Left: Alexandre Choueiri President International Designer Collections at L'Oreal, Award winning Editor in Chief Linda Wells of ALLURE, Linda Levy GMM of Macy's, Daniel Annese Global Brand President, Aramis and Designer Fragrances at The Estee Lauder Companies, Jerry Vittoria President Fine Fragrances NA at Firmenich, Elizabeth Musmanno, The President of The Fragrance Foundation (Photo: The Fragrance Foundation)
If you are a reader of ÇaFleureBon chances are you may not think about the "business" of fragrance as much as aquiring perfumes. The majority of fragrance is created for a wide range of consumers who have never heard of sandalwood or sillage. Most don’t read blogs or know the names of noses, belong to Facebook Fragrance groups or have any concept that small indie perfumers who create their own scents even exist. They buy perfume and cologne because they either like the scent, receive it as a gift, like the bottle, can afford the price, believe the salesperson’s pitch or see the marketing campaign. Do we buy fragrance differently?
Elizabeth Musmanno
I was invited by Elizabeth Musmanno, the President of The Fragrance Foundation to a panel discussion “Talking to the Experts: The World of Fragrance Today and Tomorrow” which was moderated by Allure Editor in Chief, Linda Wells and featured top industry leaders and decision makers, Daniel Annese, Global Brand President, Aramis and Designer Fragrances at The Estee Lauder Companies; Alexandre Choueiri, President International Designer Collections at L'Oreal; Linda Levy, Omni Group VP/DMM – Fragrances at Macy's and Jerry Vittoria, President Fine Fragrances NA at Firmenich.
During the crowded cocktail hour at the French Institute (Alliance Francaise) in New York City. I enjoyed catching up with Ralf Schwieger of Mane, Pierre Negrin of Firmenich, and meeting The Fragrance Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awardee Annie Buzantian. I hadn’t seen Sharon Drake a V.P. of Intertrade Europe in a few years and had a moment to chat with fellow journalist Nancy Jeffries of GCI Magazine. I introduced myself to Jerry Vittoria (to my surprise he had heard of ÇaFleureBon).
Before I begin my recap of the highlights of the evening’s discussion, I should disclose that I spent 20 yrs as a marketing and branding executive for companies such as Steve Madden, Hearst Magazines, Latina Magazine, Avon and Phat Farm. Although diverse, all consumer businesses have this in common- the customer rules… as do profits. There is personal commentary in my report as well, (after all I am a blogger).
#smellmyneck via Allure
In all my years in media, I never met Linda Wells, and it was a missed opportunity. Ms. Wells comes across as a smart, savvy editor in chief who understands the business of beauty and knows exactly who her reader is. She was an excellent choice as a moderator as she asked tough questions that don’t have easy answers. The discussion led off with Allure’s new video campaign #smellmyneck. Millennials are blindfolded then lean in and smell a perfect stranger’s neck. They try to guess what the wearer looks like and their lifestyle. I thought it was brilliant, as perfume is a statement of who we are (sometimes how we want others to perceive us or are perceived) and I encourage you to follow the link above and watch.
Fragrance sales by Segment "Artisanal", Luxury, Prestige
Next was a discussion of the State of the Industry. The slide speak for itself. .3 billion dollars ($333 million) is spent on “artisanal brands;” examples include By Kilian, Bond No 9, Creed, Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur and Le Labo. The brands on the slide are very different then what many of us think of as artisanal … a perfumer who creates their own scents without a hired nose. Celebrity Scents, Retail Brands (ie Victoria Secrets) and Direct Mail categories were not included. One of the best lines and insights of the evening concerned the importance of social media, celebrity and fragrance. It seems that customers go into stores and ask for the “Kendall Jenner perfume” (Modern Muse). She has nearly 39 million Instagram followers that look to her as a 'taste-maker' or regram her every photo; most are young women otherwise known as Millennials.
Reaching Millennials (18-33 yr old consumers) was one of the most important missions of all on the panel. Social media is key and the reviews written by young people are crucial (think of make-up alley in the old days) to sales. In this case, young people want to smell different just like their friends. Daniel Annese Global Brand President, Aramis and Designer Fragrances at The Estee Lauder Companies set up a 500 person advisory board and mentioned that if milleninials connect with the endorser they will buy the fragrance blind. he also added that online sales are important, but there needs to be a consistency in what the consumer sees at retail and in print.
Latinas wear and spend more on fragrance than any other ethnic group in the USA
The “hot” market is Latinos. In 2003, I worked at Latina Magazine and we had compelling NPD data for our advertisers showing that Latinas wore fragrance 5-6 x a week; heavy users (makeup 6-7 x a week). The only Hispanic Master Perfumer is Rodrigo Flores-Roux of Givaudan. Hopefully this will change.
Ms. Wells asked “what makes a fragrance successful”?
I once asked Michael Edwards the same question. Mr. Edwards, who has over 30 years experience as an evaulator told me that no one can know for sure. Some thoughts from the discussion:
Macy's Herald Square Dior Sauvage (Johnny Depp) and Boss the Scent (ActorTheo James from Divergent) displays
Fragrance as retail theater: Ms. Levy sited Viktor & Rolf’s Bon Bon, Paco Rabanne Invictus, Boss the Scent and Dior Sauvauge as examples of success. The new Marc Jacobs Decadence had women clamoring for it, without smelling the perfume, based on the gold chain, faux python trim purse design of the bottle.
Michael Kors Gold pefume and jewelry
More synergy between Designer perfume and the Fashion Designer: Gucci Bamboo, by Sr. Perfumer Frank Voelkl of Firmenich is a perfect example. The iconic bamboo handle of Gucci handbags ties into the DNA of the brand. Michael Kors Gold was timed with the designer launch a new jewelry line.
Rafael Nadal for Tommy Hilfiger in his underwear
Tommy Hilfger’s fantastic choice of Rafa Nadal in both the underwear ad and TH The Bold fragrance ad. The campaigns look similar and cohesive. He appeals to both women and men.
Coco Mademoiselle was sited, not because it was created by “chance" overdosing spicy oriental notes with feminine florals, but because it was modern.
Trends:
Sense of Purpose/tie in to philanthropy
Customization: Armani Privee and Tom Ford Private Blend were examples, but I immediately thought of Atelier Cologne’s monogram personalization and the boom in bespoke perfume when I heard the term "customization".
Tory Burch reaches women through online fragrance brand synergies
Online Fragrance Story Telling
Emerging Markets- Asia !!!
Light users dominate the fragrance market but buy many of the same fragrances
Appealing to light users, who buy many of the same fragrances as heavy users do, just not as often.
Light users represent 45 percent of consumers who buy perfumes with 8 percent lapsing > 2-5 yrs ; 9 percent never wore a fragrance!!!
Appealing to men. Anecdote: I was on the LIRR after the forum and sat next to a young man (25 yrs old, living in an affluent suburb and pre law). He saw me rummaging through my gift bag of fragrance and asked what I did to get so much perfume. He never had read a perfume blog and bought his last fragrance at Macy’s because he had a gift card. He was very interested in understanding more about scent and knew that his mom wears Dior J'Adore. I asked him what he liked about the last fragrance he purchased. He told me it was Burberry Brit (bought with the Macy's gift card), that "it smells ok" but he felt "pushed" into buying it by the salesperson. Although he had trouble articulating it at first, the sandalwood and spice appealed to him, but it was too heavy a fragrance for every day. He likes colognes that smell like “wood and water” and not as strong, because he tends to over spray. I suggested he up his scent game and try BLEU de Chanel. He bought it online at chanel.com based on our brief conversation.
What the industry can do to improve
Connect with the Customer
Less flankers
Growing brands (Jo Malone)
In store training and Education
Final comments:the idea of "shared fragrance", i.e. without gender marketing, according to the panel experts isn’t coming to prestige and mainstream fragrance in the USA any time soon, based on the discussion. Fragrance Foundation President, Elizabeth Musmanno summed up the evening, “It is about the story, but it’s still about the juice. Ultimately, we need that juice to be fabulous".
Thank you to Elizabeth Musmanno for the invite and to Perfumer Darryl Do who was my guest and took most of the photos.
–Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief
The Allure Best of Beauty Box features six Editors' choices of Best Beauty of 2015
I received Allure’s Best of Beauty Box as part of my swag bag and would like to offer it to a Con USA reader. These are mini samples of the products that the staff of Allure chose as some of their favorites:
Hair: Malin+Goetz Peppermint shampoo (clarifying with a great scent), Bumble and Bumble Grooming Crème: reduces frizz and has avocado and sweet almond oil listed in the ingredients
Makeup: Benefit They’re Real Push Up Liner- innovative black gel liner
Skin: Nuance Salma Hayak Am/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream with a faint herbal smell (tempted to keep this btw), Eau Thermal Avene Cleanance Gel Cleaner: Great for oily skin without stripping natural oils
Nails Allure+ Butter London The Sweet Spot Nail Laquer from the Arm Candy Collection: dusty pink without looking old lady or girly and 7 free.
To be eligible, you must be a registered CaFleureBon reader in the US to qualify. Please leave a comment with what you found interesting or learned about The World of Fragrance Today and Tomorrow Forum and what you want to praise or offer constructive suggestions. Draw closes 10/20/2015
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.