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WWD Friday October 29, 2004
Armani Launches Luxe Quartet
NEW YORK — Giorgio Armani struck a populist chord this week when he threw
open the doors to his fashion show here — but his new fragrance is decidedly
not aimed at the masses.
With a price point of $185 for a 1.7-oz. bottle in the U.S. and 150 euros in
Europe, Armani’s new quartet of scents, called Privé and slated for a
December global launch, is the latest entry in the emerging category of
luxury fragrances. It also represents a striking departure for the brand.
There are four different scents, each packaged in a square container made of
African Kotibe wood with a glass liner and a Brancusi-inspired rounded cap.
The outer packaging will be a hardened box finished in sueded paper.
In addition, the fragrances are unisex, but will not be marketed with that as
a selling point. They simply will be available on both the men’s and women’s
fragrance bars. It harkens back to the early days of perfumery, according to
Renaud de Lesquen, international general manager of Giorgio Armani Parfums &
Cosmetiques, a division of L’Oréal, Armani’s licensee. “In the old days,
fragrance didn’t have a sexual distinction. We gave fragrance a sex.”
During an interview Wednesday in his Casa Armani store in SoHo, the designer
said he chose these four fragrances as a personal choice — meaning scents
that he would use himself.
“I’m sure that this particular product will not have such a wide audience,”
he said through a translator. “That is what makes the difference in fashion —
it’s something not liked by everyone. I wanted to make something that
discerning people would like.” It will be launched in only about 20 doors in
the U.S. with equally scant distribution abroad.
When asked if this did not seem elitist at a time when he invited 2,000
spectators into his fashion show this week, Armani replied that he has a
number of fragrances on the market that appeal to a great number of people.
He cited market research showing his brand as ranking number three in the
world in women’s and men’s fragrances combined and number one in men’s alone,
driven by Acqua di Gio for Men.
For the new fragrance, however, he asserted: “I wanted to add a niche like
couture.”
Patricia Turck Paquelier, international brand president of L’Oréal’s Prestige
& Collections division, sees the launch’s significance outweighing its dollar
potential.
The Privé price positioning will reinforce Armani’s luxury image, but its
intimate merchandising is expected to also add something to the personality
of brand.
She noted that the launch of Armani’s makeup collection in 2001 strengthened
the feminine quality of the overall brand that had been identified largely
with success in men’s fragrances.
Likewise, the Privé launch, which will take place mostly in boutiques and
specialty stores with in-store attention replacing advertising, represents an
effort to bring more to the customer and provide more service, she
noted. “It’s a way to get closer to the customer and get the customer closer
to us,” said Turck Paquelier, who sees this personal connection as a key to
building a truly luxurious business.
She framed this point with such importance as to suggest that perhaps
something may be learned from this launch that can be transferred to the
brand’s other more widely distributed, commercial fragrances “in telling the
Armani story.”
Serge Jureidini, general manager of Giorgio Armani Parfums & Cosmetics U.S.,
said the fragrance will be launched in the U.S. in the 10 Armani boutiques
here and in another five to 10 select specialty stores, with more doors added
in April.
This is truly a couture proposition. Executives don’t see the American
distribution exceeding 40 doors by the second year. L’Oréal does not break
out figures, but industry sources estimate that the fragrances will not
generate more than $3 million to $5 million at retail in the U.S. alone for
the first 12 months.
Likewise, in the rest of the world, the fragrances will be launched in Armani
boutiques and select stores. De Lesquen said the line will be carried by
Harrods in London, and talks are under way with Bon Marché in Paris and 10
Corso Como in Milan. The company also has targeted high-end perfumeries in
Germany and has settled on El Corte Ingles in Spain.
Turck Paquelier estimated distribution will not exceed 200 doors worldwide by
the end of 2005. The company is contemplating an exclusive approach to the
duty-free market, perhaps with a boutique-type environment.
She added that the line will make its debut in Asia in 2005. Although Japan
has a miniscule fragrance market, she sees a potential for gift-giving.
Jack Wiswall, president of the Designer Fragrances Division of L’Oréal USA in
New York, also sees great gift potential in the U.S., which is why the
fragrances will be launched the first week in December. “This is a great add-
on sale,” he said. A gift set will be offered, including all four fragrances,
for $740.
Chris Payne, director of marketing of Giorgio Armani Parfums, said three
consumer groups are being targeted within the specialty store world — “the
Armani addict, connoisseurs and trendsetters.”
The four fragrances were designed like natural scents one may find in a
faraway exotic location. Eau de Jade, for instance, has only 11 ingredients.
The other three are Pierre de Lune, Ambre Soie and Bois d’Encens.
When asked if the scents were inspired by travel, Armani replied, “I never
traveled a lot in my life, but I [have] always worked a lot with my mind. I
am a Cancer, oriented to nature. We live on this planet and we need to be
connected to the Earth.”
The personal, private nature of his new fragrance project certainly puts
Armani at odds with the wave of celebrity fragrances sweeping out of
Hollywood. And he’s not impressed.
Armani said that one could ask how making a movie qualifies someone to make a
fragrance, but then recants, pointing out that someone could easily ask how
making clothes entitles one to sign a fragrance. But he does have a ready
answer on the subject.
“Clothes are close to the body, and they are meant to embellish the body,” he
said. “Perfumes are meant to do the same.”
He added that it’s inevitable that celebrities will endorse products, but
asserts that “80 percent of the time, it doesn’t work.
“I like people who say even if it is signed by the greatest celebrity, ‘I can
make a choice. It does not work for me.’”
