Justin Bieber's Perfume Gets Sold to Elizabeth Arden

Justin Bieber‘s perfume, Someday, has just been sold to Elizabeth Arden. So far, nothing very strange for such brands do move around corporate ownership. And Someday is the leading selling new fragrance of 2011 so it’s a desirable purchase. As is the singer’s second perfume to come out later this year called Justin Bieber’s Girlfriend.

Now, the way that the perfume industry works is really pretty simple. A few essences, some alcohol and water are mixed together. There are indeed expensive ingredients occasionally use (ambergris for example) but the usual ingredients cost of a bottle is a few cents or perhaps a few tens of cents. What differentiates perfumes is the marketing behind them. That’s where the value of a star name like Bieber (or Nicki Minaj, whose scent has also been purchased in the same deal) becomes so valuable. There are millions, if not tens of millions who will buy that product simply because of his endorsement.

All of which makes such an endorsement very valuable to the star. But Bieber actually went with a non-profit to distribute the scent:

SOMEDAY is the idea that we can change the world, make our dreams come true, and even be with the one person that means everything…Giving back has always been incredibly important to me, but let’s be honest… I wanted to create a fragrance for my female fans that I can’t get enough of… that I want to get next to and I can’t stay away from. I know they’ll love the scent, but also the opportunity to support some amazing charities. It’s a gift that gives back.

Which is excellent, of course: but this is where there is some slight confusion. For Arden is not a non-profit and indeed Arden says that they expect the deal to start producing profits almost immediately:

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Company expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings beginning in the first half of fiscal 2013.

So nobody really knows the terms on which this deal took place: but we do know that the hot property, the perfumes, moved from a not profit to a for profit company. Which is all rather puzzling really. It’s possible that Arden paid some net discounted value of future profits and that that money then goes to charity but until the terms of the deal can be seen we just don’t know.