Leijtens Import: E. Leijtens

LEIJTENS IMPORT

30 Years aT The serVice of The BeauTY indusTrY

Willem and Elise Leijtens, the second generation of Leijtens Import BV

INTERVIEW WITH EliSE lEiJTENS

EXPORT MAGAZINE: Can you describe shortly your company’s history? Which has been its evolution during all these years, also considering market evolution? ELISE LEIJTENS: Our family company was founded more than 30 years ago, starting in the cosmetic field. Peter Leijtens started with Douglas Perfumeries and Marlies Leijtens has a medical background and lot of experience in teaching beauticians. With this expertise, they decided to start their own distribution cosmetics company called Leijtens Import BV. The daily business is now in hands of Elise Leijtens & Willem Leijtens. Elise has a background in marketing and Willem in business administration. They began with the Benelux market and for a couple of years, we are now conquering the EU market with our great brands! Our vision is to differentiate the self-care market with new inspiring brand discoveries.

EM: Did you expand your activity also in other geographical areas? EL: We started in the Benelux market and for a few years, we are developing the EU market, which means adapting our sales and marketing strategy to the different countries. We have our international sales team with people speaking the local languages. The brand is always involved in choosing the right retailers to target!

We help (new) brands to build strong brand awareness within the different markets. We constantly analyze data, so when we notice changes in the market, we jump into that adapting the strategy to the brand and country we are targeting. Our vision is to obtain long-term cooperation, become one with the brand, and partner with the retailers. We believe that is the way to conquer the market. EM: How is organized your distribution today in Holland? EL: Since our main business is beauty distribution we have all the experts in-house. We see ourselves as retail matchmakers. Finding the perfect match between brand and retailer makes our hearts beat a little bit faster. Thanks to our extensive database, we have both online and offline partners in all fields. From small, unique independent concept stores to big drugstore chains and from luxury department stores to standalone beauty schools, we can find the perfect fit for each brand. In addition, we are also working on a B2C level, that helps us to communicate with the end consumer and collect important sales data. Once there is a match from both sides our marketing team jumps in. Together with the sales team, we create a launch plan and a 360 marketing strategy per retailer. Our marketing team is working on content for social media (@leijtensimport) but also for offline and online retailers. Our purchase department works with a system that generates an algorithm based on previous orders to optimize our stock, and we do that in our warehouse. We use automated processes for fast order picking, and deliveries and regenerate track & trace codes for all B2B & B2C consumers. We make sure every package is carefully packed to avoid any damage. EM: Do you carry also your brand, besides distributing brands from a few companies? EL: We don’t have our own brand, but we have our own B2C channel called beautytasting.com. However, we have the experience so we can help indie beauty brands with the registrations for the EU market. This is a service we offer to new smaller brands to help them start their business.

EM: Do you carry on different marketing strategies depending on the brands you are dealing with? EL: We work with a strong marketing program based on the need of every single brand. We know that every brand requires a special approach. The marketing tools that we use to organize the best brand awareness are Social Media, Search Engine Marketing, E-mail marketing, PR/influencers, in-store promotions, and COOP/retailer marketing.

EM: How important is communication within the beauty industry? How do you promote your business? EL: We promote our business by performing not only towards the brand but also with retailers. We are 30 years in the cosmetic industry for a reason, and we have experienced that working hard and getting results is the best publicity we can ever wish for. The cosmetic industry is big but at the same time small, since the rotation in between jobs is high, we will all meet again at a fair, congress, presentation, or press event. We work with passion and professionalism making sure we reach our goals year by year and for many more!

Claudia Stagno