Things are not going well at YSL-parfums

[eric]

according to cosmetic news. Hope it this wil change soon. YSL is one of my favorite houses.


YSL Beauté to sell French site and axe 163 jobs


PPR-owned YSL Beauté yesterday announced significant restructuring measures it is taking to remain competitive in the current sluggish market. The division has received an offer from an undisclosed industry player for its Bernay, France production site. YSL Beauté employs 338 people in Bernay, 224 of whom will be retained by the acquiring company, 69 will be redirected to YSL Beauté's other French production site in Lassigny and 45 positions will be terminated. In addition, 118 other jobs will be cut in Neuilly-sur-Seine headquarters outside Paris.

“It is a difficult yet necessary decision in order to assure the future of our company and provide us with the means to reinforce our reactivity so as we can rival the market’s biggest players,” YSL Beauté president Chantal Roos said in a statement.

YSL Beauté's recent relative weakness has sparked several rumors that it would be sold off by PPR.

[Indie_Guy]

This sucks!

Start stocking up on Kouros now!!!

[OlfaOmega]

Kuros, and you-know-what else!

[OlfaOmega]

By the way, what's the status of you-know-what Fresh coming to the states?

[foetidus]

My favorite designer house--that means a lot of stocking up.

[dcampen]

Darn, I was really looking forward to the rumored US re-release of M7 Fresh.

[PigeonMurderer]

My favorite designer house--that means a lot of stocking up.

My fav designer house too, and I find this all very suprising. To me YSL has a large amount of charisma, and most importantly, lots of scents with great charachter.
It`s so sad that, let`s say Emporio Armani for instance, is doing so well at the same time. :-/

But then it`s always a pleasure to belong to minority. ;D

[Johnny_Ludlow]

Really encouraging for other designer houses to create innovative and different fragrances after this one. :'(

This is what you get when you overestimate the public. Bloody hell!

[narcus]

If price collusion gets more risky: MERGE and blame the 'market' for it!
I bet this is just another step to reduce competition.
Kouros will survive - just cost you a little more...

[zztopp]

Wasnt Guerlain facing similar restructuring problems last year?

Creed seems to be the only longtime french fragrance powerhouse left unaffected by any such issues...but then I guess Creed will run into problems when the the transfer of the company from Olivier Creed to his son Erwin Creed (who I think isnt half as talented as his dad) takes place...

[Rashkae]

Nooooooooooooooooo....


i love pretty much every YSL frag!!!

[BabyJoe]

They have too big profit margins. Even if they become mismanaged, with such high prices all goes well.

Wasnt Guerlain facing similar restructuring problems last year?

Creed seems to be the only longtime french fragrance powerhouse left unaffected by any such issues...but then I guess Creed will run into problems when the the transfer of the company from Olivier Creed to his son Erwin Creed (who I think isnt half as talented as his dad) takes place...

[Prince Barry]

It comes as very surprising news considering that YSL are launching a new men's fragrance this year.

[MikeFromManhattan]

This gets me worrie dabout one of my favorite fragrances - Opium Pour Homme.

[The Bark]

This is just my opinion, but when I think of YSL anything, I think of something akin to Oleg Cassini--may have been wonderful in its prime, but it just seems like something that I look see and think: not for me. Then I look over and see a 60 year old still clinging honorably to those things that were great in his heyday, and I think: for him. THAT'S the image I get when I hear YSL. Not trendy, modern, hip, youthful, etc., and not classic enough to be timeless. In short, I think of people stuck in the 70's. I have no idea why I have that sort of a connotation, but for whatever reason, it's stuck in my head as such.

[MFfan310]

Although many here would start a petition to bring it back, I'll be cheering for joy once Kouros is discontinued.

The world will be a better place without it. ;D

[ikkitosennomusha]

I want to see the house succeed! I think Jazz and Rive Gauche are classics, more so than some that you see in macys. Long live Jazz!

[ChrisW]

Are there any department stores that have testers of Rive Gauche? It's not listed on Nordstrom, Neimans, or Sephora websites.

[SmellsLike]

Are there any department stores that have testers of Rive Gauche? *It's not listed on Nordstrom, Neimans, or Sephora websites.

The Sephora and Perfumania near me both have testers of Rive Gauche PH.

--Steve

[Shycat]

I have done my bit to keep them solvent ! My Paris Eau de Printemps 2006 Roses des Vergers is on it's way.

[OlfaOmega]

So, will M7 fresh be released in the US?

[robyogi]

I guess this goes hand-in-hand with seeing Rive Gauche, Opium PH and M7 at TJ Maxx...as much as many of us here like this house, it seems they don't have enough offerings that match the tastes of the average consumer. For better or for worse, that is what keeps any company in business.

[ikkitosennomusha]

I am still afflicted with the decision of which to order first, jazz or rive gauche. I have an old bottle of jazz from 1993 at my mom's house, half the bottle i black and the other half is whilte. It is a splash bottle. Last time I checked, it smelled fabulous! Does anyone know if the formular still smells the same as it did in the early 90's or has it changed? I will probably wind up having both at some point in time!

[Ged]

Strange,

Here in Australia, Jazz, Live Jazz and Body Kouros are all heavily discounted to ~$40 (US $28) in chemists / drugstores for 100mL.

Rive Gauche, M7 and M7 Fresh are all widely available at department stores, but not on discount. Waiting for the day these latter 3 get "discontinued" and cleared out at discount prices - I'll be stocking up.

Ged

[mrliberfarb]

Do we know for certain they will stop all production of these fragrances? maybe they just won't make as many new ones.

please don't take away m7! :'(

[eric]

There was no mentioning about discontinuing or stop production of fragrances or whatever. I guess that has nothing to do with it. They just sold one of their production plants to some buyer for restructuring measures, that's all. Other companies also do that all the time. It's business after all.

[Indie_Guy]

I'm no expert in marketing, but it seems like something simple that could have prevented this...ANY freaking marketing at all!

I think in many ways Yves Saint Laurent has so much going for it. It's not tacky like Louis Vuitton or at times Gucci. The YSL house has always managed to be a bit different, more sexy in an under the radar kind of way. LV and Gucci make nice trinkets for boring rich bitches...YSL seems to provide fitting acoutrements for those who have money, yes, but also more eccentric leanings, maybe a more intellectual style, and a quiet confidence. The fragrances really capture this house aesthetic.

It has always galled me that there have been practically no ad campaigns to speak of and perhaps my biggest gripe... NO TRAINING TO SALES STAFF!!! YSL products always end up rotting on that tiny shelf by the cash register, and the SA's know nothing about them at all. I've had horrible experiences looking for YSL products. The SA's act like I'm hallucinating. With the kind of scents that YSL puts out, you can't expect them to sell themselves; you've got to push them a little. Cartier does a good job of this. Initially I hated all their scents and had no interest, but their reps were so helpful and generous with samples that I kept coming back. (Claiborne is an example of efficacious marketing and promotion, but IMO poor product. Maybe YSL can kidnap all Claiborne reps, give them a good Scientology-style brainwashing, replace their testers of Curve Electric Boogaloo [or whatever the latest crummy edition of Curve is] with M7 Fresh and Rive Gauche, and set them upon the masses... Problem solved, crisis averted.)

[tariq]

They just sold one of their production plants to some buyer for restructuring measures, that's all. *.

so where will they manufacture thier products, if they've closed thier factory??? :-?

[eric]

[quote author=eric link=1144443905/15#25 date=1144657333]They just sold one of their production plants to some buyer for restructuring measures, that's all. .

so where will they manufacture thier products, if they've closed thier factory??? :-?[/quote]

This is only about selling their Bernay, production site. I suppose they have more production sites all over France.

[robyogi]

I'm no expert in marketing, but it seems like something simple that could have prevented this...ANY freaking marketing at all!

I think in many ways Yves Saint Laurent has so much going for it. It's not tacky like Louis Vuitton or at times Gucci. The YSL house has always managed to be a bit different, more sexy in an under the radar kind of way. LV and Gucci make nice trinkets for boring rich bitches...YSL seems to provide fitting acoutrements for those who have money, yes, but also more eccentric leanings, maybe a more intellectual style, and a quiet confidence. The fragrances really capture this house aesthetic.

It has always galled me that there have been practically no ad campaigns to speak of and perhaps my biggest gripe... NO TRAINING TO SALES STAFF!!! YSL products always end up rotting on that tiny shelf by the cash register, and the SA's know nothing about them at all. I've had horrible experiences looking for YSL products. The SA's act like I'm hallucinating. With the kind of scents that YSL puts out, you can't expect them to sell themselves; you've got to push them a little. Cartier does a good job of this. Initially I hated all their scents and had no interest, but their reps were so helpful and generous with samples that I kept coming back. (Claiborne is an example of efficacious marketing and promotion, but IMO poor product. Maybe YSL can kidnap all Claiborne reps, give them a good Scientology-style brainwashing, replace their testers of Curve Electric Boogaloo [or whatever the latest crummy edition of Curve is] with M7 Fresh and Rive Gauche, and set them upon the masses... Problem solved, crisis averted.)

You're dead on, IMO. YSL has no marketing that I've ever seen, at least in the US. And they seem to have great potential for multiple positionings based on the fact that in the US, almost no one knows who they are. They could be almost anything they want to be if they would put some effort into it. Since they're owned by Gucci, it makes me wonder what their future is. Wonder if Gucci will try to position them a little better in the future?