Before David Beckham makes his American debut with the L.A. Galaxy this summer, the soccer superstar hopes to score off the field with this month’s U.S. launch of his men’s fragrance, Instinct. The brand’s U.S. bow follows a successful European launch a little more than a year ago.
&”Beckham is seen as a lifestyle,” said Michael Ferrara, Coty’s senior vice president of marketing. &”He’s seen as a style icon with a broad appeal beyond sports.”
Coty Inc. executives have plans to turn the Beckham brand into the Beckham Beauty House, a franchise consisting of multiple men’s fragrances, men’s grooming products and his-and-her fragrances called Intimately Beckham. Beckham and his wife, Victoria, the former Spice Girl &”Posh,” are partners in the joint beauty business.
&”Beckham’s an iconic celebrity, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect,” said Eric Thoreux, president of Coty Beauty Americas. &”He has all the elements because he’s involved in the sports community and in Hollywood. The European launch of Instinct was the best fragrance launch we’ve had in the past 10 years.”
According to Thoreux, the company is focusing on growing the men’s fragrance business to compete with Coty’s number-one selling Stetson, and Adidas scents in the sports market.
Beckham, who last month signed a five-year, $250 million contract with the L.A. Galaxy, has already inked commercial endorsements with megabrands Gillette, Pepsi, Adidas and Got Milk. The Instinct launch only adds to his portfolio of brands and marks his entry into the beauty world.
&”We’re hoping this potentially challenges Coty Beauty’s Stetson brand, one of the largest players in the mass market, over the next two years,” said Ferrara. &”We…expect it to be one of the top three brands in the U.S.”
Ferrara said that he expected business from the U.S. to equal, if not outpace, the fragrance’s business abroad.
&”We’re hoping that the noise he creates when he gets here, along with the increased advertising, will attract consumers to the department store,” said Ferrara.
Coty executives declined to comment on sales forecasts; however, industry sources estimated the fragrance would generate first-year U.S. retail sales of $30 million, with about $8 million spent on advertising. Global retail sales will generate between $40 million and $50 million.
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Although some people might think of Beckham as being edgy, Ferrara notes that this fragrance is more about a &”classic” Beckham.
&”The fragrance’s concept is about focusing on the senses, living challenges and trusting your instinct,” said Caroline Carter, Coty Beauty’s senior marketing manager. &”It embodies [David’s] attributes. It’s more stylish and sophisticated.”
Coty executives said that research showed awareness of Beckham was growing in the U.S. market, especially after last month’s record-breaking deal to bring him to the L.A. Galaxy.
&”Before the World Cup, his awareness in the U.S. was 75 percent,” said Carter. &”Now, it’s universal.”
Coty executives are hoping Instinct attracts a young generation of men between the ages of 18 and 34, with high incomes, who are fashion-conscious and trendsetters, according to Carter.
&”It will bring incremental sales to the category, and we hope it will attract lots of impulse purchases from people who aren’t ordinarily looking for fragrances,” said Ferrara.
Instinct, which was launched in Europe in 2005, is top performing brand in Europe, said Carter. By end of this month, Instinct will be available in some 20,000 department and specialty stores, including J.C. Penney, Sears, Ulta and Kohl’s, in addition to mass retailers and drugstores such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Coty plans to launch a men’s flanker fragrance next fall, in addition to launching Intimately Beckham, the Beckham duo set.
Available in eau de toilette bottles — 2.5 oz. for $50, 1.7 oz. for $40 and 1 oz. for $32 — the fragrance will include a deodorant stick for $16.
Created by perfumer Beatrice Picquet at International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Instinct is described as a feugere fragrance with top notes of Italian bergamot and grapefruit; middle notes of star anis, cardamom and red pimento, and bottom notes of Haiti vetiver, patchouli and white amber.
Although Instinct will be supported by a television ad campaign, Coty will introduce a print campaign photographed by Michael Jansson. The single-page ads — with 500,000 scent strips — will break in March in 10 magazines, including People, ESPN, Maxim, Cosmopolitan and Glamour.
There will also be online initiatives in addition to ad imagery for the fragrance’s in-store launch. Coty is in discussions with Beckham about the possibility of making some in-store appearances. About four million samples of the Instinct fragrance will be distributed to consumers.