{"id":15736,"date":"2016-08-10T09:03:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dutyfreehunter.com\/blog\/?p=15736"},"modified":"2016-08-10T09:05:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:05:24","slug":"louis-vuitton-readies-secret-new-fragrance-autumn-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dutyfreehunter.com\/blog\/louis-vuitton-readies-secret-new-fragrance-autumn-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis Vuitton readies its (secret) new fragrance for Autumn launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of persuading well-heeled shoppers to carry monogrammed luggage and wear luxury clothing, Louis Vuitton is targeting how they smell.
\nIn September, the label, owned by French conglomerate LVMH, will begin stocking its 473 stores with perfumes, including at least one infused with a note of leather (See previous story<\/a>). Vuitton has sold fragrances before: An attempt in the 1940s was discontinued and soon forgotten. But this time, reports Bloomberg.com, the trunk maker has developed the range itself, hiring a master perfumer and setting up a fragrance laboratory in France\u2019s lavender-rich Provence region.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a timely move, coming as sales of $3,000 handbags and $20,000 watches stall. China\u2019s cooling economy and a spate of terror attacks around the world have some analysts bracing for the sector\u2019s second-weakest year since 2009. Beauty rivals also are adding exclusive fragrances: L\u2019Oreal last month agreed to buy France\u2019s Atelier Cologne, a maker of $185 concoctions sold in high-end retailers like Harrods. Estee Lauder and Puig have also acquired niche perfumers in the past year as they outperform run-of-the-mill variants.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when luxury brand competition is so intense, you want to have something else to draw that aspirational shopper into the store,\u201d said MainFirst Bank AG analyst John Guy. He estimates the perfumes could add more than 450 million euros ($496 million) of annual revenue in the next few years.<\/p>\n

Success may hinge on how Vuitton prices the fragrances: Charging around $100 per 3.3 oz. bottle could cannibalise fragrance sales of sister brands such as Dior and Givenchy. Asking for more than twice as much could prove a difficult sell, including to wealthy shoppers who are tightening their purse strings.<\/p>\n

Sales of colour cosmetics, skincare products and super-premium perfumes — from $82 Calvin Klein scents to $340 Giorgio Armani fragrances — reached $29 billion last year and are set to grow between 3 percent 4 percent annually through 2020, according to researcher Euromonitor International. That compares with sales growth of at best 2 percent for designer handbags, watches and other luxury goods in the same period, consultant Bain & Co. estimates.<\/p>\n

Vuitton trunks, bags, clothes, shoes, jewellery and other items generated sales of 8.5 billion euros last year, Guy estimates. LVMH perfume and cosmetic sales grew more than 600 million euros to 4.5 billion euros. The division accounts for about 13 percent of LVMH\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

Flower to Bottle<\/strong>
\nA company representative declined to comment ahead of a press launch for the perfume line next month. The decision to control the process from flower to bottle suggests Vuitton\u2019s going to pitch the fragrances at a higher price point, according to Euromonitor analyst Nicholas Micallef.<\/p>\n

\u201cLouis Vuitton is copying the model Chanel has,\u201d said Micallef. \u201cThey want to highlight the fact that they are exclusive from start to finish.\u201d\u00a0Chanel, which grows its own fragrance ingredients, got more than half its $7.5 billion revenue in 2014 from beauty products.<\/p>\n

By focusing on the very top end, there\u2019s little chance of cannibalising sales of perfumes like J\u2019adore by Dior or Hot Couture by Givenchy, according to Micallef. Distributing fewer, more exclusive collections will help Vuitton \u201ccut through the clutter,\u201d building connections with younger shoppers who might then upgrade to other products as they become more wealthy, he says.<\/p>\n

Vuitton in 2012 hired fragrance superstar Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, the man behind bestsellers Acqua di Gio from Giorgio Armani and Issey Miyake\u2019s L\u2019Eau d\u2019Issey. And earlier this year, LVMH completed its lab in Grasse, the home of French perfume-making.<\/p>\n

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No Partners<\/strong>
\nThe approach mirrors that of Guerlain, also controlled by LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, as well as rivals such as Hermes and Chanel, all of which have their own perfumers. It contrasts with the more common industry practice of partnering with a beauty company such as L\u2019Oreal or a scent maker such as Givaudan. Prada, for example, has a licensing agreement with Spain\u2019s Puig.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you launch a product you can either call upon a designer, his ideas, do something innovative and say, \u2018Well it\u2019s a good thing we\u2019re going to launch it without any further analysis,\u2019 and that\u2019s what we do with a degree of success,\u201d Arnault told shareholders in April. \u201cOr you can say, \u2018Before we launch the product, we\u2019ll have a market survey, we\u2019ll poll the views of people, see whether the aspects of the flask or the box appeal\u2019.\u201d\u00a0In the latter case, \u201cwe generally arrive at something that\u2019s rather watered down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chinese Demand<\/strong>
\nThe strategy plays to consumer demand for products that are authentic and may boost sales to Chinese shoppers. More than half of them say price is the best indication of quality when buying perfume, according to Vivienne Rudd, director of global innovation and insight, beauty and personal care at researcher Mintel.<\/p>\n

She says Vuitton could expand into colour cosmetics next, starting with lipsticks, and sell special vanity cases to go with the perfumes — picking up on the travel theme.
\n\u201cVuitton is targeting where luxury is going,\u201d said Rudd.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/rJlUVD0ct90<\/a><\/p>\n

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