Fragrances characteristics

Dior Fragrance: J’Adore!

Tribute to the passion that Christian Dior vowed to flowers, J’Adore is a fragrance symbolizing absolute femininity, sophistication and glamour, which are the values that are specific to the Dior woman. J’Adore unites the noblest flowers from the garden of raw materials and is designed around a single floral bouquet, generous and harmonious.

Candice Baker created the fragrance in 1999. The challenge was to invent a fragrance that would be the perfect translation of Dior values. Imperative that perfume will make this the very symbol of the house says, « After women, flowers are the most divine creations. » J’Adore is composed of rose essence, flower Champaca, jasmine, tuberose, orchids, sandalwood and a rounder notes what candied plum. It’s a unique floral bouquet. The Dior’s values stick to Charlize Theron, who presents the scenes of creating the      mythical perfume J’Adore perfume Dior.

The perfume legend:

According to Dior website, with j’Adore, Dior created an universal, generous, feminine and highly floral perfume. It represents the energy of life, pleasure and glamour.

The perfume origin:

For Christian Dior, J’Adore means showing your passion, living in the present, looking to the future, having a heart that beats with emotion and self-confidence. This fragrance is a force in itself. This fragrance’s name sounds like a whispered murmur or a spontaneous exclamation, saying ‘Enthusiasm is self-evident, with no need for gimmicks.

The perfume bottle:

The shape of the bottle is very feminine and flowing lines are reminiscent of a figure of 8 (the signature New Look which was to daringly introduce Dior styling). The bottle pays homage to female body with its beautiful curves. The finishing touch on the J’Adore bottle looks like a tight necklace, it adds grace to this jewel of gold and glass.

To conclude, Christian Dior has always wanted to anticipate women’s aspirations, his wish was to make women more beautiful but also happier by being determined and confident in the future. The J’Adore woman knows what she wants and she is self-confidence. She is fully at ease with herself and living out her passions and emotions.

Chanel Fragrance: Chanel N°5

to introduce the Canel N°5 perfume let’s see a corporate video which resume the spirit of this fragrance.

Let’s now expose the different features of these two fragrances.

The famous Chanel n°5 was created in 1921 by Ernest Beaux for Coco Chanel, who wanted a clean fragrance in line with her fashion. She desired a perfume ‘ which smells like a woman’. Coco Chanel wanted « An artificial fragrance, I mean artificial as a dress, that is to say manufactured. I am an artisan sewing. I do not want roses, lily of the valley, I want a perfume that is a composition.”

The fragrance legend:

In 1920, Ernest Beaux created two series of perfume samples numbered 1-5 and 20; he asked Coco Chanel to choose one of them. She chose the sample no. 5. In the same year, her dress collections was planned to be present on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year. Superstitious, she declared that it would bring good luck: the perfume got its name.

The fragrance muses:

The perfume became famous thanks to many celebrities who wore it, such as Marilyn Monroe. Chanel N°5 is often associated to her name because during an interview in 1954 she said that in bed she wore only “some drops of Chanel N°5”(see the video bellow). That statement became a superb advertising slogan and a reason for millions of women around the world to choose this perfume. Nicole Kidman, and now Gisele Bündchen have become Chanel N°5 faces.

The fragrances composition:

Working on creation of this perfume, Ernest Beaux created and for the first time used the synthetic component: aldehydes. The fragrance of aldehydes is pure and fresh. Chanel N°5 is the first perfume in the floral-aldehyde group and the first by the quantity of aldehydes in its composition (another legend says that the Ernest Beaux’s assistant overdosed the aldehydes in the composition by mistake). The top notes are composed of aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli and ylang-ylang, the heart of jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and iris, while the base is created of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli.

The fragrance bottle:

The first Chanel N°5 was captured in a simple rectangular bottle with the top which resembled Place Vendome in Paris. The first bottle was designed by Chanel herself and represents her classical principle: the less is more. Her bottle would be « pure transparency …an invisible bottle. »The first bottle produced in 1919 differed from the Chanel No.5 bottle known today (see the bottle evolution on the picture).

Then we will explore the brands history and we will go further in the brand management analysis.

Written by Sophia Capo

Literature:

http://www.dior.com/couture/en_gb/the-house-of-dior/from-1947-to-2014

http://karenine.com/chanel-ou-dior-lelegance-face-a-linsolence/

Chanel No.5 advertising strategy

Chanel No.5 has been sold by the company since 1921. In its 93 years of existence, Chanel has become a high recognizable brand and No.5, one of the top perfumes in the world.

Known as one of the most perfume in the world, Chanel No.5 is the most iconic product of the brand that has always focused on innovation. Indeed, it was the first fragrance with a refined packaging and the first fragrance using a woman muse as promotion. Two years ago, it was also the first feminine fragrance promoting a male muse (Brad Pitt) in its ads, which will be developed in a further part.

But when speaking about the perfume Chanel No.5, it is the advertising launched around the perfume that comes first in my mind. In order to promote the values of the perfume and evocate ideas related to glamour, beauty and luxury, the company used different advertising campaigns. From its creation until 1965, advertisements were simple in black and white where only the bottle was highlighted. The best advertising made for Chanel No.5 remains during the period of 1954, when during an interview with Marilyn Monroe, the actress confessed “wearing” only a few drops of Chanel No.5 for sleeping. Without being involved in this speech, the brand benefited from a huge help to develop its image and attract customers.

If Chanel used both advertising displays and TV spots to seduce the consumer, the emotional codes and the communication goals on the famous perfume have changed through time.

First, advertising budget was limited and few adverts appeared in this time. In the first ads, Chanel No.5 was displayed in black and white with the portrait of the creator Gabriel “Coco” Chanel. As we can see the picture remains quite basic, with the evocation of an elegant rich woman being the perfume’s creator and the name of the brand and the bottle down of the page.

Few changes will be done with the bottle regarding the stopper and the bottle glass width, but what we can notice is that the bottle was really often showed alone in commercials until the end of 50’s, focusing the values on the product rather than the human being. The high quality design of the ads is still impressive and reflects the notion of luxury, but it appears less glamour and doesn’t evocate really much the image of dream and seduction that the brand knows today.

A major change in advertising will appear when in 1965, Jacques Helleu entered at the head of Communication department for Chanel. Indeed, Mr Helleu understood the need to go further in the dream dimension and wanted to reveal the seduction power offered by the product Chanel No.5. Seduced by the idea of presenting the product with a famous person as Suzy Parker appeared in a commercial in 1957, the director will push the concept in a far way and will be recognized as the father of the muses for Chanel, offering a “face” to the perfumes.

Thereafter, the French house will appeal to world famous actresses: Suzy Parker, Ali MacGraw, Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Estella Warren, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou… With its first TV spot in 1973 with Catherine Deneuve, Chanel used the service of Helmut Newton, a famous photographer to shoot the commercial. This first spot made in a black background with the French actress confessing to the audience using Chanel No.5.

The TV commercial is chic but simple and aims to develop a close relation between the audience and the beautiful actress who is “confessing” using this product to seduce men. The emotions communicated are much stronger and create a unique feeling between the customer and the product.

But more than recruiting elegant stars to promote the perfume, the collaboration with famous photographer and movie director, strengthen the high quality image of the brand and offers exceptional ideas and creation for advertising. Carole Bouquet, muse during 10 years for Chanel No.5, will play in a commercial managed by Ridley Scott for example, based on the complexity of love feelings and the emotions it involved where the actress is presented as a “femme fatale”.

Another universe will be explored in the end of 90’s, when Luc Besson made this commercial for Chanel iconic perfume:

This spot is illustrating the tale of the “Little Red Riding Hood”. This commercial starring Estella Warren, an ex-professional swimmer, has known a huge success among the audience. But why such enthusiasm? First, this commercial is in disruption with the previous campaigns. The objective of this campaign was to target younger consumer by re-defining the values of the perfume. As you probably noticed, this commercial is far different from the elitist and independent image created around the previous elegant muses. The actress is young and dressed as the little red riding hood, then she’s entering in a secret place, take a bottle of perfume and calm down a wolf with a simple “Chut!”. By using strong visual effects, we can see that the message and emotions communicated here are fuelled with color and sex appeal looking “unreal”. Even if the ad keeps notions of glamour and luxury, we can also see a touch of rebellion and “dare attitude”.

Then, 2004 marks the beginning of commercials in a very Hollywood style and it was the turn of Nicole Kidman to slip into the character of the woman for Chanel N ° 5. She’s playing the role of a famous person trying to escape from the fame and attention, and making an unexpected meeting with a man who appears as a relief for her. In this ad, Nicole Kidman appears as an elegant woman, famous and successful. The notion of dream is really present as well as the symbol of love.

Finally, after Audrey Tautou TV spot where she played a romantic and olfactory intrigue on board of the Orient Express, Brad Pitt has been selected as the next muse for the perfume. This choice can seem to be original and unusual for a luxury woman perfume brand, but could be a good innovative strategy as Chanel always did since the launch of its famous perfume. Indeed, using a man as Brad Pitt allows the brand to play on a double side: the woman watching the ad see a man with a high seduction potential and wants to be the woman who can seduce him. Chanel No.5 can help the woman to reach this goal.

To sum-up, the advertisement around Chanel No.5 has evolved through the time to emphasize its iconic and unique image, and become the most famous perfume in the world. Based on the product features in a first time, and step by step evolving to link the product values with muses’ image, the brand has always succeeded to innovate in order to seduce its audience and develop its luxury image. The use of muses and the impact of Marylin Monroe intervention have allowed the brand to develop glamour, elegant and elitist values while promoting a unique “know-how”. The participation of big names from photography and cinema sector to develop the advertisements have improved the visual effects side and high quality design of commercials relying on the notion of dreams and esthetic.

However, sales of Chanel No.5 decreased by 4.4% in 2013 on French market ranked as the 4^th perfume most sold in the country. This assessment can be observed also in mature market as Japan or US and reveal the difficulties for the company to maintain the product on its top in a high competitive market. Maybe the new muse selected by Chanel, Gisele Bündchen, for its best seller product will boost the sales.

Finally, and to prove how big the perfume Chanel No.5 impacted our life, I will ask you to click on the link below to realize how important is the success of this perfume.

http://globometer.com/beaute-chanel.php

I will leave you on this thought: “A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future”, Coco Chanel.

http://www.ozap.com/actu/gisele-bundchen-nouvelle-egerie-de-chanel-n-5/456645

http://inside.chanel.com/fr/no5

http://www.lesechos.fr/week-end/styles/0203857658898-chanel-n5-le-parfum-en-six-campagnes-1053594.php

Written by Sylvain Bougnoux

Communication strategies

We can find three main types of advertising content for perfumes.

The positioning and advertising based on psychological desires

The purpose of this communication is to trigger positive emotions to cause consumer acceptance for the perfume. In such a context, the ad features a cleverly positioned from the strongest desires, conscious or not, consumers product. Through this placement, marketing and advertising operate two types of desires and motivations. The primary motivation for buying a perfume is based on narcissism. Advertising then seeks to ensure that users identify themselves to a person who embodies the cultural and social ideals. The aim of this type of advertising is to reach people who use scent to help build an identity and self-image valued. In using this brand, the consumer seeks to look like to the character in the commercial. The perfume become an « olfactory identity card » and even directly involved in the construction of the identity of the individual.

Enhancement and social distinction are also another motivation to buy a perfume. In some ads, the luxurious universe in which the product is consumed mainly flatters this motivation. By the consumption of high-priced products, the individual wants to show, or make others believe that he belongs to a superior social category.

Positioning based on patterns and current social values

To counter market saturation and difficulties to stand out from competitors, manufacturers have developed a new concept based on trends and current social value. This kind of advertising is a success when it pleases to many people. As by definition this type of positioning cannot last, manufacturers have decided to minimize the risk by balancing short-lived by a large quantity of products sold immediately. The advertising intensity and broad targeting also place a significant communication budget. For example, during the launch CK One, calvin Klein has invested around 76 million euros. Calvin Klein used the trend of « androgynous » which has led the development of several Fragrances « unisex ».

Positioning based on « artistic creation »

Several marketing studies have shown that some consumers are looking for a fragrance that is a real artistic creation and a work of art. Brands offer these consumers to wear a « confidential », a long process of artistic creation. As the main motivation here is the social distinction, embodied by the scarcity of the product, advertising must be finely targeted and discreet.Sources :

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/perfume-advertisement-strategies-45134.html

http://thoughtleadership.sismarketresearch.com/the-market-research-journal/2008/11/12/luxury-perfumes-and-effective-advertising.html

Cliquer pour accéder à GCIFuelingTheMarket-FragranceObservations11-10.pdf

Calvin Klein unisex perfume

Dior brand strategy

Products

Christian Dior SA offers some products in different categories:

• Christian Dior Couture
• Wines and Spirits
• Fashion and Leather Goods
• Parfumes and Cosmetics
• Watches and Jewelry
• Selective Retailing

Logo

The logo of the company Dior is the name of the founder and fashion designer of the brand Christian Dior. The Dior logo represents a simple word mark with the brand name and using a Nicolas Cochin font. Despite the fact that the company is world-renowned in the luxury industry, the logo remains simple and straight-forward, reinforcing its ease of identification and being easily recognizable for consumers.

The Dior logo is associated with notions as luxury, glamour, prestige, sophistication and originality. It is also representative of the personality of its creator as many brands of luxury.

Regarding colors of Dior logo, the use of black and white color in it transmits a natural feeling of warmth, reinforcing the power of the overall design and the classy impression it gives.

Dior values

The company has made efforts to keep the same values promoted by its original founder Christian Dior. Indeed, Dior was primarily a female brand. After the World War 2, the designer wanted to “liberate” women from the horror of the war but also giving joy and lightness by creating elegant clothes with new design.

Dior’s company is also synonymous of dreams. The designer always wanted to reach the excellence in every pieces he created and it’s on the same motto that the company has reached the success known today. Know-how, respect of the client, and the willing to bring beauty for every woman are also values that define the company. Employees still carry these values in their works, by respecting the tradition and heritage of the company.

Though earlier Dior focused only on women, it diversified into products for men under the brand of Dior Homme, and for children under the brand of Baby Dior with the same aspect of perfectionism.

Even if creation directors have changed through the time, each one has contributed to the reputation of the company Dior that is one of the strongest brands in the luxury sector.

Finally, here is a diagram that can represent the Dior’s company values and association:

Brand personality

One efficient and clear way to assess the key elements of the Dior’s company personality can be done through a prism of the brand:

Even if other luxury brands can present the same aspects and elements than this prism, we can still figure out some differentiation in the spirit and message that Dior wants to communicate to its consumers.

Communication on brand personality

Dior as many fashion brands, communicate on its products but also on its brand through various supports and media.

Fashion magazines such as Vogue or Marie-Claire and TV spots are indispensables media for fashion brands as Dior, where we can find some ads focusing on their products rather than the brand itself.  The ad is always really elegant and sophisticated with quite often the appearance of a famous person being the “muse” of the brand. The logo is also present in a simple way, reflecting the strength of the brand with a clear recognition and association with French luxury and high quality products. If these ways of communicating remain more classical, where the consumer can easily rely on the values of the brand with a “dream” touch, the real power of Dior’s brand is the way it communicates on the brand itself and its history.

Indeed, if fashion shows are an occasion for luxury brands to highlight their own couture clothes and increase their reputation among consumers, Dior has developed through years a further way to develop its image of excellence and unique know-how.

A museum has been created in Granville in memory of Christian Dior where he spent his childhood. This exhibition shows some pieces created by the designer and promote the evolution of thebrand through an historical point of view.

The company has also developed the ability to create the buzz regularly by creating special events and adapting sales shops with new universe and concepts for a limited time:  A mini Fashion Theatre with the most emblematic Dior creations, a re-looking and exposition of the famous mall Harrods in London mixing French Savoir Faire and British charm, or the presentation of an exclusive film event by Bruce Weber, ‘Can I Make The Music Fly?’  for the opening of the new Dior Homme boutique in Miami. All these exceptional events contribute to the notion of dream and exclusivity related to the brand.

As a premium brand, Dior has released regular series of aspirational films in order to encourage online purchasing and strengthen its exclusivity image. In 2011, 4 short films based on the concept of “Four cities, Four women” with Marion Cotillard inspired from the Lady Dior bags. The latest one has been exclusively promoted on their Facebook page with an invitation to purchase the bag. These short movies enabled the brand to increase its aspirational image and conducted the consumers to express their “love” for the brand through numerous comments.

The communication action mentioned before is also part of a digital strategy that Dior has successfully established. Dior is present on many channels: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Mobile application remaining the basic channels for digital strategy but also Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest where only few luxury brands have already created some accounts. Through these channels, Dior has succeeded to create a unique link with its community offering VIP access to backstage scenes, exclusive stories and contents that focus on fans’ interests (make-up tips, new products released…). By offering original visual contents on various topics, the company increases the loyalty of its followers and remains coherent with its core values.

Dior is a luxury brand unique, which wants to be close to its customers. This luxury house has understood the importance of social media presence and seeks to interact with its community to expand its universe to Internet.

Chanel brand strategy

Products

The range of Chanel products is divided in three key areas. Some products was created by Coco Chanel and renewed by the following designers.

• Fashion :

– Haute couture and prêt-à-porter

– Accessories: handbags, shoes, glasses.

• Perfumes and cosmetics: makeup and skincare

• Jewelry and watches

There are also sports products and unclassifiable products

Logo 

The Chanel logo is an interlocking double C. It is simply derived from the nickname of Gabrielle – Coco. This sign become the logo after the first openings of Chanel stores. The combination of black and white is typical for the brand.

We already know that the atmosphere of the monastery where she grew up influenced the choice of Gabrielle for these two colors. Moreover, we can notice that these colors suit perfectly with the Chanel style that we know today. The black color expresses the elegance and purity that the brand evokes. We can say that the logo perfectly represent what Coco wanted to create: a simple and a purified fashion.

Chanel values

The brand is today an emblematic brand of fashion, which keeps a lot of values of the brand equity. The brand’s values never changed and this is on of the reason of its success. The values are still the same of the beliefs of Coco Chanel.

The Chanel employees have to keep in mind the philosophy and the values of Coco Chanel. This vision makes the employees change constantly with the times and the environment.

As President Richard Collasse of Chanel Japan said, “Chanel itself is the world’s top brand of absolute luxury.” The first-class market is and will always be the market in which Chanel strives to be the best.

Having said that even if Chanel is a luxury brand, this is not a brand which is elitist. Indeed, Chanel was a brand that underprivileged Coco Chanel developed out of nothing. Although it belongs to the category of luxury brands, unlike others such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton, Chanel did not emerge as a result of the needs of royals and aristocrats.

Today, the Corporate Foundation Chanel resonates with the values and history of the house. It aims to promote the independence and well-being of women by facilitating their access to education, vocational training, employment, business creation and social networks.

Identity prism

How they communicate the brand personality ?

From a global perspective, Chanel adopted the communication codes of a luxury brand. Chanel is trying to develop a more human brand image, in maintaining an elitist tone, forced symbol of luxury brands. The spirit of their adverts is minimalist and simple. One more time we can notice the exclusive image of simplicity, minimal suggesting the lettering.

To develop communication campaigns, Chanel counts on innovation and differentiation. For example, in 1956, No. 5 is the first perfume to appear in a television commercial in the United States.

Simple, elegant and stylish, Chanel embodies the freedom of women, some idea of the quality and French way-of-life.

Chanel’s ads also highlight the know-how “home-made » products, but also the innovative aspects in materials design. In advertisements, Chanel just reminds us the existence of the product, not necessarily in showing it.

Compared to its competitors, currently Chanel conveys an elegant picture, but slightly rebellious. Its new strategy is to revisit its codes with a touch of impertinence. Chanel wants to be where we do not expect it to be especially where other fashion brands, with high activity in the cosmetics industry, are not.

A change that can be summarized by Gaspard Ulliel in the commercial male fragrance “Bleu de Chanel”: “I’m not going to be the person I’m expected to be anymore”.

The key to this mystification of Chanel products: international muses and the greatest directors. These muses are staged on different communication media.

Regarding the video clips, they are real short films whose purpose is to seduce the consumer unconsciously creating in him the need or desire for a product. In another article, we’ll see how Chanel communicates on its main fragrance: Chanel No. 5. Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt, Chanel made perfume become a myth with its famous celebrities.

Regarding the ads in magazines, Chanel exclusively advertises in high quality fashion related media, magazines such as Elle and Vogue.

Chanel encourages fashion magazines to publicize about their products, whether it coulb trough a recent fashion show or a description about a new fragrance. In most fashion magazines such as Vogue, Chanel products are often featured on models.

Chanel make also advertising through internet via : other variations of tv advertisement or videos (chapter) on YouTube, Chanel.com, and the Chanel blog.

Chanel created also a dedicated website for the watch « Chanel Première », and also follow the trend of the « One Page Slide ».

Brand image : Dior vs Chanel

Identity card and moodboard of the companies 

The comparison

In opposing Dior and Chanel, two strong brands and two very distinct images of femininity can be identified. On one hand, Chanel perpetuates the mission that Mademoiselle was set: style for all women, whatever their age. Femininity based on a respect for women, a refinement without artifice, without exaggeration: the simplicity of a comfortable and functional fashion dressing the active woman. However, the Dior woman falls exclusively within the « trendiness ». Upon his arrival in 1996 in Dior, John Galliano reinvented the brand image by making it bolder. Dior woman is then more liberated, playful and laugh at appearances.

In this, graph we can analyse the strategic segments of Luxury brand. Positioning is according 2 criteria: positioning in luxury in different level and the positioning of the brand image: from the “classic and elegant” trend to the “sexy” trend.

Chanel little story

Dior little story

Dior past and present has captured the hearts and the fantasies of the fashion conscious since its foundation. Dior Empire has been built around one-man dream’s.

The fashion house Christian Dior has made himself known throughout the world and has contributed to the emergence of Paris as a global fashion capital. This brand fascinated with the glamorous image and elegance it conveys.

On the other hand, through the passion for the profession and aesthetics that emanates from its products, Christian Dior knows a worldwide success. His collaborations with many artists and filmmakers, authors noticed campaigns through exceptional staging and soliciting many muses world-renowned, Dior has become a staple in luxury home environment.

Indeed, the brand has had its share of celebrity. Princess Diana carried the ‘lady Dior’ handbag on her wrist in ’95, giving it iconic status. Eva Green, Monica Belluci and Sharon Stone are some of the more recent brand ambassadors.

the lady Dior bag: 

We will now go through Dior history. We will expose the fashion Dior fashion revolution.

Some figures

1947

In 1947 Christian Dior open his fashion house at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris at the age of 30. Christian Dior known that this little town house will be home to his couture label. At this time he was financially support by Marcel Boussac , a businessman.

The new look:

In the same year he launched his first fashion collection, the revolutionary, full-skirted « New Look ». It was an international success. The silhouette was characterised by a small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length, which emphasized the bust and hips, as epitomized by the ‘Bar’ suit. He declared, “I wanted my dress to be “constructed” moulded on the curves of female body whose contours they would stylise. I accentuate the waist, the volume of the hips, I emphasised the bust”.   Christian Dior wanted to give back to women their taste of light heartedness, the art of seduction. It was a fashion revolution.

The New Look became extremely popular, its full-skirted silhouette influencing other fashion designers well into the 1950s, and Dior gained a number of prominent clients from Hollywood, the United States, and the European aristocracy.

The New Look was welcomed in Western Europe as a refreshing antidote to the austerity of wartime and de-feminizing uniforms, and was embraced by stylish women such as Princess Margaret in the UK.

The brand has had its share of celebrity. Princess Diana carried the ‘lady Dior’ handbag on her wrist in ’95, giving it iconic status. Eva Green, Monica Belluci and Sharon Stone are some of the more recent brand ambassadors.

Creation of the first perfume: Miss Dior Cherie. Dior revolutionized the perfumery industry with the launch of the highly popular

Miss Dior perfume, which was named after Catherine Dior (his sister).

The brand growth:

In 1948, Dior launched a ready-to-wear store on the Fifth Avenue in New- York city. He was the first couturier to arrange licensed product of his work (hats, gloves, ties…) thinking that a complete look with accessories is important. By the end of the year, Dior fashions made up 75% of Paris’s fashion exports and 5% of France’s total export revenue.

1957

Christian Dior appears on the cover of « Time » magazine, with his famous left-handed scissors. The designer soon afterwards died from a third heart attack. The captivating impact of Dior’s creative fashion genius earned him recognition as one of history’s greatest fashion figures.

From 1957 a number of talented couturiers was directed the Dior fashion house such as Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, John Galliano, Hedi Slimane or since 2012 Raf Simons. They all such as Christian Dior dedicated their creative talent to the Dior house, and its fashion revolution.

For instance, Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection the pyramid-shaped « Trapeze » line, was highly applauded at that time. The clothes were as meticulously made and perfectly proportioned as Dior’s in the same exquisite fabrics, but the young designer made them softer, lighter and easier to wear.

Saint Laurent was hailed as a national hero. Emboldened by his success, his designs became more daring, culminating in the 1960 Beat Look inspired by the existentialists in the Saint-Germain des Près cafés and jazz clubs. His 1960 bohemian look was harshly criticized, and even more in Women’s Wear Daily.

In 1968, Dior Perfumes was sold to Moët-Hennessy (which would itself become LVMH). With the LVMH group, one of the luxury brands group worldwide leader.

Through the years, Dior launched some fragrances such as Eau Sauvage (1966), J’Adore (1999), Fahrenheit (1988), Dior Addict (2002) and Dior Homme (2005).

Superstition at the heart of Dior:

Christian Dior was a very superstitious man, always looking for sing and consulting fortune-tellers. Fortune tellers were to accompany him throughout his life, allows him to ease him heavy heart, continue to hope and live or simply making decisive career choices. He believed in his lucky star. In his memories he wrote “Chance always come to the aid of those who really want something”.

Written by Sophia Capo

 Literature:

http://www.dior.com/couture/en_gb/the-house-of-dior/from-1947-to-2014

http://www.dior.com/beauty/fr_fr/minisite/th/jadore.html#page/home/gold

Why Dior & Chanel?

Through this article we will explain why this blog is about the Chanel fragrance industry and the Dior one. Why did we select those two companies to analyse their brand strategy?

When you compare some luxury brands, the established practices are to take a French brand versus an American one. However, we choose to focus on the two French one. Our purpose is to expose how those “Luxury Maison” have taken advantage of their “Savoir faire” through history and how they have marketed it? How they run the brand in order to make consumers feel special, unique, a part of the experience. Choosing two French fashion house was for us an opportunity to understand how can we sell the “Luxe à la française”?

Found in 1909 by its historical founder: Gabriel Chanel, the group includes the Chanel fashion house, Chanel’s perfume and jellewers’ craft. Chanel N°5, one of the most famous perfume of the brand, was created by Ernest Beaux in 1921; Gabriel Chanel was willing to design a perfume ‘which smells like a woman’.

Such as Dior was founded in 1947 by Christian Dior. The brand belongs to the LVMH group portfolio. One of the brand perfumes is J’Adore de Dior, designed in 1999 by Candice Baker. Christian Dior had a single directive: perfume should contain floral notes.

The Battlefield:

Another reason that have justify our choice is Chanel N°5 and J’Adore fragrance battle. Indeed, in 2013 as we can see on the table bellow J’Adore overtook Chanel N°5 to become the best-selling women’s fragrance in China, showcasing the strength of Western influences and branding on Chinese consumers’ purchasing decisions.

These two giants are rivals on the women’s premium fragrances worldwide market. J’Adore ranked first in four countries: Belgium, France, Russia, and China. However Chanel N°5 has a higher ranking in the rest of the top. J’Adore has performed considerably better than Chanel in emerging premium fragrance markets.

Nevertheless, Chanel N°5’s main advantage is its strength in developed markets, especially the US, Germany and the UK, where J’Adore is significantly behind in the rankings. The Chanel brand enjoys much greater awareness and popularity in these markets.

Dior brand have been seeking to boost its brand awareness and exposure in the UK market with for instance, a Christian Dior exhibition in Harrods, the opening of a beauty shop in Covent Garden next to its main rival and the revamping of its flagship Bond Street store.

In the US, recent promotional activities for the Christian Dior brand includes the addition of dedicated space for the new La Collection Privée Christian Dior in Saks Fifth Avenue, has helped to promote the brand’s values. However, more initiatives need to be done to raise brand awareness in the US.

Chanel’s dedicated US beauty website and activities throughout the year have enabled Chanel to maintain stronger awareness and a stronger brand image than Christian Dior.

J’Adore also faces in-house competition (LVMH group) from Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire and the re-launch of Shalimar, which is generating strong revenues in Russia. While Christian Dior is trying to boost both brand exposure and awareness across the globe, so is its main rival. In a following article we will describe these two perfumes features.

Written by Sophia Capo

Literature:

http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/agroalimentaire-biens-de-consommation-luxe/20111107trib000662421/le-match-dior-contre-chanel-enflamme-le-marche-du-parfum.html

http://www.dior.com/couture/en_gb/the-house-of-dior/from-1947-to-2014

http://www.dior.com/beauty/fr_fr/minisite/th/jadore.html#page/home/gold

Distribution points

When talking about « beauty » at Sephora, it clearly isn’t skin deep. As a department Europe’s leading suppliers of luxury Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) this retailer has carved a deep niche in the global beauty market has become a major presence across 24 countries and hundreds of retail center on the internet. In the United States and Canada, Sephora has grown to over 280 stores a little more than a decade. Its unique open-store sales environment, staffed by a group of beauty experts, to provide customers – who the company says its « customer » -direct access a wide range of products, including skin care, color, fragrance, bath and body.

Sephora is a world-renowned chain of cosmetics stores, taking chain business model. Sephora cosmetics sales broke the previous model and is similar to supermarket open-shelf model so that the audience is freely to choose the products they need. There are trained BA who can solve you personally answer questions and give you recommendation.

For product display, Sephora is very strict, the headquarters will be the expert group specifically designed programs for all products on display, each shop must be in strict accordance with the company issued the document. Throughout the implementation process by the manager responsible for the supervision, which is the mysterious visitor and internal audit discipline Inspections. Besides promotions, Sephora all topicsare unified planning of promotional activities by the headquarters, which will give the store a unified promotional transfer rules, and posters and decorative renderings. After receipt of the shop must be at a specified time within the adjustment completed. Under this guidance, the theme will replace the star counter quarterly main product. Promotions this world of high-end cosmetics retail giants are not the same, he is currently only doing basic activities for members, each member of the so-called special activities are only members exclusive benefits and discounts.

Today, online shopping has become a fashion trend, it established the official website of Sephora shopping channels. To a certain extent, the brand influence has deeply increased through the network of media, compared with the price of store, the official website will hold some discount activities, will also introduce full capacity free shipping activities. Disguised draw the consumer awareness. Categorized official website of the product is very clear and intuitive and features product reviews. The audience have a good experience and understanding, but also ad hoc special edition of the quarterly beauty including a variety of information.

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http://www.sephora.com/about-us

Written by Jiawei Xu