Guess Perfumes, known for its symbolisation of a youthful, sexy and adventurous lifestyle, whose license was recently acquired by Interparfum USA faced a rocky transition from Coty
Challenges
Almost 70% of the business was derived from only one retailer in South
Africa Poorly positioned as a celebrity / mass brand in the market
Sales driven by price point and discounting
Overstocked by discontinued and irrelevant sku’s
Lack of brand equity and strategy
Bacher Approach
We attribute our success down to two principles:
Elevation
Drive towards better placement in stores and increased footprint, focusing on other strategic retailers to award better space.
Strong promotions for key periods and no discounting on top sku’s.
Cleared overstocked, discontinued and irrelevant sku’s.
Launches and activations were all done with the goal of elevation and luxury in mind. Bella Vita being a strong catalyst of our elevation strategy.
The elevated positioning of Bella Vita and Uomo allowed us to negotiate even better store positioning. In many stores Guess is now adjacent to brands like Jimmy Choo, YSL and Gucci.
We have managed to grow every retailer by more than double in the last 4 years. Our split between department stores and Health & Beauty groups has drastically improved and we are consistently ranking in the top 25 brands in all retailers.
Energy
The foundation of the success in the Guess fragrances started with a renewed energy and most importantly a vision and strategic direction for the brand.
There was an energy and understanding that we are able to capitalize on the aspiration factor of GUESS. Guess is an aspirational brand at an attainable price. The positioning in store allowed the aspirational consumer to be part of this luxury world and own their own luxury item.
The launch of Guess Bella Vita, Bella Vita Rosa and UOMO complimented this strategy.
With a compliment of a 360degree marketing campaign (unrivalled by most South African launches) The look and feel of Guess fragrances as a whole was elevated. The energy and excitement was unmatched by any other competitor.
Results
Year On Year Wholesale
Wholesale sales expected to reach 42.6mil in 2023. Tripling our 2019 wholesale figure.
Year On Year Purchases
Purchases have shown positive growth with planned sales to reach 1.5mil in 2023
Year On Year Unit Sales
From 14 684 units in 2018 to 98 243 units in 2022. Projected unit sales for 2023 are 120 000 units.
