Blumarine Launching New Scent for Spring

MILAN — Blumarine and ITF have a romantic new offering for spring: Anna, a musky floral eau de parfum that aims to attract “women who live every moment with passion,” according to Blumarine founder and creative director Anna Molinari.

The packaging, created by ITF’s internal team and French artistic director Thierry de Baschmakoff, is a tribute to Molinari’s longtime fondness for flowers, with a pink cap shaped like a blossoming peony over a simple glass bottle where “Anna” is scrawled in the same color. Perfumers Alexandra Carlin and Maurice Roucel of Symrise developed the juice, which kicks off with top notes of water fruits, peach and apple, over a heart of peony, magnolia, rose and jasmine, and a drydown of sandalwood, musk, vanilla and cashmeran.

“This fragrance has a very happy, young nature,” said ITF chief executive officer Massimo Cappini. “Also in terms of positioning, we lowered prices a bit to favor a younger consumer….I would define this as a friendly fragrance, it’s easy to wear and very approachable.”

ITF president Roberto Martone agreed, noting that Anna represents: “the completion of the first development phase of Blumarine products, with a younger, more dynamic side that’s completely in line with market trends.”

The scent will be available in three sizes, 30 ml., 50 ml. and 100 ml., retailing for 32 euros (about $44 at current exchange); 45 euros (about $62), and 65 euros (about $90), respectively. A 200-ml. body lotion will sell for 29 euros, or about $40.

Molinari was keen to emphasize that the fragrance was entirely manufactured in Italy, which she said served as a guarantee of quality, and noted she always tried to center Blumarine communication on its Italian identity. Photographer Michelangelo di Battista shot model Anna Speckhart — her name, Molinari joked, was not a coincidence — against a sumptuous “Secret Garden”-style background of flowers in bloom.

The advertising campaign will kick off April 15 in Italy and will focus on glossy consumer publications and the Web. The Anna edp will be sold in Europe first, starting in April, before reaching stores in the Middle East, Russia and finally China within the first half of 2015, for a total of about 3,000 doors worldwide. “This is a brand that is always well-received. In Hong Kong, without a doubt, and other areas of the Far East, but also in Russia,” said Cappini, adding that in Italy, brand awareness for Blumarine was extremely high, which contributed to the fragrances’ success here in spite of the less-than-stellar economy.

Martone and Cappini declined to discuss sales estimates, but industry sources posited that the new edp could bring in 4 million euros, or $5.5 million, in retail sales in its first year on shelf.

Overall, Martone said 2013 was a strong year for ITF in spite of a slight slowdown of the Russian market. “For 2014, we expect significant double-digit increases of around 15 to 18 percent,” he added.