Eau de overflow...
2006-11-15 12:01
Toronto - If it looks like celebrities
are crowding the perfume counter at department stores this
holiday season - that's because they are, with 2006 shaping up as a record year for celebrity scents.
The rich and famous have turned the public obsession with
their lives into a highly profitable industry, with 37
celebrity scents flooding onto the market in the past three years
and no sign of the trend coming to an end.
This year, in the run-up to 2006's big spending season,
another 23 new celebrity scents have so far joined the pack,
launched by the likes of actresses Hilary Swank, Jennifer
Lopez, English footballer David Beckham and even television's
Desperate Housewives.
"It seems to be what the consumer wants," said Mary Ellen
Lapsansky, executive director with the Fragrance Foundation,
which tracks fragrances in the United States.
"Celebrities drive everything today. They endorse
everything from wrist watches to you name it."
Out of 205 new fragrances launched in 2005, there were 23
celebrity scents, according to the Fragrance Foundation.
Becoming more mainstream
That is up dramatically from 2004, when eight celebrity
scents were launched, and 2003, when six launched.
"It's definitely becoming more mainstream. We do see that the celebrity fragrances do seem to resonate more with the
young consumers," said Karen Grant, senior beauty industry
analyst with market research firm NPD Group.
"(We are) definitely seeing that the brands that have had a
strong celebrity alliance have done extremely well in the
marketplace, whether it is to get initial awareness or
revitalising a brand."
Elizabeth Taylor is said to have been the first celebrity
to successfully put her scent in a bottle, in 1991, when she
launched her White Diamonds perfume.
But the trend really gained traction with the success of
Jennifer Lopez's perfume Glow, which was launched in 2002 and generated more than $80m in sales in its first year.
Since then, the trend has reached a fever pitch, with
perfume counters surrounded by ads featuring famous faces
including those of actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and
Catherine Zeta-Jones.
For celebrities, product branding gives them a new line of
income. For marketers, it is often an easy way to sell a
product because celebrities are already well known.