Fashion Notebook

Breaking News: Halle Berry Inks Fragrance Deal With Coty, But Is the Timing Right?

According to a WWD report, actress Halle Berry has signed a
fragrance deal with Paris-based Coty, that will include
several scents, as well as the actress playing an (obvious) role in the forthcoming ad campaign.

"Halle is an iconic actress and symbolizes beauty to many generations," Steve Mormoris, senior vice president of global marketing at Coty Beauty US, told WWD. "She adds another dimension to the celebrity fragrance market. Halle has always been a little more mysterious, not quite as open with her personal life as some other stars. Her fragrances will allow her to present another facet of her personality to her fans."

Um, ok. I guess we'll buy it. Except for the fact that senior NPD beauty analyst Karen Grant told us a short while ago that the celeb fragrance industry was not such a hot spot, and definitely taking a back seat to the designer business. And we quote:

"We have not seen any increases in the women's celebrity business, which had double-digit declines in 2006, and, while not as much, declined somewhat in 2007," Grant told us. "It's hard to say whether [that trend] is over yet or not—it depends on who the celebrity is. There are still celebs with a lot of power, for example, in our apparel studies, we see tremendous success for Sarah Jessica Parker's "Bitten" [collection for Steve & Barry's] and Jessica Simpson's [eponymous] footwear line. Right now it's soft in the fragrance industry, but that doesn't mean it can't pick up."

So it sounds like developers should be less than bullish, and we have to wonder what kind of buzz factor Halle Berry actually offers to the fragrance counter. On the plus side, she's an Oscar nominated and awarded (for Monster's Ball, 2001) actress, but we don't get the sense that consumers see her as much of a style-leader or trend-setter, versus contemporaries such as Angelina Jolie (currently repping St. John), Scarlett Johannson (who repped for Louis Vuitton), or even Queen Latifah (who repped CoverGirl before—Why God? Why!?—switching duties to become the new celeb face of Jenny Craig).

WWD said that the scent is will debut in spring 2009.

Research Desk: NPD Study Finds Consumers Not Changing Where They Shop, But Increasingly Looking For Sales

So there's good and bad news in a report released today from NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y.

First, the good news. While 79% of the survey's 772 respon- dents felt that we are either in, or headed for, an economic recession, the majority aren't really changing where they shop given economic woes.

According to the study, "Fast Checks: Consumers Speak Out on the U.S. Economy," 55% of respondents said that today's economic conditions had "No impact" on where they shop for products. Meanwhile, 26% said that the economy has had "little impact" on where they shop, meaning that they'd changed on or two of the retailers from which they previously shopped. Another 15% said that they have changed "many" of the retailers they shop, while only 4% said that the economy has impacted their buying habits so drastically that they've changed all of the retailers they used to shop.

"Even with all the media attention on the economy, consumers still seem to be focused on their needs and desires," said Marshal Cohen, NPD's chief industry analyst, in a statement. "Consumers are tuned into news about our economy, but they aren't so quick to change what they are doing, including where they shop."

So knowing that the majority of shoppers have experienced either no impact, or very little impact, to their where they buy goods should have retailers breathing a sigh of relief, particularly after a rough round of earnings, right? Well, sort of.

The study also found that consumers are increasingly looking for promotional events to help keep costs down in the shopping cart. According to the survey, 50% of respondents said that they were now more likely to take advantage of store sales than they were six months ago. Of those polled, 38% said that they would be more likely to use coupons, and 8% said that they were more likely to participate in discount and/or membership programs.

According to Cohen, the results indicate that consumers are still going to be moving through retail doors, but that "the retailers are going to have to do more to get them."

"Certainly, promotional incentives of all kinds will be key, but how you market and communicate will help seal the deal," he added.