LVMH to acquire stake in Victoria Beckham, Yes To gears up for expansion with new CEO, Unilever banks on prestige, and YouTubers more influential with adults than celebrities.
LVMH to acquire stake in Victora Beckham
David Beckham was the first male celebrity fragrance collaboration for Coty back in 2005. Way back then, it was announced that wife Victoria was planning a high-end make-up line and the couple released a few his-and-her scents. But Becks alone has proved a solid earner, with his first fragrance - Instinct - celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with 10 million bottles sold. Out of 26 fragrances launched under the Beckham name - only six have been feminine fragrances.
There's no denying that Posh has done much better in the fashion stakes. In 2013, the former Spice Girl-turned-designer doubled sales of her fashion label to AUD$64.6 million. Promising results that have attracted the attention of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods group, who are in preliminary talks to buy a minority stake in the fast-growing brand.
The Victoria Beckham label has a flagship store in London, a second one planned for Hong Kong and a well-patronised e-commerce site - victoriabeckham.com. Maybe she still has plans for that prestige beauty range but in the meantime has released a two colour nail collection - Nails Inc - launched in Australia exclusively through Sephora in mid-May.
Yes To gears up for expansion with new CEO
Researcher Kline & Co ranked on its benchmark list of the top 10 emerging cosmetic brands last year. Sold in 25,000 doors worldwide, the cheeky brand with strong links to Australia is also planning further expansion in North America and Asia. Yes To racked up estimated sales of US$50 million in 2014 and is the number two natural brand in US food, drug and mass channels.
The former CEO, Joyce Chen, moved to H2O Plus about six months ago to boost its expansion, especially in Asia. Pola Orbis, the fourth largest Japanese cosmetics company which also owns , bought the marine-based skincare brand in 2011 for US$90 million as part of a longterm plan to lift its annual global revenues to US$3 billion over the next five years.
Ingrid Jackel, the former CEO of , one of the fastest growing cosmetics companies in the mass market, has been appointed CEO of Yes To. She joined Physicians Formula in 2003 as Senior Vice President of Marketing, rising to CEO three years later and has also held senior positions at Murad and Elancyl. According to Scott Potter, Chairman of Yes To and Managing Partner of San Francisco Equity Partners: "Ingrid's impressive track record as an innovator in the beauty category makes her the ideal leader for Yes To as we embark on the next phase of growth".
Markwins International bought Physicians Formula in 2012 and has appointed Jeff Rogers, who joined the company as sales director in 1991, as its new President. A 25 year involvement that saw the company become the number one in the US for bronzers, premium face powders, mineral and organic makeup.
Unilever banks on prestige
It's been obvious for the past few months that Unilever is hitching its star to prestige. CEO Paul Polman has confirmed the shift as the multinational posted strong results for the first half of the year to US$29.4 billion. A 6 per cent lift in emerging markets bolstered slower volume growth in mature markets.
"Magic" brands such as , Lifebuoy and propelled personal care sales worldwide and will continue to do so in the second half. But Polman's eyes are focused on the global prestige market which is experiencing 6 per cent annual growth. Following the buyouts of Dermalogica, Murad, Kate Somerville and REN, he acknowledged that prestige beauty sales are very much top of mind for Unilever going forward. A statement that indicates that further acquisitions could be on the cards.
YouTubers more influential with adults than celebrities
Three years ago, the Huffington Post wondered why there were so few YouTubers over 40 passing on their beauty tips. The women of America listened and now there are so many that when you type in - Mature Women of YouTube - up pops a video fingering the top 40 performers in the category. Many of the world's top makeup artists - Pat McGrath, Lisa Eldridge and Gucci Westman are over 40 and Elizabeth Hurley has also thrown her hat in the YouTube beauty ring. In Australia, though, the vast majority of YouTube beauty gurus target the teen and Millennial markets.
A new study in the US from the University of Southern California has revealed that adults find people they can relate to up to five times more influential on their buying decisions than Hollywood A-listers. Away from the PR spin and image building, brands who engage in partnerships with Instagram and YouTube influencers have one major objective - to find people who can convince consumers to buy their products.
According to the study, adults find YouTube stars more influential on their purchasing decisions for the same reasons younger people do. They seem like real people and are considered more trustworthy. Says marketing professor, Jeetend Sehtev: "The appeal of YouTube stars is that audiences feel they own them, that they have an equity stake in them, that they actually made them. What we're seeing here is that it's not about how popular a celebrity is. It's the difference between popularity and influence. The key point is that popularity doesn't move the needle".
Snippets from the wires
- In the quarter to June, sales at Inter Parfums dipped 13.7 per cent to US$102 million in contrast to the same period last year. Man, Icon by Dunhill and Extraordinary by were the main winners. But lower sales of Montblanc, Anna Sui and Lanvin fragrances dented the bottom line.
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enjoyed double digit growth of 21 per cent for the first half of the year - to AUD$3.46 billion. Fragrance sales were up 5 per cent to AUD$181 million, spurred by the launches of Jour d'Hermes Absolu and Terre d'Hermes Eau Fraiche.
- As Shiseido gears up to defend its ground against the South Koreans, the Japanese giant has hired Roxana Daver as Senior Vice President, Global Business Development. Formerly the Vice President, General Manager Asia-Pacific at Estee Lauder, one of her main jobs will be to drive key account expansion.
- It's been rumoured for over a year. But Woolworths Holdings, the owner of David Jones, has announced it is looking to sell its iconic stores in Sydney and Melbourne. A real estate strategy which could net up to $400 million to revamp the department store chain's national network.
- Former CEO of Strivectin, JuE Wong, has been tapped as the new President of Elizabeth Arden. She has also worked for N.V Perricone and Murad and her expertise in Asia her expertise will be a great help to Arden's joint venture Luxasia.
- Lierac, the French prestige skincare brand, has a cult following in Australia. It is available on a wide variety of websites, including luxola.com.au - a Singaporean e-commerce start-up bought by Sephora in mid-July. Iconic British actress, Kristin Scott-Thomas, has been appointed as the face of the company's new range - Premium. The campaign debuts worldwide in October.
