BERLIN — Douglas Perfumeries has a new signature line of color cosmetics, Absolute Douglas. It is kicking off with Absolute Nails, a 12-piece line of trend-influenced polishes to be carried at all Douglas locations.
The perfumery chain has been cautiously testing the market for the last year and a half with a series of one-shot offerings like bronzer and eye shadow. “It was really tactical for us,” says Nora Zastrau, product manager of the Absolute Douglas brand. “Black eye pencil became permanent, as did their product name — Absolute.” Their price positioning also informed strategy — Absolute black mascara sells for 7.95 to 9.95 euros (about $10 to $13), and the eyeliner is 4.95 euros (about $6.50), placing Absolute Douglas in a price range above budget but below prestige, with an accent on quality. All prices are calculated at current exchange.
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With polish trends driving sales and luring even conservative Germans to crave colors, nails became the obvious entry point. Tones of Absolute Nails range from aubergine to pearly pewter, and are 11-ml. each, priced at 4.95 euros, or $6.60 at current exchange. To showcase the company’s ties to its customers, shades bear the most popular female names from the countries that provide the home to their perfumeries — for example Lucia, Sara, Elif and Maja.
Regular themed trend editions are also scheduled, with a debut trio featuring one polish — the duo-chrome Fireworks — that could be called an homage to Chanel’s hit Fall shade Peridot. Such resemblances are no mistake, admits Zastrau. “Douglas is not a trend setter like OPI — for example — but we are a trend reporter,” she said, pointing out that sales of other brands at the company’s locations throughout Western and Eastern Europe and in Turkey inform the Absolute Nails color selection.
Douglas has enlarged its branded nail offer as well, adding OPI, Essie, Butter London, and Artdeco’s Anny, priced from 7.95 to 16.95 euros, or about $10 to $23. Zastrou said Absolute Nails is not intended as competition, but meets an unmet demand. “For example, there is a customer that would love to have the nail polish in the best trendy color, but they can’t afford it today. So this is really something where we said we don’t want to miss out on those customers, they are ours.”
The Absolute Douglas line will be expanded to include makeup in winter 2012. February’s Absolute Pastel collection has two eye shadows, a lipgloss, an eye pencil, and a mascara. April’s look is called Absolute Spicy, and adds a new nail color to the lineup. A permanent lipgloss line is planned for May. Absolute Blond/Brunette is slated for August. Like the nail range, each shade will bear a woman’s name. Existing Douglas-brand skin, hair and body care lines will continue their presence in stores unchanged.
The company is optimistic about its new namesake. Zastrou said Absolute Douglas will lead to sales growth of 83 percent in the private label makeup category, and will account for an estimated 15 percent of total private label turnover.
For its most recent fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the Hagen, Germany-based Douglas registered flat sales of 1.88 billion euros, or $2.62 billion, with its 446 perfumeries at home outperforming those 722 elsewhere.