MILAN — Procter & Gamble Fine Fragrances has finally baptized its last beauty acquisition, the Valentino fragrance license, with a new scent.
Marked with a bold, red V on its white packaging, the fragrance, simply called “V,” was recently unveiled by Valentino himself at a villa in Rome.
V represents the first launch for the Roman brand since P&G’s Fine Fragrances division acquired the license in July 2003. It is hoped the new scent will bolster women’s fragrance sales, which form the weaker part of the P&G Fine Fragrances portfolio, said Markus Strobel, general manager of prestige products and fine fragrances, at a party for the company’s fragrances during the fall women’s collections in Milan.
“Valentino is a key step in our portfolio of male-dominated fragrances. Boss generates half a billion dollars worth of sales annually and Lacoste is another more male-dominated brand. However, to win in the female stakes we needed a brand that has the potential like Valentino. It has awareness. If you wake up any woman in the world at 3 a.m. and say ‘Valentino’ you will get a reaction. And, on that basis, we can transfer the awareness to a relationship with fragrance. It has the potential to crack the female market for us,” said Strobel.
P&G Fine Fragrances looks upon its newborn as the Rome-based designer brand’s benchmark for a future of launches.
“We want V to be the signature fragrance of the house in the future. We want it to stand the test of time,” said Strobel. “Its values embody luxury, refinement [and] complexity. It doesn’t need a name.”
P&G does not break out sales projections, but industry sources estimate the fragrance could generate over $100 million at retail worldwide during its first year. Of that total, $25 million could be done at retail in the U.S.
Instead of aiming V at age brackets, P&G discovered a sector of women identified by personality — through what Strobel called “psychographic marketing.” The company chose a target group it dubbed “chameleon women.”
“Targeting based on age is an outdated concept,” said Strobel. “The chameleon woman makes up around 20 percent of the European female population. They want to have it all: profession, power, family. They don’t take no for an answer; they do what comes natural to them and they are confident.”
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P&G Fine Fragrances has undertaken an aggressive distribution plan for the launch of V. Starting this month, the fragrance will be available in Italy, Germany and the U.K., followed by Spain in April.
The rollout plan includes 10,000 doors globally in 75 countries.
A special edition of the scent, which will be “an intense version with a few notes changed,” said Strobel, is expected to launch in September.
The U.S. rollout will be gauged later than the rest of the world, in May. Cosmopolitan Cosmetics USA, which is distributing the fragrance in the U.S., is intent on approaching this Valentino launch differently.
“Many of our competitors go out to 2,000 doors on day one [but] our approach will be much slower,” said Donald Loftus, president and chief executive officer of Cosmopolitan Cosmetics USA. “We will benefit from this — we will rank number one or two in specialty stores.
“We are more interested in the customer and the final consumer,” he added, “and by launching it this way, the fragrance will have a longer life. By the time it hits Macy’s it will be really appreciated.”
The fragrance’s U.S. launch will be exclusive to one specialty store partner for the initial three months and limited to 100 to 300 doors, according to Loftus. It will then be rolled out to a maximum of 350 doors by the end of the year.
Loftus also said that V’s price tag, which is 15 percent higher than other Valentino fragrances, would enhance its desirability and align it closer with the brand’s couture positioning. In the U.S., the V collection will include three eaux de parfum, a 1-oz. version for $42, a 1.7-oz. bottle for $62 and a 3-oz. size for $82. A 0.5-oz. parfum spray is priced at $120 and two 6.8-oz. ancillaries — a body lotion and shower gel — are priced at $40 and $35, respectively.
Meanwhile, P&G’s plan to refresh Valentino’s fragrance portfolio, which dates back to the Eighties under then-licensee Unilever, will feature several new launches, including a men’s fragrance expected to be ready in 2006 and another women’s fragrance, which is projected for 2007.
Amid industry rumors that P&G is interested in acquiring Dolce & Gabbana’s fragrance license, Strobel declined to comment on specific brands the company has its eye on. “I am not as ambitious to put it on a piece of paper,” he said.
He did confirm however, that P&G Fine Fragrances’ objective was to be one of the top 10 women’s fragrance houses in the next five years.
In the pipeline for 2005 are fragrance initiatives for Hugo Boss and Lacoste. The company is hoping to launch a Lacoste signature men’s fragrance, called Lacoste Essential, in July. “It will be the biggest Lacoste launch ever and [will] really stand for the brand,” Strobel said of the sporty scent.
The company has utilized new fragrance technology for the fragrance that is said to “reactivate” the top note. “This really is a breakthrough for us, we have been able to reactivate the top notes when the scent fades after two hours of use with water or air and we are going to push the new technology when we launch the new Lacoste fragrance. It’s a new way to talk about fragrance,” said Strobel.
To accompany the firm’s aggressive V launch, P&G has created a TV and print advertising campaign. Featuring Russian model Eugenia Volodina. The television advertisement was directed by Dominique Isserman. A print shot of Volodina in a red feather mask holding the fragrance was shot by fashion photographer Stephen Meisel.
Bottled in an angled clear glass flacon designed by Atelier Dinand, V’s bottle is shaped like a quarter of a circle and sits on its side. V was created by fragrance supplier Firmenich in collaboration with P&G’s requirements of “freshness, persistence and ability to captivate.” The oriental-floral-woody fragrance features top notes of pink grapefruit, mandarin and fig, has middle notes of rose and freesia petals and orange buds and finishes with bottom notes of cedar wood, sandalwood and gray amber.