The news follows Arden’s May 31 announcement that it had acquired the global fragrance licenses of Ed Hardy, True Religion and BCBG Max Azria from New Wave Fragrances LLC.
Nicki Minaj’s (real name Onika Tanya Maraj) first fragrance is set for a September launch. These moves will meet head on with Coty as it prepares to launch its first Lady Gaga fragrance in the fall, following the debut of Madonna’s blockbuster Truth or Dare scent in late March. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed
Justin Bieber’s first fragrance, Someday, was launched in spring 2011 and became the number-one women’s fragrance launch in U.S. department stores, with annual sales of $39 million according to NPD Group figures cited by Give Back Brands. A second fragrance, Girlfriend, will be launched in Macy’s on Monday and in other national retailers on June 25, Kathy Widmer, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Elizabeth Arden..
In a memo to employees dated Tuesday, E. Scott Beattie, chairman and chief executive officer of Elizabeth Arden, said: “We are pleased to announce that today we signed an agreement to acquire the licenses for the Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj fragrance brands from Give Back Brands.…The marketing and creative activities for these fragrance brands will continue to be managed externally by their existing team. Sales, finance and operational activities will be absorbed by the respective Elizabeth Arden functions. These brands represent another opportunity to grow our extensive fragrance portfolio through both new licenses and fragrance acquisitions.”
“We’ve been keen observers of Justin Bieber’s fragrance and his participation in it,” said Widmer. “When you look at the combination of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck, together they accounted for half of the U.S. growth in fragrance last season. Our growth agenda allowed for a certain amount of acquisitions and when this became available we recognized it was a great opportunity. It made sense to us given the size and breadth of our celebrity portfolio.” Arden is building a celebrity portfolio which rivals Coty’s: in addition to Bieber and Minaj, Arden now holds the fragrance licenses of Elizabeth Taylor, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Usher, as well as Swift.
One major department store retailer (translation Macy's), speaking not for attribution, confirmed that Arden is already a major player in the celebrity fragrance field and this move will only bolster its market competitiveness. “They are doing a good job,” the retailer said, “and this will just make them stronger.” In addition, Arden’s well-developed infrastructure and highly organized back-office operation seems certain to make the acquired business run more efficiently.
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