NEW YORK — With a new general manager on board, Bourjois is gearing up for a busy spring: It plans to unveil five lines for the lips and eyes in May.
“There’s continued excitement about our niche brand that’s beginning to hit its stride at retail,” said Lucy Tart, Bourjois USA’s new general manager.
Tart, who joined Bourjois in February, had been a vice president at Unilever Cosmetics International, where she was responsible for the Vera Wang, Chloé, Cerruti and Lagerfeld brands. She plans to expand Bourjois’ retail and distribution channels and increase sales and productivity.
“We’ve had incredible success, but I’d like to drive the success further with our existing retail partners,” said Tart. “My mission is to take our creative vision and make sure it’s exploding in the U.S.”
According to Tart, the company decided toward the end of 2003 to refocus on its core retailers and ensure the American consumer understood what the brand represented. This past year, there has been heavy emphasis on merchandising and product launches.
The new spring lines offer a wide assortment of products for the lips and eyes that are “creative, with a lot of whimsy,” according to Tart. And Bourjois plans to build on the franchises it considers its greatest strengths: mascara and lip gloss.
New lip products include lip stains, lip gloss charms for cell phones, lip pencils and a lip sugar powder. Bons Baisers de Paris lip stains have a water-based ink formula intended to be longer-lasting than traditional stains. They are available in four shades, ranging from pink to orange, each retailing for $15. The new Effet 3D mobile, $8, will allow women to attach a lip gloss to their cell phones. The cell phone charms are available in eight colors. And for $12, the Sucre scintillant “sugar shaker,” an iridescent sweet-scented lip powder, can be added after applying gloss to give the lips shimmer.
Bourjois will extend its existing Effet 3D franchise with Cocktails Effet 3D, intended to produce an ultrashiny, sheer effect. The products, available in four shades, ranging from clear, raspberry and pink to a reddish orange, retail for $15 each.
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But Bourjois isn’t stopping there. The company soon will launch Survoltee, a category of waterproof cream eye shadows packaged in a squeeze tube. According to Tart, the shadows have a “high-voltage intensity” that not only illuminates the eyes but adds shimmer and shine. The cream, containing a long-lasting polymer and light-reflecting metallic pigments, is said to last eight hours after one application. The satin texture comes in six shades — Electric Beige, Alternative Amber, Luminous Lilac, Electro Violet, Wild Pink and Trendy Khaki — each retailing for $13.50.
Other eye products that will launch in May are Suivez Mon Regard in Bleu Swimming Pool eye shadow, along with Maxi-Frange Waterproof Mascara, an improvement on the length and volume mascara.
Finally, Lovely Brille, an extension to the Lovely Rouge line, will launch this month, offering glossy lipsticks in 14 semitransparent shades, each with its own fruity fragrance.
National print advertising will break in May fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines in Paris. Bourjois does not do print advertising in the U.S.; instead, the company relies on word of mouth along with in-store merchandising, which it introduced in January, noted Nancy Tarantola, Bourjois’ director of marketing.
“We wanted our consumers to have a strong emotional connection with our products, while expressing the brand’s values — French, chic and whimsy,” said Tarantola. “We created a compelling story for the consumer, which she can relate to.”
The products will be sold at about 250 doors, including Sephora and select Ulta stores; on QVC; in small specialty boutiques, and at Bourjois-usa.com and sephora.com.
Industry sources estimate the launches will bring in $1 million to $2 million in retail sales by yearend.