Sunday, September 17, 2006

Clinique in drugstores

Estee Lauder is putting their Clinique line into the drug channel:
Estee Lauder is going mass by expanding distribution for its prestige Clinique cosmetics brand to include Shoppers Drug Mart, the largest drug store chain in Canada.
My first reaction was that this is a disastrous move -- that going mass will destroy the brand image. Some analysts quoted in the story disagree, however:

Industry analysts did not seem particularly concerned that distribution in an "assisted self service" channel would harm Clinique's image.

It's good to test different channels, said Suzanne Grayson, industry expert and president of the consultancy Grayson Associates. "If it's executed well -- and I'm sure it will be -- with the mix of other high end brands already [in the shopping venue], it won't affect the brand image."

On reflection, though I'm not convinced that the move will not damage the brand, I'm also not certain Lauder had a lot of choices. With the continuing constriction of the department store channel, the fact is that they (and many other "department store brands") are running out of places to sell their products.

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