• by Karl Greenberg , March 3, 2008

Coty Inc., New York-based leader of the global fragrance business, has inked a deal to develop a men's fragrance line under the Playboy brand name for worldwide distribution.

Coty CEO Bernd Beetz said that the licensing agreement, which would put the Playboy fragrance under Coty's lifestyle division, would have legs - so to speak - because of the Playboy brand's recognition value around the world.

The new fragrance is scheduled for global distribution beginning in the fall with initial plans to launch in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. A product launch event for Playboy's first global fragrance is being planned for this summer and marketing plans are in development.

Chicago-based research firm Mintel, which released a study on men's fragrances, says the market will grow in the U.S., tracking a 4.4% increase in the number of males between 2002 and 2007, and a projected 9.1% increase in the number of men in the U.S. between 2002 and 2012. "Manufacturers will likely attempt to appeal to men's masculinity with their fragrance marketing, much like Elizabeth Arden has with Daytona 500," says the firm.

Coty, which reports annual net sales in excess of $3.5 billion with products in 91 markets worldwide, has celebrity scent-development deals with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker and, this month, Halle Berry. Last year Coty signed QB Tom Brady for its Stetson brand, country star Tim McGraw and soccer star David Beckham.

Mintel warns there is a backlash on the way against celebrity scents, "especially in light of a 2006 survey by Arylessence that shows that respondents are just as likely or more likely to buy a scent backed by an anonymous spokesperson as a celebrity. The fleeting popularity of successive celebrity fragrances indicates that men will return to traditional fragrances that carry classic status," the firm says.

Of the three leading men's fragrance makers in the U.S. market -- Coty, Unilever and Procter & Gamble - only P&G posted gains between 2005 and 2007.

Mintel says drug stores accounted for $231 million in sales in 2007 for 47% of the market, while Wal-Mart and other IRI-tracked stores sold $157 million for over 31%. Food stores follow with $104 million and the remaining 21.1%.