Eau dear... sales of celebrity scents have nosedived by 22%
ONCE, the whiff of fame seemed irresistible. But now, it appears, we’re turning up our noses at Rihanna, Lady Gaga – and indeed a certain US president.
Sales of celebrity fragrances plummeted by 22 per cent last year, according to the latest research.
And looking at the crucial Christmas sales, the fall was an even more dramatic 42 per cent.
Instead, women are moving back to prestige designer labels such as Armani, Hugo Boss, Lancome, Chanel and Yves St Laurent. Numerous famous faces have been paid a fortune to lend their name to fragrances in recent years.
At one end of the scale, A-list stars such as Rihanna offered Rihanna Rogue, Lady Gaga pushed Eau de Gaga, and Madonna had Truth or Dare.
Others including Sarah Jessica Parker, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian also jumped on the bandwagon. We even had boy bands such as One Direction cash in with their ‘Our Moment’ scent. Perhaps, most bizarre of all is ‘Empire by Trump’, created by US President Donald Trump’s own organisation and described as ‘the perfect accessory for the confident man determined to make his mark with passion, perseverance and drive’.
However, the sales figures for celebrity fragrances suggest the lucrative sideline for stars of music, screen – and politics – may be about to dry up.
Retail experts at the NPD Group said: ‘Sales of prestige celebrity fragrances declined by 22 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015. This is in contrast to the market as a whole, where pres- tige fragrance reported sales of £1.2million in 2016, growing by 1.4 per cent on the previous year. Whilst celebrity fragrance lines have dominated media coverage for a number of years and remain an important element in the prestige sector, they experienced a drop in sales falling from £56.49million in 2015 to £44.2million in 2016,’ it said.
‘Most notably, the value sale of celebrity fragrance gift sets was 42 per cent less in December 2016 when compared to December 2015.’
Teresa Fisher, senior account manager at NPD UK Beauty, said: ‘The celebrity fragrance market has been an important element for premium beauty retailers, however, the decline in sales demonstrates a shift in consumer preference and purchasing behaviour.
‘Despite the slowdown in the fragrance market in recent years, it grew by £16.8million in 2016, and the growth is driven by premium brands in the couture designer and niche sector.
‘This shows what customers are really looking for from fragrances – something special for them, scents that represent them, and the luxurious retail experience and journey in store with a story-telling approach.’ NPD said the star performer in the fragrance sector has been couture fragrances, those linked to designer label clothing, which reported sales of £411million in 2016, an increase of six per cent on the previous year.
Miss Fisher said: ‘Fragrance remains a very important part of the prestige beauty market with new sectors driving growth as others mature and plateau.
‘The growth of couture fragrances is especially exciting for retailers and brands as it provides multiple options to engage with customers by telling stories through multi-media platforms and social media.’
‘What customers really look for’