From idea to success, with the business model in between, the entrepreneurial journey is fraught with challenges. To understand and draw inspiration from the experiences of others, HEC Stories has chosen to engage with key players in the dynamic world of beauty, where our alumni are thriving. 

After Ning Li (H.06), founder of Typology, Sabrina Herlory (H.02), CEO of Aroma-Zone, and Fleur Phelipeau (H.09), founder of D-Lab Nutricosmetics, as well as Paul Michaux (H.15), co-founder of Prose in New York, Mauhault de Guibert, co-founder of La Rosée, we spoke with Jean-Louis Poiroux (H.88), CEO and founder of Cinq Mondes, a pioneer in the French spa market.

Drawing from Campus Years and Early Experiences

HEC is undoubtedly the best school for marketing. The variety of courses I took on campus shaped the entrepreneur I have become. It was thanks to the school that I found my calling, which began at L’Oréal. Before starting my studies, I wasn’t particularly drawn to cosmetics or marketing, yet they ultimately became my strengths.

My years at L’Oréal, following my time at Jouy-en-Josas, allowed me to thrive in a field that truly fascinates me. There, I even created a brand from A to Z—Fructis. That was my first real entrepreneurial experience. Despite a challenging development journey, the brand became a global success, reaching an estimated 14% market share worldwide. It’s quite rare to have the opportunity in one’s career to develop a brand launched in so many countries with such remarkable success.

Building the Idea

It took me three years to convince L’Oréal’s top management to launch Fructis as I had envisioned it. Even though the project was a success once it hit the market, I felt that the process had taken too long. That’s when the idea started to take root in my mind: I wanted to be part of a smaller structure with faster decision-making. Because when you’re an entrepreneur, you have an idea on Monday, and by Wednesday, you can put it into action. But if you have an idea and only launch the product three years later, it’s a completely different game.

So, I resigned from L’Oréal and joined Tag Heuer. There, I met true entrepreneurs, like Philippe Champion (H.84), who had managed to grow the company’s revenue from 5 million to half a billion in about twelve years after its acquisition. He was looking for his successor, and I took over his position. Two years later, when the brand was acquired by LVMH, I left—because that would have meant going back to the same corporate environment as L’Oréal, and my entrepreneurial dream would have ended.

I had shared with Philippe Champion an idea I had been nurturing for some time: Les Cinq Mondes. He became my first investor. The concept for Les Cinq Mondes was born from my travels with Tag Heuer. I had noticed the rising trend of spas worldwide, yet they were still underrepresented in Europe in the late ‘90s. I wanted to combine my passion for traditional healing practices—such as Ayurveda and Shiatsu, which I had studied—with my strong background in cosmetics. By merging the two, I could create a spa model that was globally inspired yet rooted in French cosmetology.

Building the Business Model

I used my year of traveling around the world with my wife to deepen my knowledge and refine my concept. I gathered beauty rituals, product ideas, and massage techniques from Indonesia, Japan, China, North Africa, Polynesia… I carried a small notebook with me, where I recorded every single idea, and gradually, I shaped my vision. When I returned at the end of 2000, early 2001, everything moved quickly. I opened the first spa in December 2001. At the time, the concept of spas was so unfamiliar in France that people would call asking about their dogs or cats—mistaking it for the SPA (Société Protectrice des Animaux)! It took me just a year to bring everything to life—the development of the products, the website, and the spa itself. It was the first time I had built something on a 500 m² scale, and it was an entirely new experience for me.

Partnering… or Not

I didn’t do everything entirely on my own. My wife traveled the world with me, and with her dual background in psychology and traditional medicine, she was a tremendous source of support and expertise for the project. She led the training for Cinq Mondes spa practitioners throughout my career at the company, until we sold it in 2021.

Spotting Market Opportunities

I never approached it from a purely analytical perspective. Just like with Fructis, I was guided by intuition. All my passions converged into a single venture. However, I was well aware that launching a spa concept in France meant being the first—and that the market needed to be educated about this innovation.

The Role of the Press

Cinq Mondes truly took off thanks to media coverage, which helped build a community and expand our customer base. In the first year alone, we had 500 press articles. During the opening week, we secured two full pages in Vogue, a full page in Elle, and the same in Marie Claire. The press really propelled us forward. Today, things would be very different, but at that time, media exposure could turn you into a well-known and respected brand.

The Key to Success

Reputation is built through repetition—because repetition ultimately shapes identity. Consistently reinforcing key messages helped establish our brand reputation, especially for Cinq Mondes. The uniqueness of this repetition was crucial, but I also had the ambition to redefine an entire industry.

When I started developing spas, the existing reference point was beauty institutes. I reframed the experience as “massage rituals”—and today, the term ritual is everywhere. I also rebranded estheticians as spa therapists, a term that has since become the standard. Traditional esthetician booths became treatment rooms or even treatment suites. I was also the first to introduce double treatment rooms.

To me, naming is an act of creation. Redefining the language of an emerging industry is just as important as inventing the concept itself.

The Importance of Testing

Failures are an inherent part of the entrepreneurial journey. For instance, I once launched an aromacology collection with essential oils and candles, but it didn’t resonate with our customers. They were expecting more innovation in skincare and treatments. Like any company, we had flops—but that’s part of the game when you’re an entrepreneur. You have to constantly reinvent yourself.

There were setbacks, but also major successes—one of the most pivotal being my meeting with Henri Giscard d’Estaing from Club Med. In 2004, he told me he wanted to elevate the luxury experience at Club Med Marrakech in La Palmeraie. At first, I was skeptical, picturing the old cliché of Les Bronzés—but when I visited, I saw the 30-hectare resort, the massive construction project, and a spa spanning over 1,000 square meters. That meeting was a turning point for Cinq Mondes.

Following this partnership, we expanded to a dozen Club Med locations. At one point, around 30% of our customers first discovered us through Club Med. It was an incredible accelerator, especially internationally!

Bonus: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

The best advice I can give to aspiring entrepreneurs is to seek mentorship. I’ve had the opportunity to mentor twice, including two HEC alumni—Graffi Rathamohan and Rudy Guenaire, the founders of PNY, the gourmet and vegan burger chain. I loved guiding them and supporting their journey.

I would have loved to have a mentor myself 20 years ago. Whether it’s an HEC alumnus or an experienced entrepreneur, mentorship is invaluable. A mentor won’t necessarily hand you all the answers, but they will challenge your thinking and help you anticipate obstacles. The mentor-mentee relationship is an incredibly rich and rewarding experience.

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