Selectiva to Bolster U.S. Business
ALESSANDRIA, Italy — Selectiva wants to raise the bar for itself in the American market.
Encouraged by success in the U.S. of its only fragrance, called Pink Sugar, the four-year-old company will expand its American distribution base. It already began introducing lines in the U.S. earlier this month.
First on the list of product launches was a 40-stockkeeping-unit skin care line for teens called Aquolina Viso, which employs fruit and vegetable essences to target problem skin. The company also released three bath and body line extensions under Pink Sugar, the fragrance it originally launched in the U.S. in August 2003.
Separately, additions to another Selectiva bath and body line, called Aquolina, will be introduced in the U.S. early this year. These include Aquolina body mousses and bath tablets based on green tea, black currant and musk and candy floss ingredients.
In an interview at the company’s offices here, a city southwest of Milan, Stefano Pesce, managing director of Selectiva, said the company was ready to raise its profile in the U.S.
“It is an enthusiastic market for us, as proved by sales of Pink Sugar,” he said. “We managed to maintain a top five position in sales in Sephora since the scent’s release more than a year ago. It’s difficult for a perfume to be a success there without authority and without being a fashion brand, so we think we have what it takes to launch our other brands there.”
Currently, Selectiva is carried in 190 U.S. doors, including Nordstrom and Sephora. The company is hoping to double that number by the end of this year. Today, the U.S. market is worth $2 million annually for Selectiva. However, the firm’s U.S. distributor, Luxcon Group, believes the company has the potential to eventually be a $50 million brand in the U.S.
Meanwhile, on its home turf in Italy, Selectiva is searching for ways to get its brand in the mind-set of its younger target audience. Last June, the company signed a licensing deal with Gut Edizione to create school products and accessories that bear Selectiva’s brands, including Pink Sugar and Aquolina.
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The 30-sku line, which includes notebooks, rucksacks and pencil cases, will be launched in March 2005 in the Italian bookstore chain Feltrinelli.
“It’s a new license and a new world for us and beauty — it will give us a prime position in the minds of Italian schoolgirls,” said Antonella Pascale, marketing manager of Selectiva.
The license is set to be renewed annually for 10 years according to product types and launches.
Not content with school accessories alone, the company is also looking into other ways to market its brands. Next up is a lingerie deal, though at press time nothing was confirmed.
“Our company symbol is a red chili pepper and that alone could stand on a line of lingerie,” said Pesce, who added, “We are always seeking ways to develop our world.”
The licenses are part of an immense phase of development the company has thrust itself into, said Pesce.
“I never thought it would [develop] like this; honestly, we thought we would remain an Italian-only brand for a while,” said Pesce.
Selectiva has tripled its turnover in three years, hitting 11 million euros, or $12.63 million at average exchange rates, in 2003. The company is 70 percent owned by Paglieri, one of Italy’s largest beauty companies.
Selectiva launched in a new market, Australia, at the end of last year and is set to enter Spain this year. Selectiva’s lines are currently distributed in about 20 other markets including Greece, Russia, Asia and northern Europe.