Page 33 - Sphere No.14 (Jul 2005)

presented to Coco Chanel, it was the
first completely synthetic mass-market
fragrance. French perfumery reached a
peak in the 1950s, with designers such
as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Nina
Ricci and Pierre Balmain creating their
own fragrances.
It was in the 1960s with the advent of
mass commercial air travel and duty free
sales that ordinary people began to buy
perfume in quantity. Yves Saint Laurent
launched Y and Rive Gauche, Guy
Laroche presented Fidji in 1966. ‘Charlie’
and the modern, independent woman
epitomised the 1970s. The 1980s were the
era of the designer fragrance – blatant
erotic advertising generated enormous
attention for designer Calvin Klein when
he launched Obsession, and image and
gimmick caught the public’s attention for
Jean Paul Gaultier’s glass torso in a tin.
The 1990s were marked by the popu-
larity of fresh scents such as Issey
Miyake’s L’Eau d’Issey. A new trend
emerged as more and more consumers
began to use more than one fragrance.
Celebrity endorsements were fashionable
and popular – in 1991 one of the most
successful fragrances ever was launched.
Lancome’s Tresor was promoted by
actress Isabella Rossellini and had sales of
US$36 million in its first year.
Today, launching a perfume can cost
US$1-2 million so the scent has to be
carefully assessed to make sure that it
matches the mood of the era. To keep up
with the consumer’s desire for new fra-
grances, many fragrance houses are now
producing limited edition perfumes for
just a few months in bottles designed to
become collector’s items. Celebrity fra-
grances continue to be big news, with
scents from Jennifer Lopez, Britney
Spears and Beyonce proving to be big
sellers in the worldwide marketplace.
Whatever it is that captures the imagi-
nation about a particular fragrance,
there is no shortage of contenders for
the Next Big Thing. Perhaps Giorgio
Armani, who has been responsible for
some of the most memorable fragrances
of recent years, summed it up best:
“Perfume” he has said, “is more than an
extraction; it is a presence in abstraction.
A perfume, for me, is a mystique.” A
mystery indeed, as elusive as smoke.
THE RECENT PURCHASE of French toiletries retailer
Marionnaud by A.S. Watson marks a further advance
into beauty and cosmetics retailing for the group.
“What this deal has done is put us on the world map in terms
of retailing,” says Mr Ian Wade, A.S. Watson Group Managing
Director. “It has given us a lot of exposure and made us one of
the significant contributors to the group.”
A.S. Watson, which will acquire 1,300 Marionnaud outlets
in Europe through the deal, already owns several toiletries
and cosmetic chains in Europe, including
Superdrug and Savers in Britain and ICI
PARIS XL in Belgium and the Netherlands.
“We got our first taste of this sector with
acquisition of Kruidvat and ICI PARIS XL. We
liked the category and looked around for
other opportunities. We’ve been looking at
Marionnaud for about two years and the
time was finally right,” says Wade.
Marionnaud is a natural fit for A.S. Watson,
which previously did not have a presence in
France or many of Marionnaud’s key markets,
including Italy, Spain and Austria.
Marionnaud is Europe’s number one per-
fume retailer in terms of outlets. Nearly half of
its stores are in France, where it has a 30%
market share. Marionnaud is also expanding in Southern
Europe through acquisitions in Spain, where it has about 180
shops, and Italy (with 130-plus perfumeries). Marionnaud
Parfumeries operates about 150 perfumeries throughout
Eastern Europe.
“This deal will have considerable impact on our business,”
explains Wade. “It builds on A.S. Watson’s existing health and
beauty retail operations and greatly strengthens our position
in the perfumeries and cosmetics sector”. The deal makes
A.S. Watson the world’s largest health and
beauty retailer in terms of outlets. The family
of branded stores extends over 31 markets
around the world. A.S. Watson also operates
airport retail specialist Nuance-Watson, a
joint venture with the Nuance Group of
Switzerland. The Marionnaud deal means A.S.
Watson will now have more than 6,200 retail
stores worldwide, ranging from health, beau-
ty and perfumeries to food, electronics and
fine wines. “In the future, we will consolidate
our position and look around for other geo-
graphical opportunities that may present
themselves. We are always looking to add to
our portfolio at the right time,” says Wade.
A.S. WATSON’S BEAUTY TOP SPOT
DID YOU KNOW?
The pharaohs of
ancient Egypt were always
buried with perfumes in
their tombs. The scented
oils buried with
Tutankhamen were so
potent that a trace
of fragrance could still be
detected when his tomb
was opened – after more
than 3,000 years.
SPHERE 31