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L'Oréal is continuing its offensive to win the American hairdressers. The French group has just acquired two distributors of hair care products in the United States, Maly's Midwest and Marshall Salon Services, which carry a combined turnover of 130 million and provide 40,000 salons in the Midwest. These acquisitions bring to 80% coverage direct from the U.S. market by the firm, against 50% previously. They represent a continuation of the strategy number one global cosmetics to distribute his own professional products on the market, which weighed about 60 billion dollars (sales salons and spas in the U.S.).

Three years ago that L'Oreal has decided to take matters into their hands. In 2007 and 2008, he had already acquired Beauty Alliance, Maly's West and Columbia Supply to sell products directly to its range of L'Oréal Professional, Kerastase, Matrix and Redken.Objective: To monitor more closely a key market, which weighs one third of global sales of its professional division. This allows the giant of French industry in managing direct without intermediaries, thus controlling its margins at each stage of struggle against the flow of counterfeit goods, a widespread scourge in the United States and, especially, to develop direct relations with hairdressers.

Ensure fidelity of hairdressers is indeed a prerequisite for selling its products on the market very battle. Its subsidiary specializing SalonCentric Florida-based approach one by one the shows and their "designers" as they call them across the Atlantic. Specificity local hairdressers are in fact often self-employed who rent a chair in a salon. It is therefore necessary to convince individuals to use the group's products, while their neighbor salon can procure from a competitor."L'Oreal was founded more than a hundred years to serve and inspire the professional hair salons around the world," said Paul Sharnsky, President SalonCentric. This strategy should enable the French group to increase the efficiency of its business in the United States, where sales dropped by over 6% in 2008.

Surprise drop in industrial production in October. It fell again by 0.8% after falling 1.2% in September. From his side, manufacturing production also decreases by 0.8% after declining 1.1% in September. Despite everything, the good performance observed in August saved the furniture: over the last three months, manufacturing output rose 2.6%. Over this period it has observed a strong rebound in metal and other metal products (+7.4%) and in automobiles (+14.1%). It has also increased in the manufacture of rubber products, plastic and other nonmetallic mineral products (+4.1%), manufacture of machinery and chemicals (4%).

However, through the last two months, rather bearish, suggesting that the destocking process finds no link with a recovery in demand.In addition, manufacturing output last three months is 10.4% lower production in the same month last year, which is hardly pleasing. "The truth is that no demand: our exports, especially to our neighbors in the European Union, are crumbling and the investment in the country continues to decline" Analysis and Alexander Law.

The situation in the automotive sector and is symptomatic. Despite a sharp increase in registrations due to the scrapping bonus, production slowed significantly in September in October, with a 5% drop in production in October, itself resulting from a fall of 8.1% in September. After a period of destocking, manufacturers are reluctant to turn back to their full production lines, especially with the planned termination of premiums.

After a year in 2009 under the sign of restraint on wages, what does the year 2010? "The care and attention are always placed in businesses," said Fanny Potier-Koninckx, principal at Towers Perrin and responsible investigation "Outlook 2010 in terms of pay, which is published today.

The European car still recovering. In a statement released Monday, the rating agency Fitch believes that 2010 will be a "transition year" for the sector, despite the appearance of "early signs of stabilization." But the number of bankruptcies in the sector should also remain high in 2009, provides for the rating agency.

Fitch anticipates that the impact vehicle sales in Western Europe will shrink in 2010, and that this decline could reach 6 or 8%. The rating agency predicts that by 2009 the decline in sales will reach 5%, and that production will open in fall of 20% over the same period.

The rating agency gives such a negative outlook because of the gradual but planned, the premium breaks that currently boosts sales.The impact of the disruption of these measures remains difficult to quantify, especially in Germany, "the largest car market in Europe where about one million vehicles were sold under these incentives," says Fitch. Emmanuel Bulle, Director in Fitch motor, said that uncertainty: "Based on sales growth and the actual ability of manufacturers to meet all these challenges, a stabilization of the ratings outlook could arise in the first half of 2010."

Increased pressures on cash

The sales momentum is indeed not the only challenge facing the sector. The issue of financial strength will also return to the front of the stage, including OEMs, Fitch said in another note."In the absence of specific operations, such as increases in capital or asset sales, abandonment of leverage will be a slow process for companies falling into recession with a substantial financial debt, as Renault, "the statement said. The manufacturer is rated "BB with negative outlook" when rival SAP is rated "BB +, B, with negative outlook."

Given these financial pressures, "the agency expects the trend to selective alliances and partnerships will continue into 2010, as well as downsizing discrete and gradual, which are necessary to support a structure lower cost, more in line with forecasts of declining sales.

Automakers will also adapt to new consumer needs.Fitch notes that "the trend towards smaller cars is another challenge for manufacturers of Western Europe, focused on technology, while margins are generally larger segments for vehicles and premium sedans. "No matter the size! Some prefer to bet on another emerging trend of consumption, mindful of its impact on the environment: Renault intends to become the largest producer of electric cars, since the launch of its first four models of its kind in 2011.

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The day on Tuesday a busy one on the social front, unions of Post and teaching have both called for a national day of mobilization Tuesday, November 24.

On Monday, several unions of Post and National Collective cons of privatization of the Post Office hold a press conference near the Elysee Palace before going there with the intention to meet with Nicolas Sarkozy and to deliver the leaves of 'annotating the "citizen referendum" held last month with the participation of 2.3 million people against privatization, according to figures from the collective.

On Tuesday, five unions at La Poste (CGT, Sud, CFDT, FOR and CFTC) to call a strike against the change of status and opening up capital of the company public, threatening to organize a national event "in the week of December 13, "if the government persisted in its goal to pass" the bill for this reform.