Kim Kardashian sent her fans into meltdown when she announced that KKW Beauty was expanding into fragrance from solely colour cosmetics.
The fragrance was unveiled this week, with Kardashian explaining that the range of three eau de parfums will revolve around her favourite flower — the gardenia — and healing crystals, which she began using following her Paris robbery last year.
In an unconventional fragrance move, Kardashian has chosen to void all in-store shopping opportunities and instead is choosing to release the limited-edition fragrances online without any re-stocking or print advertising.
Speaking with WWD on the decision, Kardashian said: “It’s the first time that a fragrance is really being sold with the model that I’m doing it at. It’s really just using online sales and doing it all digitally. There is one exception: The range will have a small off-line presence, to start, at Los Angeles-based e-commerce site Violet Grey’s store on Melrose Place.”
While not offering the opportunity to test the fragrance may have concerned some, Kardashian is confident that they have accurately described the fragrance for consumers; and that “I do believe from the feedback that we got that it’s going to do extremely well. We do a lot of focus group and testing without saying what the fragrance is — and people always gravitate toward it,”
WWD further crunched the numbers, explaining that “Kardashian maintained that production for Crystal Gardenia is in line with her first two launches, meaning that 300,000 bottles will go on sale Wednesday — and will likely all sell out. If one averages price of the two bottle sizes ($47.50) and multiplies that by 300,000, the potential sales volume for her first day in business — or minutes, if they sell as quickly as the KKW by Kylie Cosmetics sets — is $14.3 million.”
These figures angle Kardashian as a major competitor to other established beauty empires as she expands the KKW beauty offering.
UPDATE: The new perfumes amassed $10 million within the first 24 hours
