformation. By investing in its infrastructures, L'Oréal Canada is ensuring that it remains successful and is consolidating its presence in Quebec.”​

L’Oréal sees 90% lift in ecommerce during 2020

During the pandemic, the number of ecommerce orders L’Oréal Canada filled nearly doubled in comparison to the previous year. According to this month’s press release about the company’s expanded distribution facility, the beauty makers shipped 815,000 ecommerce orders in 2020. “In order to efficiently meet this demand and ensure agility in the face of this growth, an expansion of this site was necessary,”​ explains the company plainly.

At Friday’s event at the Saint-Laurent facility, Frank Kollmar, President and CEO of L'Oréal Canada commented, “This expansion allows us to modernize our processes and equipment in order to continue to support L'Oréal Canada's growth, prepare for the addition of new brands and continue the operational excellence of our digital component, which is the major growth lever.”​

L’Oréal Canada economizes to expand warehouse and distribution space

The newly expanded L’Oréal Canada warehouse and distribution facility makes better use of space than the previous iteration did. The newly expanded facility has a storage density that 57% higher than it did previously, according to figures shared in the company press release.

The expansion means that “L'Oréal Canada [has added] 20,000 pallets of storage capacity on a 95,000 square foot area.”​

Several local and regional officials of import participated in Friday’s facility inauguration event, including Chantal Rouleau, Minister of Transport and Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal region, who remarked, "Montreal is an active international metropolis with a varied economy, thanks in particular to innovative companies that implement projects that allow them to progress and stand out.”​

“L'Oréal Canada is one of them,” ​she said, adding that, “The expansion of its facilities and the automation of its activities will guarantee long-term growth. As a government, we are delighted.” ​

And Alan DeSousa, Mayor of the Borough of Saint-Laurent, clearly shares in that delight: “Saint-Laurent is proud to welcome L'Oréal Canada's PROGRESS project to its territory! The expansion and modernization of the storage capacities of the only distribution center in Canada for the world leader in cosmetics will make it possible to respond to the growth of online commerce, which has been further increased by the pandemic. After having shown extraordinary resilience, Laurentian businesses continue to innovate for a strong and sustainable recovery!”​