Picking up the scent
Olivier Plagnol, Guerlain’s newly appointed travel retail worldwide director, tells Deborah Sidey about the challenges he faces in his first international role
It promises to be an exciting year for French fragrance house Guerlain. 2008 marks the 180th anniversary of the LVMH-owned brand, and there is much to celebrate, not least the arrival of a new worldwide director for the travel-retail team.
The appointment of Olivier Plagnol on December 17 last year represented a significant coup for LVMH, and filled a position that had been vacant for almost a year. For Plagnol, formerly L’Oréal Luxury Product Division’s regional travel-retail director, it is an opportunity to direct operations at an international level, having spent the last seven years in Asia.
Talking to Frontier in late January, he explained the reasons behind his career move. “The main attraction was the brand itself and its exceptionally rich heritage,” he says. “Secondly, I was impressed by the evolution of the brand over the past five years and its clear market strategy. Thanks to great product innovation and a perfect management of its image there has been solid growth, and I feel that there is a very clear vision of how the brand should grow in the future.”
“Finally,” he adds, “my choice was motivated by the international dimension of the position. Having worked in Asia for the last seven years, I am really looking forward to working with distribution teams in Europe and the Americas.”
Plagnol's progress
Plagnol began his travel-retail career in 2000 as an area manager for Lancôme, first in Greater China and then in North Asia. Staying with L’Oréal’s Luxury Product Division he then took on the role of regional TR director in 2004, specifically developing the beauty brands Biotherm, Shu Uemura and Kiehl’s. “My time in Asia was great, both personally and professionally,” he comments. “It’s a region that is extremely dynamic and offers new opportunities to develop a brand, and my experience there will be very useful in my new role at Guerlain.”
Undoubtedly, the regional teams at Guerlain will be delighted to have someone with Plagnol’s experience step into the director’s role. Travel-retail is becoming increasingly important to the brand, both as a revenue source and as a platform from which to project its luxury image, and Plagnol has much to consider as he maps out Guerlain’s further development in the channel.
Eau de Shalimar (left) is a fresher and lighter interpretation of the original scent, with more emphasis on the citrus notes of the original and a softer vanilla focus
“My first challenge,” he tells Frontier, “is to identify quickly the key priorities for each of the regions. The market structure differs so greatly from one area to the next and we need to adapt our development strategy with these differences in mind.
“However,” he adds, “our main objectives will remain the same: to build our image as one of the most luxurious beauty brands in the channel and to grow faster than the market itself.”
He admits that while Guerlain’s fragrance portfolio has delivered a strong performance in Europe and the US in recent years – boosted significantly by the launches of L’Instant de Guerlain and Insolence – there is still room for improvement in Asia, where the brand’s perfume business carries less weight than one would expect in the current marketplace.
New fragrance launches, therefore, will have a key role to play in any regional development plan. Perhaps the most significant of these is My Insolence, a follow up to the hugely successful Insolence, which launched in 2006 and is now Guerlain’s main fragrance franchise in travel-retail. A softer and more delicate scent than its predecessor, My Insolence is aimed at a younger consumer, and following a launch last September in both local and travel-retail markets in the US, UK and Australia, and in the travel-retail channel in Asia, it will roll-out worldwide this month. “This new fragrance is much fresher and much more introverted than Insolence,” explains Plagnol. “And with it, we want to capitalise on the success of Insolence, while recruiting new and younger customers to our brand, especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries.”
Eau de Shalimar
Next month, the brand’s attention will turn to one of the historic pillars of its perfume portfolio, when it launches a new version of the classic female fragrance, Shalimar. Eau de Shalimar is a fresher and lighter interpretation of the oriental scent, with more emphasis on the citrus notes of the original and a softer vanilla focus. And while the flacon retains the sensuous curves of the original, it has been updated with the use of transparent glass and a dark blue label, an image which is replicated on the crisp white outer packaging.
“This launch has a double aim,” Plagnol explains. “First of all, it will answer the requests of Shalimar addicts, who want a fresher version of their favourite scent for summertime, and secondly, it should bring a more modern feel to this timeless fragrance.” Eau de Shalimar will roll-out on a worldwide basis from April 1, although its key target markets will be France, the US, Canada and the Middle East, he reveals.
Meanwhile, Guerlain will be tempting Asian consumers with Cherry Blossom Delight, the latest limited edition extension to its successful Cherry Blossom fragrance collection. Featuring notes of green tea, bergamot and cherry, the new scent is fresh and, quite literally, sparkling, with tiny reflective particles of pink and silver in the fragrance itself. However, Plagnol reveals that this will be the last time the franchise will be supported by a limited edition offer. “We’ve had a lot of success with Cherry Blossom since it first launched in 2004, but it’s time to focus on our international fragrances now,” he tells Frontier.
There is little doubt that Plagnol has joined Guerlain at an exciting time for the company. Riding high on the success of recent launches, and five years of solid growth, the brand is entering its 181st year in a healthy position, both domestically and in travel-retail. Now the pressure is on Plagnol and his team to continue this positive performance. With a strong 2008 marketing plan, an innovative product offer and a luxury focus in everything from merchandising to customer service, he is confident that there will be plenty more to celebrate in the brand’s anniversary year.
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