Opening Lines
An Exciting New Year
When we spoke to Marc Rosen for our cover story about his new fragrance, Shanghai, he said that it harkens back to the days when a fragrance launch was "exciting and glamorous, to both retailers and consumers." His concept took several years of time and effort to bring to market.
"He's going back to the good ol' days," says Rochelle Bloom, president of The Fragrance Foundation. "The great fragrances all went through a strategic thought process."
Just a few years ago, a company had much more lead time to create and execute a well-planned concept for a launch. Today, those lead times have been drastically reduced.
"We used to see six to seven new launches a year, with a new one from a firm once every five years," Bloom says. "Now, companies are launching a new fragrance every 12 to 18 months. People aren't able to take the time to develop a concept like they used to."
This year already, nine women's fragrances and four men's will have been launched by February.
Bloom says, though, that we are starting to see some changes. A few fragrances that launched last year do have a real concept and story, like Estée Lauder's Beyond Paradise and Dolce & Gabbana's Sicily, she says. "Now I think that everyone gets it. Maybe we will see more companies starting to take a page from the past."
Thierry Mugler's Angel is a great example, Bloom says. "It always was a small brand, and it began with a very limited distribution. Now it has become a top seller and can even be considered a classic. It was built slowly and is nurtured every year."
Bloom firmly believes that the industry is returning to luxury in fragrance bottles, moving away from sleek, minimalist styles. "We will continue to see even more innovation this year," she predicts.
Meanwhile, The Fragrance Foundation has been working hard, as usual, to generate more consumer interest around the FiFi Awards, and ultimately more revenue for the fragrance business. The Foundation has several new partners helping in its efforts. Customers at Nordstrom, as well as readers of Cosmopolitan and Cosmo Girl magazines, will be able to vote for the new People's Choice Award, and the winner will be announced at the ceremony. Among the new award categories are Retailer Innovation, Visual Merchandising Innovation, and Perfumer of the Year.
The awards ceremony will also be revamped. Bloom says, "There will be a huge cocktail party before [the event], where everyone can meet and greet. Then everyone sits at small tables for dinner, more like the style of the Golden Globe awards."
Another change in the FiFi program is that the top-ten nominees
in each category will most likely be announced by March. The five finalists will be announced at the Nominees Breakfast on May 7. The FiFi Awards ceremony is scheduled for June 9 at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom. "I am truly looking forward to 2004 and beyond...it will be a good year for the industry," says Bloom.
Marie Redding
Senior Editor