Celebrities Cash In On Their Names

Stars Use Their Images To Sell Clothes, Perfume And Even Theme Parks

(CBS)  From amusement parks to table wine, celebrities are rushing to become mini-conglomerates.

Jennifer Lopez has a fragrance and two clothing lines. Country star Reba McIntyre is also getting in on the action. "Charlie's Angels" star Jaclyn Smith has one of the oldest and largest brands, with 300 units of clothing sold at Kmart since 1985. Even though it has been decades since Elizabeth Taylor beguiled audiences in films like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," in the marketplace her star still burns bright with her fragrance, "White Diamonds."

Marshall Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, which tracks retail sales, says consumers will pay up to 25 percent more for celebrity branded products, and fashion is where you'll often find them.

"Celebrity business has grown in the past decade tenfold," Cohen told Sunday Morning correspondent Tracy Smith. "Years ago, there was less than 100 celebrity brands in a multitude of different industries. Today, there are well over 1,000 brands that have celebrity ownership and/or partnerships that cross all kinds of industries."

Elizabeth Arden CEO Scott Beattie says Taylor's fragrance has sold more than $1 billion in the 15 years since it was launched. He said it is still the No. 1 celebrity fragrance in the United States.

Beattie said fragrances are significant income streams for many celebrities, even those who make a lot of money with other lucrative ventures. It's also profitable for fragrance manufacturers. Celebrity scents are now the leading driver of growth for the entire fragrance industry. Even Britney Spears, for all her troubles and hair experiments, is launching her fourth Arden scent.

"We sold over $300 million globally in fragrances with Britney Spears over the last 2 1/2 years," Beattie said. "We sold over 10 million pieces of product around the world."

With that kind of money to be made, fragrance houses and all kinds of stars are rushing into each other’s arms. From actress Sarah Jessica Parker to New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, whose fragrance, "Driven," is Avon's best-selling male fragrance ever. Donald Trump even had a cologne — but It was fired.

Sean "P Diddy" Combs' scent, "Unforgivable," was the fastest-growing fragrance of 2006. But that’s only part of his success. Combs’ Sean Jean clothing line raked in more than $400 million in retail sales last year. He's the poster boy for the latest star-powered trend, the celebrity business.

Actress and singer Beyoncé Knowles is just getting her start. The star of the Oscar-nominated film "Dreamgirls" has gone into business with her mother, Tina Knowles, to form the House of Dereon.

"The line is very body conscious," Tina Knowles said. "It's very curvy. It's very fitted."

Fashion comes naturally to Knowles. She designed outfits for Destiny's Child, the best-selling girl group that propelled Beyoncé to fame. Her daughter, she says, is the inspiration.

"We wanted a line that Beyoncé would totally be involved in," she said, "and that she would wear the clothes — not just stamp her name on something and not believe it."