Traditional mass fragrance houses have turned off the spigot on launches. Celebrity scents, which filtered down to mass, have also dried up. Consequently, category sales have declined over the past decade across the mass market. While Wal-Mart has fared better than many of its competitors, the new Hard Candy fragrance is expected to broaden Wal-Mart’s reach. “There really hasn’t been new launches to bring people back to the market,” said Bryan Feldman, vice president at Hard Candy Fragrances. “We’ve done such a good job with the cosmetic customer, we thought it made sense to come into the market with a good product at a certain price.”
To that end, Hard Candy is rolling out a Pink and a Black version of its first signature collection, which is available in a 1.7-oz. fragrance and an 8-oz. body mist. The range is priced at $12.97 for the eau de parfum and $6.99 for the body mist. There will also be a set for holiday incorporating the fragrance, the mist and a Hard Candy lipstick, retailing for $20. The fruity floral scents are targeted at younger customers, especially those already buying the trendy cosmetics line. The Pink version includes notes of California Tangerine, Pink Peony and Vanilla Sugar. The Black is highlighted by Lush Kiwi, Sugared Iris and Warm Amber. The company plans to bring out the heavy artillery with in-store support to launch the scents including end of aisle displays.
“We’re big believers in putting effort into the point of sale,” Feldman said. Hard Candy will be sold in more than 3,000 of Wal-Mart doors. There are plans to expand into Mexico and the U.K. To keep the momentum flowing, flanker fragrances are in the pipeline. “However, we want to do something different, like we did by adding the lipstick to the gift set,” Feldman said. The Hard Candy brand was founded in 1995 and had a series of owners before it was purchased in 2003 by the Falic Brothers. Nu-World licenses the name for the cosmetics line sold exclusively in Wal-Mart. The previous Hard Candy brand added a fragrance that is still sold on web sites.