FRAGRANCE Coty enjoys sweet success

The foundation established by Francois Coty continues to serve the company well.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Coty, the cosmetics and fragrance giant, celebrates its centennial with several high-profile fragrance launches, but CEO Bernd Beetz says the success of new products is all built on the ideas and ideals that Francois Coty had 100 years ago.
It was Francois Coty's vision to bring beauty to the lives of all. He knew that the big picture of someone's life could be changed with the self-confidence that could come with one very small bottle or tube, Beetz says.
Just good business
Francois Coty also had good business sense, Beetz notes, understanding from the very beginning that it was important to be a leader, spotting a potential zeitgeist before it happens. He says that principle continues to guide the company, pointing to a new partnership with Baby Phat designer Kimora Lee Simmons, which comes on the heels of new launches from Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Marc Jacobs and Kenneth Cole.
But that doesn't mean Coty rushes into things, either.
"I give everything the 'eternity test.' I ask, 'Can it hold up for the next 20 to 30 years?"' says Beetz. "I'm right most of the time."
Simmons, for example, was a very strategic choice.
"Kimora is a unique creative talent. ... She's entrenched in hip-hop and fashion, she's a successful woman. That's what attracted us," explains Eric Thoreau, president of Coty Beauty Americas.
Yet, the first fragrance probably won't hit the market until fall 2005, as the company searches for the right scents -- or, as fragrance insiders say, juices -- that will appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds, Beetz says.
"I'd never underestimate the juice. Image is important and you can die with a good juice, but you can't succeed with a bad juice," he adds.
Celebrity power
Stetson is one of Coty's brands that had strong products but its image needed to be updated.
Instead of abandoning it, the company named Texas-born actor Matthew McConaughey as the new face of Stetson. The company says both the fragrance and McConaughey represented "the modern cowboy."
Celebrities are particularly helpful in reaching a broad audience because they convey an immediate image to consumers, Beetz says.
His colleague, Michele Scannavini agrees: "Young people use celebrities, especially in the music world, as a point of reference for their lifestyles. Entertainment affects the way they (young people) look and the way they live."
To some, Lopez is a fashionable star, but to teenagers, she's also a role model, says Scannavini, president, president of the Coty division, Lancaster Group Worldwide.
When it came to working with Lopez, it was a conscious decision to launch Still, fashioned after her more glamorous movie-star image, before J.Lo Glow, which is a little edgier and trendy. Glow might create more buzz; Still likely will have a longer life.
Beetz, Scannavini and Thoreau all say the celebrity or fashion designer offers their personal input on the product instead of simply selling their name.
"Just putting a name on a bottle or jar is not enough. The product has to clearly mirror in a very straight way, the personality of the character we are portraying. ... For Jennifer Lopez's fragrances, she has been involved since the beginning and she's the reason of the big success. The consumer realized this was a little piece of Jennifer Lopez they could take for themselves. Mark Jacobs is the same way," Scannavini says.