NEW YORK — Celebrity mania has found a new venue: the mass fragrance market. Media darlings such as Britney Spears, Celine Dion and Antonio Banderas are lending their star power to help bolster category sales.
The women’s mass fragrance category inched up 1.4 percent to $338.6 million during the 52 weeks ended Aug. 7 (excluding Wal-Mart), according to Information Resources Inc. The men’s category, which includes grooming items as well, ramped up more than 9 percent to $350.6 million.
“The broad distribution fragrance market is finally starting to show some growth in both male and female [segments], driven largely by new brands,” said John Galantic, president of Coty Beauty U.S. The company is forecasting low to moderate growth in the mass market this fall.
“This fall and holiday is one of the best seasons I’ve seen thanks to the celebrity fragrances we are going to be able to sell,” said a fragrance buyer from a major discount store chain. “I can’t think of a time when I was more excited.”
This year’s newcomers — namely Celine Dion Belong, Spirit Antonio Banderas for Women, Shania by Stetson and Curious by Britney Spears — are expected to accelerate sales over the pivotal fall season.
Retailers may be gladly clearing room for hand-me-down scents from the department store channel, but the onslaught of prestige fragrances is putting pressure on mass vendors to compete. Vince Colonna, executive vice president and general manager of Puig Fragrances and Personal Care USA, said companies need to market masstige fragrances, like Spirit Antonio Banderas, which Puig launched last fall. It seems to have worked; the men’s segment rose 5 percent last year according to IRI figures quoted by Puig.
The company will follow up with the launch of Spirit Antonio Banderas for Women, armed with an unusually large advertising and promotion budget of $9 million.
Coty is banking on a big win this fall with its star-studded Stetson franchise. “When prestige brands are presented in a high-quality way and are not overly discounted, they can have a positive effect on the market,” explained Galantic.
Not all beauty buyers are won over by the cadre of celebrities in the fragrance department. A beauty buyer from a regional drugstore chain said she wonders about the staying power of celebrity fragrances. Recalling a similar trend, the buyer said, “Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds is the only one that lasted.” She added that, in her view, most celebrity-backed scents disappear after three or four years in the market.
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But this fall naysayers are the minority. Mark Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Lewis Drugs, said that fragrance companies have done a stellar job of tying celebrity personalities to fragrances, naming Shania by Stetson and Curious as two fragrances the drugstore chain is excited about.