NEW YORK — Parfums Christian Dior is consolidating and refocusing its skin care business, while continuing to embellish its overall beauty assortment.
The beauty brand previewed its spring and early summer lineup here this week. The event also had another purpose: to introduce the latest Dior hire, Stacy Tenenbaum, who joins the firm as vice president of marketing. Tenenbaum is replacing Diane Miles, who is now heading up sister brand BeneFit. Tenenbaum joins Dior from Estée Lauder, where she was marketing manager for the U.K. In her Dior role, Tenenbaum will report directly to Bernard Potier, president and chief executive officer of Christian Dior’s U.S. operations.
Potier pointed out that skin care is one of the brand’s key focuses for spring. The brand is showcasing its Dior Science Institute, a research consortium of 260 doctors, pharmacists and researchers. The Dior Science team will provide the platform for all future skin care launches, explained Joan Poulton, vice president of education.
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Currently, there are 17 different Dior skin care brands; under the reorganization, eight banners will be offered, with the remaining brands folded into other lines. They are Capture, an antiaging-correction range; Snow, for whitening skin; Bronze, for tanning; Iod, for younger skin; Prestige, a luxury revitalizing brand; Move, a moisturizing line; Bikini, a body line, and No Age, an age-defense line. “It made sense to focus the brand more intensely — and it makes our mission clearer to both our consumers and our beauty advisers,” said Potier.
Capture is the first to get the new treatment. Products currently sold under the Model Lift line will be folded into Capture, and others could also join that collection. As well, six new stockkeeping units will be added to Capture, bannered under the R60/80 name — so named, noted Poulton, “because after one hour, wrinkles and fine lines are diminished by 60 percent, and after one month, 80 percent of people noticed a visibly younger-looking appearance.” The signature ingredient, R Complex, is a combination of mauve flower tops, a lipopeptide and potentilla extract, which, in combination, target the molecular factors that lead to the formation of wrinkles by boosting cellular activity and stimulating the syntheses of the dermic matrix and the skin’s hydrating system, said Poulton.
The collection includes Wrinkle Eye Cream, a 15-ml. jar for $50; Intense Wrinkle Night Fluid, 30 ml. for $60; two formulations (one light, one rich) for Ultimate Wrinkle Creme, 30 ml. for $45 and 50 ml. for $70; Extra Vital Restoring Serum, 30 ml. for $55 and 50 ml. for $75, and Capture Flash Instant Ultra-Smoothing Fluid, which is intended to even out the complexion and smooth wrinkles and fine lines (and which includes the R60 complex, but doesn’t have long-lasting effects, said Poulton.) It retails for $50 for 15 ml.
While none of the executives would comment on projected sales, industry sources estimated that the Capture R60/80 range would do upward of $12 million at retail in the U.S. in its first year on counter. Sources also estimated that in total, skin care could account for upward of $30 million at retail for Dior this year.
Overall, skin care accounts for close to 25 percent of the U.S. beauty business, while fragrance does about 50 percent and color accounts for the remaining 25 percent. Fragrance is available in about 2,000 U.S. department and specialty store doors, while color and skin care are available in about 800 department and specialty store doors.
Dior is also planning to unleash several color initiatives. The major lip launch is Dior Addict Ultra Gloss, an eight-sku, high-shine lip gloss line which hits counters in mid-April. Each is long lasting and has a nonsticky texture, with SPF 8. Options include one transparent gloss, three iridescent glosses, one tinted gloss and three glosses with sparkles, ranging in color from clear to red. The lip glosses retail for $22 each.
The brand’s 5-Colour Eye shadows have been repackaged and reintroduced as well, noted Poulton. Launching in mid-March, the cobalt blue compacts hold five coordinating high-pigment eye shadow colors that can also be used as eyeliners. They will retail for $49.50 each.
Making a reappearance is DiorShow Mascara, a two-sku mascara line, which was offered as a one-shot last year. “It was so successful that we decided to bring it back,” said Poulton. The mascara, which retails for $22, joins the color collection permanently in mid-March.
Other color cosmetics offerings include a summer-look collection. Part of the summer collection — five shades of Dior Addict Glitter, $23 each; five So Cheek sku’s, $30 each; four bronzers, $32.50 each, and two nail colors, $16 each, will stay in the line permanently. The remainder — four eye shadow pencils for $19 each; mascara in Zanzibar brown, $21, and two Duo Couture eye shadow compacts, $25 — will be limited editions. All will be on counter in mid-May.
The brand’s limited edition I Love Dior lip palette will be available only in Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s doors. It will be available in March, will include five shades and will retail for $35.
Altogether, sources estimate that Dior’s color business will do upward of $10 million at retail in the first six months of 2003.
Dior will also launch two new limited-edition scents: a new Fahrenheit flanker called 0 Degree, which will be on counter in June and will retail for $49.50, and I Love Dior, which is a fruity floral that will be on counter in February and will retail for $50.
Advertising and promotional efforts will be a part of most of the launches. Skin care ads will begin launching in April fashion, beauty and lifestyle books, while color advertising, focusing on the Dior Skin foundation line, will begin running in February. Sources estimated that Dior would spend upward of $1 million on skin care advertising in 2003 and upward of $1 million on color cosmetics advertising in 2003.?