Fragrance Sales Smell Sweeter

The fragrance industry gathered in New York to celebrate the 33rd Annual FiFi Awards on April 7 (p. 22) and, for the first time in awhile, the smiles weren’t just for the winners. Prestige fragrance sales in 2004 were up a slight, but significant 1% to $2.8 billion overall, with a 2% increase for women’s luxury products, according to NPD-Beauty, Port Washington, NY.

The mass market, however, was down 3.1% to $329.25, according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago, but industry sources said the prestige results more than made up for the loss.

What’s finally convinced at least prestige consumers to head back to the fragrance counters? As always, it seems to be a combination of classic and new that have captured shoppers’ attention and dollars.

Chanel reintroduced its classic Chanel No. 5 in extravagant television and print ads featuring actress Nicole Kidman and it worked! At the other end of the celebrity spectrum, Britney Spears did indeed have a hit with curious. These and others as well conceived and delivered were successful in a still-crowded and fragmented market.

But, as an industry that has been through this sort of thing before in the 1980s knows, celebrity endorsements are hardly a sure thing. Any number of things can go wrong, as explained by Jonathan Ford of Pearlfisher (p. 18) and Kenneth Hirst (p. 63). But that isn’t slowing marketers down a bit, as seen in The Celebrity Connection (p. 56).

Of course, one of the best ways to convince a consumer to buy your fragrance is to tempt her with a sample. Industry suppliers have any number of clever, innovative ways to create a sample and put it in the hands of the right consumer at the right time. Read about the latest in this fascinating specialty in Good Things in Small Packages (p. 28).

A truly hot segment in beauty today is the cosmeceutical category, even though some of the biggest marketers don’t like to call these products by that name. Terminology aside, products, from color cosmetics to skin care and hair care that promise to help solve problems—the appearance of aging, acne and hair loss to name a few—are multiplying in all channels of distribution. Find out about the dual role of packaging in this important growth category (p. 42) and consider its future (p. 64).

At the end of the day (which seems to be the latest cliché), successful products are still based on filling a real need or desire with a product that does what it promises to do. Companies willing to take the time and effort to develop them will likely succeed. Copycats may have a hit now and then, but the long-term winners are the true innovators.

Speaking of winners, Cosmetic Packaging & Design welcomes Art Largar as our new publisher. Art is also publisher of Happi and brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge to the task. Donna Feiler is our new national sales manager. Donna’s experience includes sales for Happi, and several other Rodman publications.

We have the team for you!

Janet Herlihy
Editor
[email protected]