Maybe it was that eighth glass of
baijiu
that he had downed to show respect to the department
store manager and her team, or their joke that they were honoured to see him but hoped that
the head of Lancôme would join him at their next meeting, but all of a sudden doubts assailed
Stéphane Wilmet, the new general manager of Yue Sai. Stéphane had always been passionate
about China – teaching himself Chinese as a teenager – and had looked forward to coming
back to China after an assignment with L’Oréal USA. But the challenge ahead was enormous.
Yue Sai was one of the very few brands that had managed to lose volume and money in
China’s booming cosmetics market – a sore po
int for L’Oréal. While politely engaging in
small talk with his hosts about the superiority of the local cuisine, Stéphane’s mind kept