• Home
• Subscribe
• BF Archives
• Beauty Blog
• Contact Us
• Facebook

 

A Walk On The Line Side...With

 

COTY PRESTIGE

Beauty Fashion Joined Robert Taylor And His Team To Branch In New York City And New Jersey

Coty Prestige’s Robert Taylor, Senior Vice President Specialty Stores invited Beauty Fashion to branch at
specialty stores in New York City and at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey to celebrate the launches of several fragrances this fall.

8:30 A.M. Coty Prestige
New York City, New York

Before beginning the store tour, Beauty Fashion met with Coty Prestige executives at their corporate office in Manhattan. Mr. Taylor explained how the fragrances are presented in-store is dependent on “the work of a collective group of individuals here, both in marketing or sales. The philosophy of our company is ‘faster, further, freer.’ To be faster, go further, and think more freely. We lead by these values. We all collectively meet our goals, whether it’s a short-term or a long-term project.”

He describes Coty Prestige as an “aggressive organization that is moving forward, whether it’s establishing our core
brands from Calvin Klein to the ultra-prestige group as well as getting into the skincare and color business. We have a collective interest in moving forward and becoming first and foremost in the industry. We have one of the most powerful and unique brand portfolios in the industry.”

“With such a broad portfolio,” Coty Prestige’s Ava Huang, Senior Vice President, Marketing, explained, “we look for where we see the most growth opportunities and what sort of stage the different brands are in their product life cycle. We manage in those terms because ultimately, it’s a business, and we’re looking for overall macro-growth. There are certain brands, such as Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta that are clearly smaller but have established Designers. We will incubate and/or nurture them for the long-term, so they can become classic or iconic brands within the fragrance category.”

“We have large brands such as Calvin Klein, which has already transcended time in terms of the portfolio from its development in the 90s—the Eternity, Obsession and ck one years. How we continue to build on them while evolving the Euphoria franchise is very important to us.”

“Celebrities play a very different role within our portfolio,” Ms. Huang continued. “They have their moments in the spotlight, and it is up to us to decide how best to capture that moment and whether it is possible to bring back that moment yet a second time.”

She maintains that Coty’s motto, ‘faster, further, freer,’ “allows us to be very entrepreneurial and nimble, which is a great part of our success. We have been able to build a very robust fragrance business and become leaders in the industry. There are also other areas that present tremendous opportunities for us, such as color cosmetics and skincare with Philosophy.”

“The largest responsibility for my group is to take all of these prestige brands and raise their level,” Mr. Taylor shared. “We have Calvin Klein, which is basically a department store business and all of the ultra-prestige Designer brands that the company keeps launching with many more on the table down the road. The specialty store business is very time-consuming and intensive, but it is very successful for Coty Prestige.”“PUIG and most importantly Prada [within that portfolio] is a very big part of the ultra-prestige business. Prada is about 60% of PUIG’s business,” he declared.

“We target; we focus. We launched three brands this fall, which is a challenge. Each brand has its own identity, and each Designer has their own expectations, but we are smart about it and pace the business. It’s a company with multiple facets.”

PUIG US’ Beth Carr, Vice President, Market Development, treats each brand differently in her portfolio. “Paco Rabanne is very different from Prada, which is very different from Carolina Herrera.”

“We have two major launches going on right now—Prada Candy and Paco Rabanne’s One Million and Lady Million, and I am very fortunate to be working with the Coty Prestige team. They have done a spectacular job of bringing Prada Candy to life at-counter. Their specialty store team really knows how to nurture a brand and how to launch. Prada Candy launched #1 at Neiman Marcus and remains at that rank. We launched #1 at Nordstrom, and the numbers there as well as at Bloomingdale’s have been incredible. Prada Candy has a great program, great juice and great packaging,” Ms. Carr declared, “but without a great team like Coty Prestige behind it, you’re sunk.”

She noted that Paco Rabanne’s Million master brand was introduced at Sephora a year ago and in August/September to Macy’s. “One Million and Lady Million are so animated at-counter. One Million is in the top ten at Macy’s.”

10:00 A.M. Saks Fifth Avenue
New York City, New York

Saks Fifth Avenue’s Wendy Gottfried, Vice President/DMM declared that Saks has been the exclusive launch partner for the Chloé fragrances for many years. “We are thrilled by the Chloé business as well as the very exciting Prada Candy and Bottega Veneta.”

Mr. Taylor is very pleased by the performance of this [flagship] store. “The overall renovation of the floor is absolutely spectacular, and Saks has been very good to us in terms of real estate. We have probably one of the most outstanding teams of core Beauty Advisors in this area.”
Coty Prestige’s Doreen LaSala-Coll, Regional Vice President Specialty Stores agreed, adding, “One of our initiatives is to make sure all of our Beauty Advisors are certified by The Fragrance Foundation. This certification is an educational program that also builds upon their confidence. We’re very proud to currently have all of our Saks Beauty Advisors certified. We will be rolling this program out to all our BA’s in the NY Metro area since we have seen the success of the Saks team.”

10:30 A.M. Bloomingdale’s 59th Street

Ms. LaSala-Coll praised the performance of Coty Prestige’s Business Manager at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street, Mercedes Vallejos, who manages 10 Beauty Advisors. “Mercedes has just had three consecutive launch weeks with Prada Candy, Balenciaga Paris L’Essence and Bottega Veneta.”

“The team at 59th Street usually meets or exceeds their visual week goals. Mercedes is the driving force behind the team, always challenging them using pre-sell, their knowledge of the brand, and of course, knowledge of the Bloomingdale’s customer.”

11:00 A.M. Lord & Taylor

Mr. Taylor declared “Coty Prestige’s real estate here at Lord & Taylor on the main aisle is probably one of the best presentations in the country. In this store, the team has had triple digit increases in the last six to seven months, and I’m so proud of them.”

Ms. LaSala-Coll pointed out that Patricia Bologna, Coty Prestige’s Retail Manager, has been instrumental in the growth at Lord &Taylor NYC. “She has been working very closely with the team, including training them on all brands, showing them how to maximize their business with pre-sell for all major events and keeping them focused on our key brands. In particular, take Balenciaga, one of our most luxurious designer houses; look at the beautiful presentation here in the caseline.”

Ms. LaSala-Coll highlights the arches that are featured consistently in every one of Balenciaga Paris’ caselines. “The arches showcase the fragrance bottles in a way that relates back to the heritage of the designer and the fashion house. It is actually inspired by the historic fashion showroom address at 10 avenue George V.”

Barbara Zinn-Moore, Senior Vice President/GMM for Fragrances and Cosmetics, affirmed “Our Coty Prestige business and partnership could not be better. They are terrific partners, and we truly love to do business with them.”

Sharing launch news of Coty Prestige’s fragrances at Lord & Taylor, Ms. Zinn-Moore reported, “We are very excited that Prada Candy hit in November. It has been the #1 brand since it came in.”

2:30 P.M. Neiman Marcus
Short Hills, New Jersey

Ms. LaSala-Coll explained, “Specialty Stores here at Coty Prestige consist of Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Barneys New York and Henri Bendel.”

She disclosed that Coty Prestige has three Market Managers across the country—East, West and Central. “Our Retail Managers report directly to them. In addition to driving retail, the Retail Managers conduct all of the trainings for our brands in Coty Prestige, as well as, for PUIG US. Leah Dean, Manager of Education and Retail Sales Development for PUIG US, assists the Retail Managers with training of the teams in-store.”

Coty Prestige’s Alicia Case, Market Manager, East Coast, added, “Along with providing trainings in each door for all of the stores in the Specialty Division, they must drive retail, hire the in-store support and negotiate events. They are the driving force out in the stores. They have a tremendous job, and they execute it perfectly.”

Ms. Case had special praise for Coty Prestige’s Retail Manager, Christina (Tina) Armetta, “who does a fantastic job in the Short Hills Mall where she is responsible for four doors—Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. The four doors have very different needs, and she keeps it all in balance.”

3:00 P.M. Saks Fifth Avenue

Ms. Huang maintains, “Coty Prestige represents the
DNA of each of our Designer brands and positions them in the best possible space and location within each retailer. That drives aspiration and ultimately, a consumer purchase.”

3:30 P.M. Bloomingdale’s

“Coty Prestige has learned to reach out and educate our customers,” Mr. Taylor reported. “In many of our stores, our Retail Managers bring consumers together and hold educational seminars to give the history and background of a brand and its fragrances. They make the customers feel comfortable with scents’ ingredients. It really works to a very strong benefit for us, because the customers feel a partnership in the same way they would with color and treatment.”

“We have charity festivals that work very well,” he continued. “We do special programs to build client loyalty, like mailings to our best customers to preview a new brand before it launches. We have the CRM program, our loyalty club, which is a big part of building the business and bringing back the romance to fragrance.” BF

Saks Fifth Avenue’s Wendy Gottfried and Ondine Lamstein with Ms. LaSala-Coll, Mr. Taylor and Ms. Case at the Love, Chloé display	Coty Prestige’s Nicholas Truhan, Marilyn Couris, Ms. Case, Jeannette Pinto and Ms. LaSala-Coll	Mr. Taylor, Ms. LaSala-Coll and Ms. Case (r.) with Bloomingdale’s Yamile Narcisse and Melissa Berger
Ms. Berger, Ms. Case, Mr. Taylor, Ms. LaSala-Coll and Bloomingdale’s Yarden Maoz at the Bottega Veneta visual	Ms. Narcisse, Bloomingdale’s Cheryl Russo, Coty Prestige’s Mercedes Vallejos and Ms. Case	Ms. Vallejos reports to Mr. Taylor on the three consecutive Coty Prestige launches.
Balenciaga Paris’ L’Essence in Bloomingdale’s 59th Street’s window	Mr. Taylor and Lord & Taylor’s Barbara Zinn-Moore highlight the Bottega Veneta display.	Ms. Zinn-Moore, Coty Prestige’s Christine Aidiniou and Patricia Bologna with Lord & Taylor’s Beth Ravalico join Ms. Couris and Ms. Case.
Ms. Aidiniou and Ms. LaSala-Coll point out the arches displaying Balenciaga Paris L’Essence in the caseline.	Lord & Taylor’s David Clements with Ms. Zinn-Moore, Ms. LaSala-Coll and Mr. Taylor	Ms. LaSala-Coll, Mr. Taylor, Ms. Case and Coty Prestige’s Christina (Tina) Armetta at the holiday display in Short Hills Mall
Ms. LaSala-Coll, Ms. Huang, Coty Prestige’s Françoise Mariez and Mr. Taylor	Ms. LaSala-Coll, Neiman Marcus’ Jonathan Espiritu, Lisa Duffy and Bunny Johnson with Mr. Taylor, Ms. Case and Ms. Armetta	Ms. Case, Coty Prestige’s Corrine Degrazio, Jean-Steals-Payne, Linda Zielke, Sandye Eveillord, Mr. Espiritu and Ms. Armetta at the Prada Candy display

---