WEBVTT - Fragrance Queen on the Invisible Accessory

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<v Speaker 1>These sees Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim

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<v Speaker 1>Stenavic on Bloomberg Radio. Okay, Katie, I'm really excited. We've

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<v Speaker 1>been talking about this all day. Right now we've got

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<v Speaker 1>in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio with us the fragrance Queen.

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<v Speaker 1>She is Linda Leavy, president of the Fragrance Foundation, here

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<v Speaker 1>to talk to us about the state of the fragrance

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<v Speaker 1>industry this holiday season. Linda, you blew my mind with

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<v Speaker 1>something that you mentioned earlier, and Katie was on top

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<v Speaker 1>of this. To the fragrance industry does not just mean perfumes.

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's bigger and broader than that, isn't it? Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it is, and Scarlett and Katie is a thrill to

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<v Speaker 1>be back. Um, I want to tell you all about fragrance.

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<v Speaker 1>Fragrance comes in a lot of forms, and particularly during

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, the business has been soaring. So think about this.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, there is that term perfume, and that's a

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<v Speaker 1>personal fragrance or a cologne that you spray on yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>But also think about all the sanitizing and cleaning and

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<v Speaker 1>how many lotions you've put on. Those have fragrant too.

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<v Speaker 1>We consider those fragrance and in addition, two major categories

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<v Speaker 1>that have sword and will continue. One of them you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to nod with me, are all about home fragrances, candles, diffusers,

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<v Speaker 1>plug ins. People who were home has spent so much

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<v Speaker 1>time there really want wanted to enhance their environment and

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<v Speaker 1>distinguish one room from for another. Every night, my husband

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<v Speaker 1>Steve and I, he picks a bottle of wine and

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<v Speaker 1>I picked the candle to go with the meal. So

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of fragrance out there in your environment

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<v Speaker 1>as well. Just sent you pair with like an oaky

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<v Speaker 1>chardonnay or what's your wine and choice question? Well, many

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<v Speaker 1>evenings I must admit penot noir, the red one is

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<v Speaker 1>part of our life and that brings you a little depth.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's always a little fruity and floral fragrances are

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<v Speaker 1>big um. Also this time of year, there are a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of holiday fragrances. You probably know Diptique, Joe Malone,

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<v Speaker 1>Boy Smells Nest, and so many others have come out

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<v Speaker 1>with fragrances that either remind you of some nostalgic holiday

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<v Speaker 1>with fur and balsam and all that stuff, or d

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<v Speaker 1>S and Durga in New York based he created um

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<v Speaker 1>a latka for Hanukkah a latka taste. So it's yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>the candle smells like probably fried potatoes and oil and pepper.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm beyond fragrance a big category in the industry

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<v Speaker 1>and loved by consumers. This is blowing my mind. It is,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's blowing my mind because again, I until I

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<v Speaker 1>had this revelation during the commercial break that fragrance doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>just mean perfume. That why would it, you know, see

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<v Speaker 1>an increase during the pandemic. We weren't leaving our houses,

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<v Speaker 1>no one was smelling us except people theoretically who we

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<v Speaker 1>loved us with. But uh, it kind of sounds like

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<v Speaker 1>it coincides with the self care trends when you think

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<v Speaker 1>about lotions and candles. Yes, it's very interesting. Even prior

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<v Speaker 1>to the pandemic, where we weren't getting dressed up and

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<v Speaker 1>going out so much, um, we started to reference fragrance

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<v Speaker 1>and even more so now as the invisible accessory. So

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<v Speaker 1>while everyone probably was getting much more casual, they really

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to feel a little more dressed up or when

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<v Speaker 1>they went out and put the mask on, they wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to have a little identity. We really believe and we've

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<v Speaker 1>proven that fragrance as one of the senses was elevated

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<v Speaker 1>because during COVID some people lost their sense of you know, smell,

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<v Speaker 1>And the other thing is they wanted it for transportive reasons.

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<v Speaker 1>So think about this scarlet and Katie, where did you

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<v Speaker 1>go on vacation and what did you smell or what

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<v Speaker 1>did you wear? Where you want We're on vacation, so

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<v Speaker 1>while you were home during the pandemic, you wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>sprits that on and sort of flashback to that Caribbean

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<v Speaker 1>island or the coast of a Malfi or somewhere else

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<v Speaker 1>where there was a distinctive scent. You know. I'm so

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<v Speaker 1>glad you bring this up because I was in Vegas

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<v Speaker 1>last month and what I noticed in walking through the

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<v Speaker 1>different hotels was that every hotel had its own scent,

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<v Speaker 1>But hotels that were owned by MGM Grand, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>had a similar family of scent versus those that were

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<v Speaker 1>owned by Caesar's. And it's it's very distinct, so that

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<v Speaker 1>as you go through the different hotels, sometimes you have

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<v Speaker 1>no idea whether you're in still in Caesar's or you've

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<v Speaker 1>moved on to the bellagio um and maybe my geography

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<v Speaker 1>is wrong. So if it's wrong, but the scent would

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<v Speaker 1>help you distinguish one venue from another, that is exactly

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<v Speaker 1>right on. Another type of fragrance is on beyond scent.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what we call it. So hotels or stores really

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<v Speaker 1>want to create an environment or give you what you

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<v Speaker 1>really smelled in those um different hotels was what was

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<v Speaker 1>their personality coming through? And it gives you a sense

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<v Speaker 1>of home. It gives you a sense of what the

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<v Speaker 1>environments like. So in your fragrance list collection, you talked

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about home. The other one we talk a

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<v Speaker 1>lot about in the biz is on beyond scent, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's becoming more and more popular, and of course we're

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<v Speaker 1>having this conversation on December twenty we are firmly in

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<v Speaker 1>the heart of holiday season. Talk about how important that

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<v Speaker 1>is for the industry as a whole, even as you're

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<v Speaker 1>seeing other types of fragrances become more popular. When you

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<v Speaker 1>think about the home, but when it comes to the

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<v Speaker 1>gift giving season, is that still incredibly crucial, incredibly big.

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<v Speaker 1>The pre pandemic, I would say the consumers were buying online,

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<v Speaker 1>going in stores, but I was a retailer at Macy's

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<v Speaker 1>before this job, and the last ten days it used

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<v Speaker 1>to be five days, three days. The countdown to Christmas

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<v Speaker 1>was huge. Most of the time, it is a go

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<v Speaker 1>to gift. It continues as we speak. Last year or

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<v Speaker 1>the year before, during the pandemic, a lot more was

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<v Speaker 1>brought online. Think about it, you bought something for someone

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<v Speaker 1>and you shipped it to them because you weren't going

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<v Speaker 1>to see it or see those people in Christmas. Now

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<v Speaker 1>we really think that there is going to be a

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<v Speaker 1>stampede into the stores the last few days, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>always giftable, wrapped up in a beautiful box and easy

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<v Speaker 1>to get someone something new. Do perfumes or fragrances ever expired?

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<v Speaker 1>Can they go back? A good question. I hear that

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<v Speaker 1>question quite a bit. If you do not open the

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<v Speaker 1>actual bottle or you don't start spraying, it would last longer.

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<v Speaker 1>But as long as you keep your fragrances away from

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<v Speaker 1>extreme heat or sunlight. Quite frankly, they can last for years.

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<v Speaker 1>They could go on for five years, but I wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>say they expire. It also depends how much of the

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<v Speaker 1>natural versus synthetic is in there, and I'm always telling

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<v Speaker 1>everyone one is not better than the other. But generally speaking,

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<v Speaker 1>unless you have it right on top of your heat

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<v Speaker 1>or it's gonna last pretty long. Okay, So I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>go home. I'm going to take the bottle of Mademoiselle

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<v Speaker 1>off the heater. We only have about forty seconds or

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<v Speaker 1>so left with you. Such a good conversation. But when

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<v Speaker 1>you look into what do you think the biggest trend

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<v Speaker 1>will be in fragrances? I do believe the home category

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<v Speaker 1>will continue, and as Scarlet you were mentioning on beyond.

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<v Speaker 1>But what I'm very proud of and what's changed in

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<v Speaker 1>the industry and with consumers, it's not just about sexual attraction.

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<v Speaker 1>It's how you feel about yourself. It's self care. And

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing that fragrance is really becoming a collection, not

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<v Speaker 1>just a signature fragrance, not just a signature fragrance. This

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<v Speaker 1>is such a great conversation. But Scarlett, you don't wear

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<v Speaker 1>perfume necessarily. I don't, but I get my hair done

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<v Speaker 1>at work and they use an a rebig dry shampoo,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I've come to identify that as my sent Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>in a sense, then you and I were the same

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<v Speaker 1>persose everything walk around. Yeah, we have the same fragrance.

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<v Speaker 1>What a great conversation that is. Linda Levy, she is

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<v Speaker 1>the president of the Fragrance Foundation known as the Fragrance Queen,

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<v Speaker 1>joining us in the Bloomberg Interactive Burker Studio in New York.