Mary J. Blige Shatters Prestige Fragrance Records Selling More Than 60,000 Units of My Life

-- Groundbreaking Success of My Life's Exclusive Launch on HSN Changes the Paradigm for a Prestige Fragrance Launch in the Beauty Industry --

News provided by

HSN

Aug 03, 2010, 05:36 ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HSN, a leading multichannel retailer, announced today that its exclusive launch of Mary J. Blige's My Life fragrance on July 31 drove the sale of more than 60,000 units with about 6 hours of air time, shattering fragrance records at HSN for units sold and placing the launch amongst the most successful in the prestige fragrance market.

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"I am thrilled with the success of My Life, the experience on HSN with Carol's Daughter and the overwhelming donations to FFAWN," said nine-time Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige. "I can't wait to share another touch of my heart. Thank you to all my fans - new and old – for being there for me."

The launch of My Life helped support the Foundation of the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), a non-profit created by Ms. Blige and Chairman & Lead Investor of Carol's Daughter Steve Stoute to assist women in need. For every unit of My Life fragrance sold, HSN Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of HSN, will donate $1 to FFAWN.

"The groundbreaking success of My Life on HSN changes the existing business model for a prestige fragrance launch and reinforces our role as a retail innovator," said HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman. "We were thrilled that Mary's inspiring story, her character, and, ultimately, her fragrance drew such an enthusiastic response."

"The fragrance industry is excited to explore the opportunities of new channels of distribution with supportive, creative and innovative partners like HSN," said Rochelle Bloom, President of The Fragrance Foundation. "The success of Mary J. Blige's fragrance and her personal message proves their power to reach out and entice a vast, broad consumer who loves and wants fragrance. Bravo HSN and Mary J.!"

My Life, which was the first fragrance created by Ms. Blige and the first celebrity fragrance developed by beauty-lifestyle brand Carol's Daughter, attracted nearly 20% new customers to HSN. In addition, as part of HSN's continuity program, almost 10,000 customers signed up to receive shipments of the new fragrance on a regular basis.

"This launch proves that consumers are looking for new ways to engage with a brand. Long gone are the days of traditional marketing that rely only on sampling and advertising. Consumers want to connect, believe and immerse themselves in the experience. They want to see themselves fit into the story," said Steve Stoute, who played a pivotal role in creating the unique partnership between Ms. Blige and HSN. "Mary delivered herself in the purest form outside of her lyrics. We look forward to telling the next chapter of the story on HSN in the near future."

Carol's Daughter, a partner of HSN over the last two years, has experienced great success in telling its universally appealing story. Given this success, Mr. Stoute and Ms. Blige committed to bring their story to HSN. "HSN gave me a unique platform to tell my story. It took time -- I had to find a place that allowed me to be me. I never do something that I don't believe in," continued Ms. Blige. "My Life presented by Carol's Daughter on HSN was the only way to show my fans another labor of love."

My Life was introduced to consumers via the most comprehensive, 360-degree marketing campaign in HSN's history, including television, online, mobile, print advertising, public relations, events and direct mail. Social media efforts drove millions of impressions, key celebrity endorsements, and involved a blogger press trip to HSN headquarters to document the launch. Video segments of Ms. Blige's compelling life story were featured on HSN and online at http://www.HSN.com, as well as Facebook and Twitter. In addition, HSN distributed 100,000 direct mail brochures and 300,000 targeted inserts to its customers; featured ads in Allure, Glamour and Essence; created a cross-channel spot; and distributed 50,000 snap bracelets embedded with the My Life fragrance at the Essence Music Festival.

About HSN

Headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL, HSN is a leading interactive multichannel retailer, offering a curated assortment of exclusive products and top brand names to its customers. HSN incorporates experts, entertainment, inspiration, solutions, tips and ideas to provide an entirely unique shopping experience. At HSN, customers find exceptional selections in Health & Beauty (e.g. M. Asam, Carol's Daughter, Coty, FranBrand, FusionBeauty, Andrew Lessman's Procaps, Lancome, Perlier, Serious Skin Care, Wei East, ybf Beauty); Jewelry (e.g. Heidi Daus, Grayce by Molly Sims, R.J. Graziano, IMAN Global Chic, michaeLisa, Noir, Amedeo Scognamiglio, Tori Spelling, Serena Williams Signature Statement); Home/Lifestyle (e.g. Nate Berkus, Bissell, Colin Cowie, Dyson, Todd English, GreenPan with Thermolon, Emeril Lagasse, Joy Mangano, MoMA Design Store, Wolfgang Puck); Fashion/Accessories (e.g. American Glamour Badgley Mischka, Curations with Stefani Greenfield, Sam Edelman, Loulou de la Falaise, Chi by Carlos Falchi, Diane Gilman, "Timeless" by Naeem Khan, Adrienne Landau, Sharif); and Electronics (e.g. Canon, Gateway, GE, HP, JVC, Kodak, LG, Sony).

A leader in transactional innovation, HSN is the only retailer offering live streaming video on three screens: TV network, which broadcasts live to 95 million households in the US in HD 24/7; http://www.hsn.com, which ranks in the top 30 of the top 500 internet retailers and features 15,000 product videos; and mobile via its iPhone application. HSN, founded 33 years ago as the first shopping network, is an operating segment of HSN, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSNI).

SOURCE HSN