Romina Brignone, general and responsible manager in Philips for personal care and the advent line in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Por Rodolfo Pollini

We talked with the person responsible for the categories of personal care and advent in Philips, about the current brand profile, the participation and evolution of the company's products and policies for environmental care and sustainability.

To enter the subject, we define the position of philips, at least in the categories of personal care and within the framework of its location as a worldwide brand.

Globally, Philips is an undisputed leader in technology and a reference for consumers, customers, operators and suppliers with whom he works. The strategy is clear, improve the health and well -being of people through innovation and with significant solutions for each of the markets where it operates.
Specifically in Argentina, Philips has a very strong brand image that is not seen in other markets in Latin America and neither at the global level. He opened the doors in 1935 with a lamp factory, went through many transformations, radio, television, frosts and founded the National Technical School of Philips, for the formation of electromechanical technicians.
Thus, Philips Argentina, not only is the undisputed and reference leader in personal care, the mother and the baby, but still being in the top ranking of brand image worldwide over the years, being associated with its innovation, trust, reputation, sustained success, quality and superiority.

How do you see personal care products in Argentina and comparatively, taking into account that sometimes, and even with the same magnitude or volume, the different markets usually have different cultures or behaviors of consumption?

Working in Philips, and knowing many markets in Latin America and Europe, you would be surprised by the similarities between the habits of use of consumers. In male personal care there is an undeniable trend to have more and more versatile and large performance tools. It passes at the regional and global level, a little pushed by the pandemic and the need to empower and start using the products inside the house. The Argentine is very demanding in these aspects. For the lifestyle, of maelstrom, agility and adapt to constant change, it gives a key value to personal time, it demands a lot of products and goes to the avant -garde in creating its own style, in being a tendency and disruptive.

And also lover of the exclusive.

Hence, Philips accompanies and launched Oneblade, a unique and pioneering product that is a hybrid and versatile tool that shaves, cuts and models any hair length, both on the face and in the body, dry and wet but always with the premise of the company to take care of the skin and not irritate it.

NO SOLO PERFORMANCE
Brignone argues that products and solutions, at least on the part of Philips, are understood not from the short term or only by their performance, as in the case of dryers only to dry the hair. "In our categories, performance is a must for the consumer," he says. "That is why our portfolio has the best valuations and we continue to learn from the reviews of our consumers."

What happens to female personal care?

In recent years there was an evolution in what has to do with the meaning of beauty, not so much because of the aesthetic, superficial, but for what beauty means in terms of being well with the same. The Argentine woman today expresses much more, she is being much more protagonist. In its choices and decisions it is much more free, more personal and authentic. In Philips, accompanying this vision and understanding this demand, we have a reliable and superior porpholio, from drying and plates to create your style, such as shaving, shaving and even the innovative Philips Lumea that, with its unique technology, is ideal for those who wish to choose a soft and free skin.

How do the two categories in terms of business and participation differ?

During pandemic and postpania, male personal care began to have a greater prominence. The man, from need, began and began using his own personal care tool at home, in turn demanding a single product for face care, body and hair. Today, in Argentina, the male market grows double digit, but not female personal care, much more mature category. Again, the pandemic promoted and accelerated changes and elections of Argentine consumers. Being locked, appliances were prioritized to facilitate the homework of the house, in order to devote quality time to themselves, or their family.

How do dryers and plates participate in the Argentine market?

Planchitas and hair dryers represent almost 60% of all personal, female and male care together. The mix of participation between the two categories is 60% dryers on ironing, due to their versatility: They allow to dry, comb and model lacious and curled hair, and it is even more powerful since men, children and even in pets are used. Penetration is estimated above 85% in an accessible market, there are almost no households where there is no dryer.

What you said of the woman in terms of beauty, feeling well linked that these products evolved with the contribution of elements that make hair health, in addition to aesthetics.

Products and solutions, at least on the part of Philips, are understood not from the short term or only in the performance of "drying" the hair. In our categories, performance is a must for the consumer. Our portfolio has the best assessments and we continue to learn from the reviews of our consumers. One of the cases is the dryers, where the myth of the Watts must still be demolished, that the greater the amount of watts greater power and the product is better. For Philips, performance is not synonymous with power. We offer solutions with greater effectiveness optimizing the temperature of the product to guarantee excellent performance and take care of hair health, minimizing its damage to the exposure. It also occurs with the plates, we have higher solutions with ceramic plates with argan oil or ions, which create a soft sliding, effortless and allowing to have a hair with less frizz, and with luminosity and brightness.

Lumea was a disruptive product for its technology as hair removal system. How was its development, although it is not seen in the market, in general, which actively communicates it?

There is no better success for a company than the product speaks by itself, without being communicated. When you are an undisputed leader brand, with great valuations of your consumers, mouth to mouth, the recommendation of a loved one, a friend or a colleague, make the product a success. That happened with Philips Lmea. The launch was an innovation that created a category, it was a success in Argentina and knew how to occupy a place of aspirational desire among the Argentines. With its unique technology, it offers a totally safe, simple and in the house itself, for those who wish to choose a soft and free skin, something that is not achieved with other hair removal methods.
Today we know that the Argentine woman, on average, uses between 2 to 3 hair removal methods in her routine, occupying Philips Lumea a privileged place, giving rise to a growth potential in the unprecedented market. Today, positively, we do not find the roof in your demand.

Philips was always a shave leader, but over time new trends and products, grooming and hair trimming appeared. How do you see the category?

The shave are still in the Argentine market one of the referent categories, together with Multigroom, but are in an already mature, growth and volume stage. During pandemic and post pandemic a change of habits was accentuated, where man began to create his own styles for beard care and reinforce the concept of practicality, feeling well but also more comfortable, beyond the aesthetic. Man tends more and more to create his own routine for body hair care and take more prominence hybrid products such as Oneblade, which shaves models and cuts, as well as multigribe products, all in one, generating this versatility of having all the tools in a single product and being able to choose them depending on the day, the event or the need. Today in the Argentine market these hybrid products remain strong, which came to stay.

The style of leaving our beards did not attempt against the products, because current beards demand to be permanently retouched.

Very sure. What we communicate with Oneblade, and they say consumers, is that the beard of two or three days is today the pre-reference for the chosen style trend. It retouches, modeling or trimming again to be as each one feels good and how he likes to be.

What happened to the hair cutters, who had a particular growth in the pandemic?

Today the Cortado-RES family is the largest in the market. From what happened with the pandemic, but also for the assessment of personal time, the Argentine consumer tends to choose the multigribris, which cut and model hair in the body and face. The cutters enter this multigribrive world, but the Argentine is very demanding and demanding and does not want a single product but an integral solution. The consumer, somehow, guides us in the needs, demands and what we need to continue building as a brand and as a company. It is important to listen and be attentive to the thermometer of what is happening in the demand of each local market, that when it flows towards innovation it is because we understood the demands of the consumer.

VISION
"In Philips we commit ourselves throughout the life cycle of people, offering solutions, training, advice and significant education and available to anyone, to be more conscious, proactive and active in the care of ourselves."

Let's talk about advent, baby -oriented care, mom and first -time parents, where Philips has a good support and interaction with users and users and from the website.

Philips Advent is a beautiful, unique and image brand is the leading brand reference, aspirational and chosen by fathers and mothers in the Argentine market. I would tell you that it is our flagship brand in our vision of improving health, the quality of life and well -being of people through significant innovation, in this case for mom and baby in their early stages of life. In Philips we have the goal of committing to Brin-Grinding personalized solutions, but also trust and accompaniment in the first thousand days of the wonderful world of having the first child and being fathers and mothers for the first time. We offer an extensive porpholio for the care of the mother and the baby, we advise with referents, such as Paola de los Santos, and we develop an app world A single way or recipe to be a father or mother.

And it is the philips category that is fully oriented to health care.

One hundred percent, and that's why he has an aspirational image and is so dear. We live many times difficult times, where we have to give up many things and in our studies it arises very clear that something that Argentines do not give up is what has to do with quality, health and the best products for our children.

Oral care is another category of philips that goes fully to health care. We tend to worry about eventualities, but not always about prophylaxis and prevention.

Completely. It is a change that companies have to continue doing at a general level, because it is as you say, the consumer is still very reactive and until something does not happen to him, he does not learn and in some way we do not perceive what a good prevention helps improve the quality of life. In Philips we commit ourselves throughout the life cycle of people, offering solutions, training, advice and significant education within the reach of anyone, to be more conscious, proactive and active in the care of ourselves.

On the web they also refer to the policies of sustainability, carbon reduction and the care of everyone's house.

The young generation demands, demands and responsible for companies and brands and is great to listen to them. Philips is an indisputable leader in market share and preference of Argentines, and proudly at a global reference level in sustainability initiatives. It is located in the Top Ranking of the sustainable companies recognized by the Wall Street Journal. It has many initiatives that cover several axes that have to do with sustainability and not only through improvements in product packaging. Reaffirming our commitment to the subject, we focus on 3 axes: Developed to last over time: Products that last more, use less plastic, easy materials to recycle and we are making changes to USB cable plugs. Circular economy: Renew, recycle, repair. An example of that is the post sale work to repair as much as possible before de-de-chop the planet. And finally, Reduction of energy consumption, carbon reduction, renewable energy, product energy efficiency, no more watts to improve performance, but more sharp blades in multigribrive or ceramic plates in the plates.