當(dāng)讓-保羅·安鞏于1978年加入歐萊雅的時(shí)候，他并不打算在這家化妝品巨頭度過自己的整個(gè)職業(yè)生涯，更不用說成為該公司第五任CEO。但數(shù)十載光陰轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝，“有組織的混亂”(organized chaos)仍然在激勵(lì)安鞏引領(lǐng)這家現(xiàn)已108歲高齡的公司不斷迎接新挑戰(zhàn)，并趕赴遙遠(yuǎn)的前沿從事冒險(xiǎn)活動。在2006年接掌最高權(quán)杖之前，他先后負(fù)責(zé)希臘、德國和亞洲分公司的業(yè)務(wù)，還曾擔(dān)任歐萊雅美國公司總裁。在安鞏的任期內(nèi)，拜全球擴(kuò)張、精明的收購，以及對數(shù)字化的積極追尋所賜，歐萊雅的營收和股價(jià)一直在穩(wěn)步增長。（2016年，歐萊雅斬獲286億美元營收，電子商務(wù)收入飆漲33%。）

日前接受《財(cái)富》雜志專訪時(shí)，現(xiàn)年60歲的安鞏暢談了購物中心的未來，品牌真實(shí)性，以及如何駕馭“數(shù)字海嘯”等話題。以下是經(jīng)過編輯的訪談?wù)?/p>

長期以來，傳統(tǒng)的消費(fèi)品和零售企業(yè)一直對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，以及互聯(lián)網(wǎng)有可能對它們產(chǎn)生的影響持否認(rèn)態(tài)度。你是什么時(shí)候意識到這種顛覆性力量的？

大約七年前，一些來自數(shù)字世界的朋友不斷地解釋正在發(fā)生的一切，我意識到一場海嘯即將到來。我可以遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地看到它。就像宣戰(zhàn)或者發(fā)布動員令那樣，我宣布2010年是歐萊雅的“數(shù)字年”。沒有人知道它意味著什么。

在歐萊雅，一件值得肯定的事情是，大家都很積極。那一年，在歐萊雅的每個(gè)部門，包括每個(gè)國家和每個(gè)品牌，所有人都突然開始做數(shù)字化。非常無組織，非?；靵y。但至少每個(gè)人突然意識到了一場巨大的轉(zhuǎn)型即將到來。由于數(shù)字化，今天的一切都比以前更有趣，更強(qiáng)大。

哪些數(shù)字化舉措行之有效？哪些行不通？

我們有4個(gè)部門，34個(gè)品牌，足跡遍布140個(gè)國家。根據(jù)定義，數(shù)字化意味著去中心化。因此，公司內(nèi)部涌現(xiàn)出了數(shù)百個(gè)舉措和實(shí)驗(yàn)。經(jīng)過嘗試，其中一些行不通，另一些則很有效果。近四年來，我們從外面雇傭了1600位數(shù)字專才，并且將他們完整地嵌入營銷團(tuán)隊(duì)。下一步是，我們打算在今年晚些時(shí)候要求每一位新招募的營銷人員獲得數(shù)字認(rèn)證?，F(xiàn)在做不涉及數(shù)字化的營銷，實(shí)在是過于瘋狂。

社交媒體的興起一直被譽(yù)為是推動化妝品銷售熱潮的強(qiáng)大力量。人們希望自拍照中的自己更加靚麗。另一方面，年輕人也渴望在網(wǎng)上獲得更加真實(shí)的產(chǎn)品。不過，真實(shí)性和大眾市場品牌似乎存在一點(diǎn)沖突。

我不確定兩者存在沖突?？赡軙幸欢ǖ膹埩?。品牌必須是真實(shí)的，但對于消費(fèi)者來說，這意味著品牌是透明的，它表達(dá)的東西是有誠意的。在這方面，我們正在努力做到最好。像科顏氏(Kiehl’s)這樣的品牌，不僅是大品牌，而且是一個(gè)被視為完全真實(shí)的品牌。小品牌更容易讓人覺得真實(shí)，但只要你尊重這些規(guī)則，我并不認(rèn)為大眾市場品牌不可能具有真實(shí)性，哪怕你是一個(gè)大品牌。

歐萊雅是一個(gè)積極的收購者。除了錢，你還為企業(yè)家提供了什么東西，誘使他們把公司賣給你？

我們充分尊重其品牌的身份、文化、精神和靈魂。當(dāng)你走進(jìn)世界上任何一家科顏氏專賣店的時(shí)候，無論它是在韓國、中國、法國，還是阿根廷，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)它仍然洋溢著我們在2000年收購的那家科顏氏專賣店的精神、靈魂和身份。我們一直忠于和培育該品牌的精神。只有一個(gè)差別：它現(xiàn)在是一個(gè)價(jià)值10億美元的品牌。

如果你是一位打算把接力棒傳遞給別人的企業(yè)家，這一點(diǎn)是非常重要的?？纯此〕鞘?Urban Decay)，該品牌的創(chuàng)造者仍然在和我們一起管理業(yè)務(wù)。

幾年前，你非?？春脷W萊雅在2006年收購的Body Shop，并打算扭轉(zhuǎn)這家零售商的困境。但在今年2月份，你將該公司掛牌出售。發(fā)生了什么變化？

我們一而再再而三地嘗試。在這個(gè)案例中，我們或許過分忠誠于該品牌的精神。因?yàn)槲覀儾幌胱鎏嗟母淖?，事?shí)上，我們改變得不夠多。這種平衡總是很難把握的。你必須得演變，但也要尊重品牌。我們真的付出了長達(dá)10年的努力。我仍然認(rèn)為它是一個(gè)美麗的品牌，在世界各地都有很高的知名度，或許其他人可以做得更好。

考慮到過去十年來，Body Shop以自然和環(huán)保產(chǎn)品著稱的整體氣質(zhì)日益成為主流?，F(xiàn)在選擇出售這個(gè)品牌，的確令人驚訝。

確實(shí)如此。但也許是因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)變得越來越主流，它也就不那么獨(dú)特了。凡事總有兩面性。

你是否像許多數(shù)字顛覆者那樣，認(rèn)為購物中心即將走到盡頭？

我并不認(rèn)為，在未來的零售業(yè)態(tài)中，電子商務(wù)和專賣店是一種“非此即彼”的關(guān)系。我們將讓消費(fèi)者選擇不同類型的服務(wù)和體驗(yàn)。比如，歐萊雅在2014年收購的專業(yè)美容品牌NYX，就結(jié)合了電子商務(wù)和獨(dú)立商店兩種模式，專賣店不僅擺放著一系列琳瑯滿目的產(chǎn)品，還附帶提供數(shù)字化體驗(yàn)。你也可以在塔吉特百貨和Ulta美妝店這類商場購買種類相對有限的產(chǎn)品。這就是我們眼中的未來——為消費(fèi)者提供不同類型的服務(wù)和體驗(yàn)，讓他們自己選擇。商場專賣店也將成為這種選擇的一部分。

有句名言說，只有偏執(zhí)狂才能生存。你對什么特別偏執(zhí)？

消費(fèi)者的新愿望。我們必須永久地適應(yīng)，甚至永久地預(yù)測消費(fèi)者的需求、愿望和夢想。每一位歐萊雅人都癡迷于此。你必須永久性地適應(yīng)趨勢的演變。

許多年來，我們的競爭對手，特別是美國的競爭對手，把我們稱為一種“有組織的混亂?！币?yàn)樵谒麄兛磥恚瑲W萊雅不是一家特別有組織的公司。這是有意為之，因?yàn)樗∏∽屛覀兪冀K對新想法保持開放的心態(tài)，隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備跳上新趨勢，抓住新機(jī)會。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

作者：Erin Griffith

譯者：Kevin

When Jean-Paul Agon joined L’Oréal in 1978, he didn’t plan to spend his entire career at the cosmetics giant, much less become its fifth CEO. But as decades passed, the “organized chaos” of the now-108-year-old company kept Agon stimulated with new challenges and far-flung adventures. He ran divisions in Greece, Germany, and Asia and served as president of L'Oréal USA out of New York City before taking the top job in 2006. Over Agon’s tenure, L’Oréal’s revenue ($28.6 billion in 2016) and share price have steadily grown, thanks to global expansion, savvy acquisitions, and an aggressive focus on digital. (Last year the company’s e-commerce revenue grew by 33%.)

Agon, 60, spoke with Fortune about the future of shopping malls, brand authenticity, and navigating the “digital tsunami.” (Edited excerpts follow.)

For a long time, traditional consumer goods and retail businesses were in denial about the Internet and the impact it would have on them. When did you realize it?

Around seven years ago, some friends in the digital world were explaining what was going on, and I realized a tsunami was coming. I could see it from far away. I declared—like you declare war or mobilization—that 2010 should be “the digital year” for L’Oréal. And no one knew what it meant.

The good thing at L’Oréal is people are positive. That year, every division of L’Oréal—every country, every brand, suddenly everyone started something in digital. It was very disorganized, very chaotic, but at least suddenly, everyone got conscious of the huge transformation that was coming. Because of digital, everything today is much more interesting and more powerful than it was before.

What has worked and what hasn’t?

We have four divisions, 34 brands, 140 countries, and digital is by definition pretty decentralized, so you have hundreds of initiatives and experiments. Some of them, they try and see it’s not working. Some are doing really well. In four years we hired 1,600 digital people from the outside. We completely embedded them into the marketing teams. The next step is that [later this year] we'll make every new marketing recruit get digital accreditation. It would be crazy to have someone doing marketing today that does not do digital.

The rise of social media has been credited for the boom in makeup sales. People want to look good in their selfies. On the other hand, young people also crave more authenticity online. There’s a bit of a conflict between being authentic and being a mass-market brand.

I’m not sure there is a conflict. There could be a tension. Brands have to be authentic, but for [consumers], it means the brand is transparent and there is sincerity in what they express. That’s what we are trying to do our best with. A brand like Kiehl’s is a big brand, but also a brand that is seen as totally authentic. It’s easier to look authentic when you’re very small, but I don’t think it’s impossible, even when you are a large brand, as long as you respect these rules.

L’Oréal is an active acquirer. Besides money, what do you offer entrepreneurs to entice them to sell their companies to you?

We offer them the total respect of the identity, culture, spirit, and soul of the brand. When you go to a Kiehl’s store today anywhere in the world—in Korea, China, France, Argentina—it is exactly the replica of the spirit, of the soul, of the identity, of the Kiehl’s store we bought [in 2000]. We have been more than loyal and cultivated the spirit of the brand. Except that now it’s a $1 billion brand.

This is very important if you are an entrepreneur and you want to pass the baton to someone else. And that’s what we guarantee. Look at Urban Decay—the creators of that brand are still with us and managing the business.

A few years ago, you were bullish on turning around the Body Shop, a retailer L’Oréal acquired in 2006. Then in February you put the company up for sale. What changed?

We tried and tried and tried. And maybe in this case we are being too loyal to the brand’s spirit. Because we didn’t want to change too much, in fact, we didn’t change enough. This is always a difficult balance. You have to evolve, but also be respectful to brands. We really put in our best efforts for 10 years. I still think it’s a beautiful brand with great awareness everywhere in the world, but maybe someone else can do something better with it.

It’s surprising, given that the Body Shop’s whole ethos of natural, eco-friendly products has become more relevant and mainstream in the past 10 years.

That’s true. But maybe also because it has become more mainstream, it’s less unique. There is always a flip side.

Do you predict, as many digital disrupters have, the end of shopping malls?

I don’t think tomorrow it will be either e-commerce or store. The future that we can see is to offer consumers a choice between different types of services and experiences. NYX [a professional beauty brand L’Oréal acquired in 2014] is a combination of e-commerce, freestanding stores where you find a huge range of products with [supplementary digital experiences], and you can also buy a more limited assortment in stores like Target and Ulta. That’s what the future that we can see is—to offer consumers a choice between different types of services and experiences. Stores in malls will be a part of this choice.

There is the famous saying that only the paranoid survive. What are you paranoid about?

The new aspirations of consumers. We have to adapt permanently, or even anticipate permanently, the consumer’s demands, desires, and dreams, so this is the obsession of everyone here. You have to adapt permanently to the evolution of the trends.

For many, many years, our competitors—especially here in the U.S.—called us a kind of “organized chaos,” because for them, we are not very organized. It’s intentional, because it allows us to always keep our mind open to new ideas, ready to jump on new trends and take new opportunities.