Invest in France - Case studies
Case Studies for Invest in France
Shiseido's 30th French Anniversary
In the autumn of 2010, Shiseido celebrated its 30th anniversary of working in France, by holding the exhibition “Urban Art Box” in Paris. After starting with a very small team in 1980, the company now has two factories in Gien and the Val de Loire, six affiliates and over 1,400 employees.
As a cosmetics company, Shiseido picked France for its excellence in perfumes and its influence on the cosmetics industry across the world. According to Wataru Takekoshi, Shiseido’s Vice President of Marketing and Communication in Europe, “France is a brand in itself”. France’s positive image and its “extremely creative and flexible” workforce have contributed to the success of Shiseido in Europe.
Petris's 10th Successful Year in France
Petris, an enterprise information management company specialising in the oil and gas industry, will soon be celebrating its tenth year of doing business in France. In 2002, Petris chose France as its first international location and set up its EMEA headquarters in Toulouse.
When first considering doing business abroad, Petris was looking for a location with easy access to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as a strong technical workforce. Toulouse’s excellent and affordable air communications, its universities and qualified labour pool met all of Petris’ criteria. According to James W. Pritchett, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Petris especially appreciates “the strong science background of France’s education system”, which has created a highly knowledgeable and experienced workforce.
With numerous R&D projects completed and others underway, Petris has benefited from the French R&D tax credit, and found the government incentives for training to be extremely valuable. It considers its French employees to have excellent leadership and collaboration skills, and considers them as one of the central reasons behind their success in France.
