TWO NEW SCENTS ADD TO JEWELER’S LUSTER
Byline: Brid Costello
PARIS — High-end jeweler Chaumet is hoping to add more sparkle to its fragrance lineup with two new scents.
Its beauty arm, Parfums Chaumet, will launch L’Eau Chaumet for women and Chaumet Homme for men in the next couple of months. The company aims to heighten brand awareness and lure a new clientele, according to Capucine Stalla, project manager at the firm.
“With [the two] launches we hope to make some noise and really establish Parfums Chaumet,” explained Stalla. “The classic line has been alone on the shelves for two years, but you need to take up space in order to be known. There were also customers we weren’t reaching — namely men and younger people.”
That’s particularly true in France, where the original Chaumet women’s scent, Parfums Chaumet, has underperformed since its May 1999 introduction. It is, however, reportedly selling well in the Middle East, Brazil, South America and Germany.
While Stalla refused to break out figures, industry sources estimate L’Eau Chaumet could ring up $15 million and Chaumet Homme $10 million in retail sales during their first 12 months.
L’Eau Chaumet, due to hit shelves worldwide next month, will target a 25- to 30-year-old clientele, compared with Parfum Chaumet’s forty-something set.
The two women’s fragrances do share some common traits. Both are fresh florals in round bottles that resemble pendants designed by Thierry Bashmakoff. But while the original bottle is frosted, the new edition is tinted blue.
L’Eau Chaumet’s juice was created by Quest’s Louise Turner. It has top notes of rose tea, Sicilian bergamot and Chinese current; heart notes of wild jasmine and mimosa, and base notes of white musk, almond tree wood and sandalwood.
The eau de toilette comes in 50-ml. and 100-ml. sprays that retail for $37 and $53, respectively, in France at current exchange rates.
Chaumet Homme, meanwhile, is the brand’s first men’s fragrance. Its scent, created by Charbot’s Raphael Haury, includes top notes of grapefruit, fig and bergamot; heart notes of jasmine, vetiver and precious wood, and base notes of sandal, gray amber and musk. Its bottle, created in-house with input from designer Federico Restrepo, consists of a square glass flacon encased with black rubber. There is a sliding metal cap to protect the spray nozzle.
The scent is due to launch globally in March, with 50-ml. and 100-ml. edt sprays retailing for $36 and $51, respectively, in France. Ancillaries, including a 125-ml. aftershave balm, a 250-ml. shower gel, a 150-ml. deodorant spray and a 75-g. deodorant stick, with planned price tags of $42, $21.50, $19 and $17, respectively, are expected out this summer. Advertising featuring product shots are being finalized, said Stalla. She added that the primary focus, however, will be on in-store marketing, including 1.3-ml. vials and 1.7-ml. spray samples.
Chaumet has undergone numerous changes of late. In 1999, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton purchased the jewelry house from Investcorp. So far it has been business as usual at the beauty division. But Stalla said: “I hope the takeover will mean an injection of money into advertising that will help grow the brand and add to its notoriety.”
In 1998, Chaumet’s beauty license was taken over by Cofinluxe, which also controls Parfums Salvador Dali and Parfums Andy Warhol.