Last December, in London, the L’Oréal group unveiled L.I.L.Y, the new feminine fragrance from designer Stella McCartney. L.I.L.Y is being previewed in UK travel retail from 15 Feb to 15 March, before being rolled out in the channel worldwide. L’Oréal’s Richard Pinabel, Anne Valentin and Stefan Dembinski share their strategy for the new flagship scent with The Moodie Report’s Rebecca Mann.
Make no mistake, L’Oréal has high hopes for L.I.L.Y, the latest olfactory creation from Stella McCartney. Those ambitions won’t be hampered in the slightest by the fact that the designer herself is most definitely on a roll. In 2011 the fash pack couldn’t get enough of her red carpet frocks (remember Kate Winslet showing off her killer curves in those two-tone body-con Octavia numbers?). And McCartney’s profile is set to soar even higher this year, following her appointment as Creative Director for Team GB. She will oversee the design of both athlete kit and fan wear for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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L.I.L.Y, the new fragrance from designer Stella McCartney, is being previewed in the travel retail channel this month |
It”˜s understandable, therefore, that the UK has been earmarked as a key target market for the brand. “For L.I.L.Y, we have ambitions of a top 10 launch in the UK, Stella McCartney’s leading fragrance market,” confirms L’Oréal Luxe International General Manager Stella McCartney Fragrances Richard Pinabel.
“The UK is our key market – and London Heathrow Airport will be a central retail location. Other important countries include Italy, the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Dubai and New Zealand.
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Richard Pinabel: “For L.I.L.Y, we have ambitions of a top 10 launch in the UK.” |
“The launch is being supported with a strong sampling campaign, targeted press advertising and placements, selected key events with Stella McCartney on POS, exclusive gifts, and striking point of sale elements,” Pinabel adds. “There will also be a strong digital campaign, including interactive elements with the POS, in addition to a strong social media presence.”
McCartney’s appeal, believes Pinabel, is manifold. “She is a female designer, creating for “real” women with a modern, trendy outlook,” he explains. “Her signature style of sharp tailoring, natural confidence and sexy femininity is apparent in all her collections, including fragrances, but also ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie and kids.
“The Stella McCartney brand enriches our portfolio with [a blend of modernity] and luxury. It offers an on-trend Anglo-Saxon point of view for an international customer.”
L.I.L.Y, L’Oréal hopes, will embody all those elements in olfactory form. “It is a contemporary, timeless fragrance that speaks to a large audience of women,” notes General Manager Travel retail Europe, Middle East and Africa Anne Valentin. “It is also a journey through the English countryside – so dear to Stella – and reflects her love of the lily of the valley flower.”
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Anne Valentin: “[We predict] L.I.L.Y will represent 40% of the total brand turnover.” |
Valentin emphasises the personal involvement of McCartney in the project. “L.I.L.Y is the result of a three-year intensive and creative collaboration between Stella and the perfumer Jacques Cavallier,” she notes. “It is also a testimonial: the fragrance name refers directly to the nickname Stella’s father gave to her mother – Linda I Love You.
“As with all Stella’s creations, this unique fragrance brings something really new to the market and therefore has the potential to become a great classic. Stella McCartney represents the path to a new modern vision – the eco- conscious beauty – and she epitomises the English style that international travellers find so alluring.”
Valentin confirmed L’Oréal’s intentions to establish L.I.L.Y as the second pillar, after Stella, within the Stella McCartney portfolio. “[We predict] it will represent 40% of the total brand turnover,” she remarks. “We want to capitalise on its new, ultra feminine and sophisticated mix”¦which makes it a timeless perfume appealing to a large audience of women.”
And the travel retail channel will play a key role in reaching them. “L.I.L.Y. will be present in the whole travel retail distribution [throughout] Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” notes Division Manager Giorgio Armani and Designer Fragrances Travel retail Europe Middle East and Africa Stefan Dembinski. “Aside from Heathrow, the other key doors will be London Gatwick, London Stansted, Madrid, Dubai, Paris, Dublin and Zurich airports.”
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Stefan Dembinski: “Heathrow Airport will be a central retail location.” |
Regarding exclusivity, UK and Irish airports are enjoying a one-month preview, which began on 15 February, before L.I.L.Y is rolled out to the rest of the EMA travel retail region from mid-March. Inflight, L.I.L.Y will be available onboard British Airways, Aer Lingus and Thomas Cook from May onwards.
“The L.I.L.Y launch will be supported by impactful stagings, a flyer campaign, qualitative gifts and specific initiatives to entertain travellers,” Dembinski explains. “A high-profile digital tool will go live in May, at the key event site in London Heathrow T5. It will feature classic and interactive video screens, and an iPad experience.”
He continues: “Interactive installations with motion-sensors will attract passengers’ attention and start the L.I.L.Y “reveal”, which is progressive, interactive and engaging. The iPad will show animated images and the model, Malgosia Bela, in a specific L.I.L.Y video. And the bottle photo will create a spinning effect allowing the user to view it from all angles.”
The first HPPs are scheduled to kick off in the second half of February. “They will start on the 21 or 28 February, and last for three weeks, at London Heathrow T1, T3, T4, Gatwick South, Gatwick North 2, London Stansted and Birmingham,” confirms Dembinski. “They will include a special initiative to entertain passengers, with the chance to win a luxury weekend in London complete with a shopping afternoon.”
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