Congratulations to Limited Brands Inc., voted Company of the Year 2002: Excellence in Packaging!

Made up of eight (at last count) retail entities, Limited Brands (p. 54) controls what it sells, concept to consumer. When it comes to beauty products, Victoria’s Secret, Victoria’s Secret Beauty, Bath & Body Works, Aura Science and White Barn Candle Company are all succeeding as specialty stores that know how to please consumers.

By being able to supervise the entire life of a product—from deciding what a new fragrance should smell like and how it should be packaged to what month it should launch and exactly where it will be placed on the counters—Limited Brands assures that each new item will fit the brand (and its customers’ tastes) perfectly.

A unique combination of fashion and business savvy has driven Limited Brands’ success and we can only wish the company more of the same.

Being able to do more than one thing very well is becoming more important across the board. Labels (p.28) are no longer simply an inexpensive way to put a name on a container, but can help a marketer lower inventory costs, while providing decoration and compliance with government regulations.

Fine fragrance packaging (p. 36) has a split personality these days, with some new products looking high-tech, while others reflect a classic sensibility. For fragrance too, it’s not enough to be a great fragrance in a beautiful bottle. To succeed, a fragrance must have the right juice, the perfect container, ideal marketing and faultless timing. Is it any wonder fewer new launches evolve into classics in today’s market?

Today, success is all about constantly reevaluating what we do and how we do it, in order to find better ways to get the job done.

It’s a new year and we should all resolve to break out of the “It’s how we’ve always done it” mindset.

How CP&D Chose Company of the Year: Excellence in Packaging

Letters were sent to all Cosmetic Packaging & Design’s qualified readership. The letters explained what CP&D looks for in a Company of the Year—a marketer firm (a company that provides cosmetic, fragrance and/or personal care products to the consumer) that has a proven track record of excellence in terms of package design. Readers could nominate as many as five companies.

We tabulated all returned forms and those five companies with the most nominations became the five finalists. An E-mailed ballot with the five finalist names was sent to all qualified readers for whom CP&D has e-mail addresses. Limited Brands was chosen Company of the Year by a large majority.