• by Christine Bittar , December 7, 2006

Coty is at it again, doing what it does best these days--celebrity licenses. The latest deal is with Grammy-winning recording artist Gwen Stefani, who will develop a fragrance line with Coty to debut in stores next fall, the beauty company said yesterday.

The fragrance is still unnamed, and will likely be marketed as a prestige fragrance to be sold in department stores.

Raymond Nadeau, who worked with Coty on previous licensing deals as its past vice president of new ideas, global creative director, said he views the move and choice of celebrity as a good one, especially since "Stefani has cross-over appeal" to fans of multiple ethnicities and races. Nadeau mentioned Stefani as having that universal appeal in his book Living Brands, which was released last month.

Coty over the past several years has signed deals with celebrities at a rapid pace. Past fragrances license deals have been made with entertainers including Sarah Jessica Parker, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez.

This deal differs in that the agreement with Stefani is "to develop and market a line of fragrances for her fashion and accessories brand L.A.M.B.," according to Coty's announcement yesterday, which implies the positioning of the fragrance may rely more on her fashion brand than with Stefani herself.

If that is the case, it's also a smart move, said Nadeau, who says using celebrities as spokespeople for a brand--rather than naming a brand after the celebrity--can be safer than basing a whole brand around a person, who could fall out of favor or get negative attention for scandalous activity. Basing a brand around something the celebrity represents--like a fashion brand--is a good marketing hook for the same reason, he says, and Stefani's clothes have that same cross appeal.

The three-year-old clothing and accessory brand L.A.M.B., which appeals to young women, has been described as a "fashionable" label with items that the glamorous blond would wear herself. The line is sold at high-end retail outlets such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney's New York, Bendels, Nordstrom and Fred Segal.

Jennifer Lopez also has an apparel line, although unlike L.A.M.B. (the acronym for Love Angel Music Baby), many of her clothes bear her name, and thus, are affiliated more strongly with Lopez.

"Stefani is the perfect partner to create a new signature fragrance," said Bernd Beetz, CEO of Coty, in the statement announcing the deal. "Gwen's distinctive look, music and embrace of ethnic influences, coupled with her effervescent personality, will make her fragrances highly appealing to a generation of women around the world who love her one-of-a-kind, international style," he said.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.