First, Annick Goutal fragrances show up at a few Dillard's stores.
Now, Miller Harris is showing up at Sephora's US stores and online (on their website, you have to look under the women's scents)... which is probably only the first of many niche brands to show up at "the beauty authority". (Previously, Miller Harris was limited to Saks and Neiman Marcus.) Given Sephora America's recent attitude about introducing new, different brands to skincare and cosmetics with their 220 (and growing) stores, they probably think that now is the right time to apply the same tried-and-true model to fragrance.
I've also slowly noticing that the fragrance selection at Bloomingdale's (owned by Macy's Inc.) is rapidly getting more upscale... could this mean that the core Macy's chain is getting ready to offer more upscale fragrances in selected stores as part of the "My Macy's" localization strategy that CEO Terry Lundgren is pushing?
Meanwhile, realizing that the category-killers like Sephora and the midlevel retailers like Macy's and Dillard's are probably going to enter the niche fragrance arena at full-speed, the high-end department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus are testing the waters with even more upscale scents. Case in point: Saks is getting the national department store exclusive on By Kilian fragrances, and Neiman's is locking up some exclusives of their own.
Could it be? Is America getting fed up with designer fragrances and celebuscents up the wazoo, and retailers are looking for fresh ways to stimulate stagnant growth through niche fragrances? I wonder if this is the case...
Now, Miller Harris is showing up at Sephora's US stores and online (on their website, you have to look under the women's scents)... which is probably only the first of many niche brands to show up at "the beauty authority". (Previously, Miller Harris was limited to Saks and Neiman Marcus.) Given Sephora America's recent attitude about introducing new, different brands to skincare and cosmetics with their 220 (and growing) stores, they probably think that now is the right time to apply the same tried-and-true model to fragrance.
I've also slowly noticing that the fragrance selection at Bloomingdale's (owned by Macy's Inc.) is rapidly getting more upscale... could this mean that the core Macy's chain is getting ready to offer more upscale fragrances in selected stores as part of the "My Macy's" localization strategy that CEO Terry Lundgren is pushing?
Meanwhile, realizing that the category-killers like Sephora and the midlevel retailers like Macy's and Dillard's are probably going to enter the niche fragrance arena at full-speed, the high-end department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus are testing the waters with even more upscale scents. Case in point: Saks is getting the national department store exclusive on By Kilian fragrances, and Neiman's is locking up some exclusives of their own.
Could it be? Is America getting fed up with designer fragrances and celebuscents up the wazoo, and retailers are looking for fresh ways to stimulate stagnant growth through niche fragrances? I wonder if this is the case...
