Located in Mouans-Sartoux near Grasse?; the Carestia Arcade Beauty printing house works mainly with the major perfume brands thanks to its flagship product, "les touches à sentir". Its clients include perfumers such as Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy, Kenzo, Channel and Hermès.
During the containment, the printing plant was forced to shut down for three weeks from March 25 to April 14, as most of its customers had closed their warehouses. Perfumers were heavily impacted by the containment, particularly with the closure of airports and duty-free zones. Luckily, Carestia also has a packaging business, which allowed them to maintain a good turnover.
Marie-Hélène Marcelli, director of Carestia Arcade Beauty, continued to go to the factory with the HR and the Maintenance Manager, in order to work on the takeover: implementation of barrier gestures on the 4000 m2 of the factory, safety distances, reorganization of workstations, orders for equipment to equip the staff, implementation of a procedure? The majority of employees were then teleworking or on short-time working.
A market diversification strategy
Starting in mid-April, the printing plant was able to resume production and has not stopped since, even though some employees are still on short-time work. Marie-Hélène Marcelli explains that activity has resumed properly and hopes for a return to almost normal by December, despite of course the uncertainty linked to the development of the epidemic.
In addition, the company, which was already working on a market diversification strategy, has stepped up the pace by developing a new product line in the "?home fragrance?" (home fragrances, etc.). Carestia has also developed a range of barrier products: 100% paper and customizable masks that can be used as promotional items for brands, cardboard handles to protect hands, antimicrobial varnish, etc.
As for existing products, some have been adapted to the health crisis. For example, the printer has designed a cardboard dispenser in which blotters already scented can be placed to prevent customers from coming into contact with the test bottle. Carestia also signed a contract with GK Concept, which is developing a machine for scenting and dispensing blotters in stores.
