Jimmy Choo Expands Into The World of Fragrance

Jimmy Choo, the UK luxury accessories company best known for its sexy shoes, has entered into a worldwide license agreement with Inter Parfums SA.

The 12-yr agreement will begin on Jan. 1, 2010 and will include the creation, development and distribution of fragrances under the Jimmy Choo brand.

Tamara Mellon, founder and president of Jimmy Choo states, "It has always been my vision to fully accessorize the woman, and fragrance is an integral part of the modern wardrobe. Through our association with Inter Parfums, I look forward to bringing this important aspect of my vision to life."

"This relationship with Jimmy Choo offers a perfect fit with our strategy of expanding our brand portfolio to include new universes and represents an important milestone in the company's development", said Jean Madar, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Inter Parfums, Inc. "This brand possesses the quintessential qualities to ensure the ambitious development of fragrance lines that will be supported by significant advertising commitments over the coming years".

This isn't the first fragrance licensing deal for Jimmy Choo. According to WWD, Selective Beauty, a subsidiary of  Investindustrial, held the fragrance license for the company. However, a scent was never developed. 

Beyonce Announces Fragrance Launch....And Gets Sued!

(Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

One day after Beyoncé Knowles announced the launch of her new fragrance,  WWD.com announces that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. have filed a lawsuit against Ms. Knowles claiming trademark infringment:

"The teen retailer alleged in a federal complaint filed Tuesday that a scent with that label would infringe on its own Fierce cologne trademark.

But Coty said Wednesday Knowles’ dual personality would not factor into plans for her perfume, which will be sold in department stores globally and launch in the Americas in the spring.

“We can confirm at this time…that the terms Fierce and Sasha Fierce are not being used as names of a Beyoncé fragrance,” a Coty spokeswoman said." (SOURCE: WWD.com)

A&F claims that a "Sasha Fierce" fragrance would cause a "likelihood of confusion" for consumers. I doubt that. Up until now, most consumers didn't know Abercrombie sold a "Fierce" cologne.

But here's something that made me go WTF?

“A&F’s intent is that all garments that leave the store have the Fierce scent attached to them,” the company’s attorneys wrote.

Now, when I buy new clothes, I like for them to be fragrance-free, and I gather I'm not alone which would explain the company's high negagtive double digit comp. sales.

Instead of worrying about its "Fierce" cologne, Abercrombie needs to worry about the fierce charges of  racism and discrimination that have piled up against them over the years, the latest being the allegation that they wouldn't let a Muslim teen girl wear her hijab because it didn't fit their "look policy". And now they're suing one of the most beloved African American stars in the world over a word?

This won't end well.

U.S. Prestige Beauty Sales Decline 3.3%

A report released by marketing research firm, NPD Group, Inc. shows that U.S. sales of prestige beauty products dropped 3.3% in 2008.

Among the global markets that were tracked by NPD, the U.S. prestige market -- which are products sold mainly in U.S. department stores -- showed the largest decline. France and Italy showed decreases of 0.3% and 0.5% respectively, while China boasted an increase of 17.2%.

U.S. makeup sales also showed a decline, but there was a bright spot in the skincare category. Overall growth in the category remained flat, however NPD says that there is opportunity for growth due to increase interest in anti-aging skincare products.

Karen Grant, NPD's senior global industry analyst and vice president of beauty, said that U.S. fragrance category showed the biggest decline in sales of all the categories that were tracked. “The most pressing concerns for the fragrance category are not only the loss of users, but decreasing frequency of usage," said Ms. Grant. "It is important that the industry find new ways to engage consumers, especially as they become more independent about their product selection".