BULGARI TO LAUNCH BLU FOR MEN
Byline: Julie Naughton
NEW YORK — Call it Bulgari’s blue duo. Bulgari, which launched its women’s fragrance, Bulgari Blu, last August, is gearing up to launch its companion for men, Bulgari Blu Pour Homme, this fall. Saks Fifth Avenue will be the first store to get the fragrance, in mid-September, while the rest of the national rollout — to about 300 doors — will begin in October.
Francesco Trapani, chief executive officer of Bulgari, added that the scent will be launched globally this fall, with about 75 percent of the 80 countries Bulgari sells to receiving the fragrance by yearend. “The name Bulgari is very appreciated, and Blu Pour Femme has been a great success,” said Trapani. “The odds are on our side with this version. Our preliminary results have been very encouraging.”
Trapani said the fragrance’s core target group is a 30- to 50-year-old male, “which is typical of our business in general,” he said. “In the jewelry business, our core target is 30 to 50 and the fragrance business is very similar.”
In the U.S., executives are equally optimistic about the fragrance’s potential. “We’re looking at Bulgari Blu Pour Homme as an anchor product,” said Connie Ruscio, vice president and general manager of Fragrances Exclusive, which is handling the scent in the U.S. “It has broad appeal to a wide range of men.”
“Blu Pour Homme is a concept similar to the women’s scent in that both are about contrasts,” said Julie Rhinehart, executive director of marketing for Fragrances Exclusive. “The men’s version of Blu is about control versus instinct, and that shows in the choice of notes.”
The scent, by Alberto Murillas of Firmenich, combines cool and warm accords. The cool notes include cardamom, galangal, juniper berries and gingko leaves, while the warm notes include tobacco flower, cedar, gray teak, sandalwood and musk. It will be available in two sizes: a 1.7-oz. eau de parfum spray for $45, and a 3.4-oz. eau de parfum spray for $68.
The bottle, designed by Thierry de Bashmakov, is square glass with a cobalt blue central square, topped by a matte silver metallic cap and bottle neck. The outer packaging reverses the color theme; it is of cobalt blue, with a matte silver center square and the fragrance’s name in cobalt.
The line includes five ancillary products: an aftershave lotion for $47, an aftershave emulsion for $40, a shampoo and shower gel for $30, a deodorant for $25 and a soap for $25.
While the men’s line is launching with its ancillaries, the nearly year-old Bulgari Blu women’s line will get its first ancillaries in August.
An extensive sampling campaign, which will include mini-deluxe sampling sprays, vials on cards, blotter cards and counter testers, will begin in September. About 10 million scented impressions are expected, said Rhinehart.
Print advertising, which begins in September books — including GQ, Esquire, Men’s Health, Details and Vanity Fair — features a blue-eyed male model on a black background, combined with a bottle shot. Both single pages and double-page spreads are planned. While Ruscio wouldn’t comment on the cost of the ad campaign or projected first-year sales for the fragrance, industry sources estimated that the company will put about $1 million in advertising its first year, and that the fragrance would do about $15 million in retail in the U.S. its first year on-counter.