He learned there to work as a team including those of the labs

The woodwork of the storefront and the opulent Haussmanian façade surprise a little. The word spa, since it is the first facility of this kind opened by five worlds in 2001, suggests rather idyllic images of distant palaces and exotic aquatic rituals. It is in this universe that Jean-Louis Poiroux intended translate here in the heart of Paris, in Lausanne Rivage Palace, or Tunisia to the new Royal Thalassa Hotel in Monastir. The Spa Cinq Mondes - to the number of 15 to date, 20 by the end of the year - are regularly distinguished by the most demanding experts ("Condé nast traveller", "Forbes Magazine"...) The map of the care they provide is impressive: Japanese bath, Balinese massages, Ayurvedic, Taoist, shiatsu, ritual of the hammam, herbal, arômathérapie... in total 40 "protocols" originating from Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Five worlds emerged within a decade as the French reference to the discipline. Next to its own institutions or affiliated, the brand is available in 400 smaller spaces in the city or in a resort setting, essaimés around the world (Germany, Spain, Italy, Maurice, Morocco...). It is also a line of beauty products made in Paris involving plant assets, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the advanced cosmetology molecules.

L'Oreal at Tag Heuer

A kind of syncretism in the personality of the founder of five worlds, his love of travel and his earlier career. Rather classic at the outset. A graduate of HEC in 1988, Jean-Louis Poiroux spent the next ten years at l ' Oréal. He learned there to work as a team, including those of the labs. In London, where he participates in the development of freezing her hair Studio Line, he discovered the "health farms", small shops kept by Indian massages and the arômathérapie. In the United States, where the lead his movements repeated for the launch of the Fructis line, he saw climb the popularity of spas. And including the attention given by these institutions in their planning and decoration. Supposed to echo "release-taking" instilled by the Eastern philosophical doctrines, spas grow a minimalist style.

Then germinates in him the idea "to take what was best in these different experiences to create his own company autour of a spa concept in the French". Jean-Louis Poiroux taught shiatsu, a Japanese massage by finger pressure technique, and married a passionate care Ayurvedic and yoga. He left also l ' Oréal for Tag Heuer, the mark of beautiful watches sports. The opportunity to usefully complement its professional background: "I have learned to design shops and work with great architects like Tadao Ando or Ottavio Di Blasi", he says. The acquisition by LVMH (owner of the "voices") but encouraged him to go ("I did not want to find myself again in a large group.")

Around the world

The young couple embarked on a long tour of the world of eighteen months, which it makes profit for a status of the different cultures of well-being and care performed everywhere from California "new age" to Africa. Jean-Louis Poiroux chooses to retain the techniques based on written traditions. "Prior to the transmission", said. Hence the choice to rely on the five great cultures of care: the India, from which it is party there are some 5,000 years, the Japan, China, Siam and the Middle East (and the Maghreb). The five worlds concept will federate the skills of pharmacists and French physiotherapists, physicians Indian and Japanese. From the outset, the mark also launches its line of care based on 100 natural ingredients: tropical flowers, essential oils, spices...

The Cinq Mondes Spa are characterized by the generosity of space (up to 1,000 m2, with home and suites VIP ensuring a total discretion), the use of noble materials such as wood, as well as domestic accommodation hiding any upside decor. care trays, vaporizers, magnifiers... disappear behind sliding panels. "The counting of the space as part of the experience of a session of care", argues their creator.

This experience may also extend at home with books and DVDs of initiation coécrits Jean-Louis Poiroux and a practitioner of holistic care, Galya Ortéga. Next step The development of a partnership with the Association Spa quality label. Like the system of the stars of the hotel, it should help consumers better tracking to a bloated offer but not always meet expectations.

Tomorrow: The leaders workshop