will ‘Chibu’ survive the volatile market?

Dar es Salaam. Last weekend, singer Diamond Platnumz made history by becoming the first East African artiste to release a perfume, which he has named ‘Chibu’.

This was another first from the WCB chief executive who, judging by the price tag, is targeting the middle-income earner. His peers have showered him with praise for his efforts.

News of Diamond’s fragrance reverberated across the continent as it coincided with Rihanna’s launch of her own fragrance ‘Kiss’.

He even got a rare post from deputy minister of health, Dr Kigwangalla, who admitted on Instagram that he had never been an ardent fan, but was convinced the ‘Number One’ singer had taken a step in the right direction.

“This young man is not only a good entertainer, but also a talented entrepreneur and businessman. He does business in music; he does the business of entertainment. This is incredible. Keep stepping up your game son; that’s the way to do it!”

Speaking to journalists at the launch, the singer said it took him two years to develop the fragrance. And reports claim that he was directly involved at every stage, from concept creation to choice of ingredients and design. He is also the one said to have picked the name.

“We had to fine tune, and there were several back-and-forth movements during the creation period. We just had to get it right,” he said at a news conference.

The fragrance that bears a masculine whiff was the subject of debate among his legion of online followers, who emotionally talked about the musician’s latest effort to establish himself as the point of reference in the industry.

And to his loyal fan base across East Africa, the fragrance launch was a welcome development. They also took turns to congratulate him.

However, there were some who thought there was nothing much to write home about. The decision by Diamond to release a perfume line, though a first here, isn’t new at all.

In recent years, celebrities across the globe have been signing contracts with perfume houses as a strategic self-promotion campaign. The selling point for companies is their association with the celebrity’s name, and its alluring effect among fans.

Back home, the question that was immediately raised after the much-hyped launch at the weekend was whether or not Diamond has that magical star power and influence to keep ‘Chibu’ on the shelves, long enough to attract corporate investment.

Tanzanian celebrity brands

In January 2016, Tanzanian super model Flavianna Matata launched ‘Lavy’, a nail polish line, becoming the first celebrity in her line of trade to launch a personalised polish.

“It has been a two-year journey for me to make it a success. Of course, I could not have made it on my own, so I decided to reach out to my few friends who are experienced in processing these kinds of products,” she said back then.

But it wasn’t an easy road for her.

“I had a difficult time trying to come up with a colour that’s kind of unique and bright, and also the people that I had hoped would help me weren’t really accommodating, so I have a few friends.”

While Flavianna’s product was soon available in some upmarket stores, no records are available to date on how well it has performed on the market.

In 2015, another Tanzanian celebrity, former Miss Tanzania Wema Sepetu launched a lipstick line, which she christened ‘Kiss by Wema Sepetu’.

It became an instant hit. The controversial beauty queen instantly hit one million followers on Instagram.

Yet despite the euphoria that followed the lipstick launch on her expensive birthday party (where she was also handed a Range Rover as a present), the lipstick line has remained just that -- a celebrity affair.

And in 2012, when Jokate Mwegelo’s rivalry with Wema, which dates back to their days at Miss Tanzania, was still hot, the actress unveiled the ‘Kidoti Brand’, a design and hair line. What has come out of it is yet another subject of debate.

It’s a highly-competitive world out there -- and Diamond has decided to take the bull by its horns. His success, posterity will judge. But all hope is not lost.

Marc Beckman, chief executive officer at DMA United, suggests that the secret is in the name. “If that name is regurgitated in the media, it sets up demand. The biggest driving force in what makes a consumer purchase a celebrity item is whether the star is a fashion influencer.”

But what is the state of business?

As many have noted, such products generally do not have the longevity of classic fragrances that have been on the market for a long time because even those who pick these fragrances always go back their loyal brands.

Most notable exception as by 2016 was ‘White Diamonds’, a fragrance that was endorsed by Elizabeth Taylor, made and marketed by Elizabeth Arden.

It was still the best-selling celebrity-endorsed perfume 20 years after its introduction in 1991.

For a decade following the blockbuster launch of Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 scent ‘Glow by JLo’, celebrity-branded fragrances have been a steady, if modest, source of revenue for perfume manufacturers such as Coty, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder.

But since peaking around 2011, the business has seen its heyday and now is not very much in vogue with the consumer or with the trade, according to Bart Becht, chairman of Coty, the company that churns out fragrances for Lopez, Beyoncé and Katy Perry who released Mad Love last year, a follow-up to 2015’s Mad Potion. Though annual sales are not usually released to the public, Coty’s net fragrance sales declined by 9 per cent in the last quarter of 2016 mainly due to slowing sales of its celeb scents. At Elizabeth Arden, the dip amounted to 9.6 per cent.

The news is bleaker at US department stores, where total revenue from celeb scents dropped from $150 million to $50.6 million in just three years between 2011 and 2014, according to marketing and research firm NPD Group.

The star power alone of a Lady Gaga or a Rihanna is no longer enticing thousands of hard-to-reach millennials and Generation Z shoppers, and for music artistes, those royalty earnings worth 5 to 8 percent aren’t as robust.

In 1991, when Elizabeth Taylor launched ‘White Diamonds’ , a sheer, floral scent that has sold more than $1 billion at retail, it was older women who bought in.

The biggest fragrance consumers today are ages 16 to 24, a less cash-flush audience. Additionally, things have not been helped by the fact that almost every star name is landing deals of that nature; as a result consumer interest is waning.

“When the market is saturated, people’s attention span is limited,” says Marian Bendeth, founder of fragrance consultancy Sixth Sense.

One thing that helps scents stand out is an inventive and generous marketing budget.

When Justin Bieber launched his second fragrance, Girlfriend, with Elizabeth Arden in 2012, he didn’t just host a media day: There was a dedicated NBC special, a TV commercial, a print campaign and a fan contest promoted across different social media platforms.

With large-scale fragrance deals drying up, though, stars are looking to new avenues to generate income.

But even as bleak as it might be, it used to be just fragrance, but now it’s accessories, fashion and skin care products and hair, artists can use these merchandising avenues.

Additional reportingby Bilboard