Sausset, Laurent

Laurent Sausset is a consultant with 25 years marketing experience in Asia. Born in France in 1959, he has also lived in Canada and Africa. After earning a graduate business degree in France, he began his career in 1985 in Tokyo with Nichifutsu Boeki, importing and selling European consumer products and technical goods in Japan. He then joined the Remy Martin group and was in charge of sales and marketing in Asia from 1989 to 1995, while the brand progressed in volume from number three in the region to number one.

In 1995 Laurent was hired by the headquarters of The Walt Disney Company as Director, Corporate Brand Management for Asia. In this capacity, based in Hong Kong, he oversaw the Disney brand exposure including Walt Disney Pictures, Licensed Products, The Disney Store and Theme Parks for Greater China, India and Southeast Asia. The Disney brand enjoyed an increasingly high overall regard in those countries.

In 1999 Laurent joined a European marketing consultancy, S.A.D.A. as Managing Director of its subsidiary in Taipei and developed sales in Taiwan and the rest of the Asia-Pacific, focusing its expertise on retail marketing.

Laurent started his own boutique consultancy, DistriSurvey Ltd. in early 2004, specializing in shopping behavior and attitudes in the Far East markets. Over the years he has advised major Western retail chains in Asia such as Walmart, Carrefour, Casino Group, RtMart, Kingfisher B&Q, Leroy Merlin, Office Depot, Toys‘R’Us, as well as Asian retailers including Wellcome, Tops, Giant, Hymal, Lotte, Jusco, Robinson, Central and Far Eastern department stores.

Occasionally Laurent writes articles for Chinese retail magazines and is also a speaker about Asian customers shopping behavior and retail sales forecasting methods in cities as various as Bangkok, Taipei, and Seoul.

Laurent has lived in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and currently resides in Thailand with his wife Siriwan. He spends 90 percent of his time in the Asian markets.