How Home Shopping Network is Going to Cash in on Mariah Carey
Add Mariah Carey to the (top of the) pile of celebrity songstresses-turned-designer. Shilling shoes, scents, and sparkly baubles for the Home Shopping Network (HSN), Carey's first lifestyle collection will debut on Cyber Monday: November 29. The world's most successful female recording artist (selling more than 200 million albums) is about to add significantly to her estimated $225 million net worth. But it's better news for HSN, too. Here's why.
Unlike some other celebrity designers, the diva known as Mimi already has experience, at least in fragrance. She's worked with Elizabeth Arden for the past three years on her signature scent M and Lollipop Bling, the latest collection aimed at tweens. Since 2007, the Mariah Carey line, with three fragrances, has grossed more than $150 million, according to Elizabeth Arden.
And let's not forget that Mariah's star power is brighter than HSN's most recent smash songbird success, Mary J. Blige. The Grammy-winning R&B artist set a new bar for HSN sales when her My Life fragrance shattered records. 60,000 orders poured in over only six hours in August. All without anyone taking a whiff first.
Carey's foray into accessories back in 2004 didn't make as big a splash as her perfume. Her Automatic Princess line for Claire's, the tween chain boutique for all things pop and sparkle, vanished quickly and the rumored tie-in book and TV deals never happened.
Her jewels for adults will be similar in flash and glitter and themes. There will be curly scripted initials aplenty, and several pieces will be crafted in the butterfly image Carey herself's been sporting for years. Which should lay any criticism about her copycatting other celebrities to rest. Even if the Claire's line didn't work in terms of sales, Carey's pocketed the experience. HSN's sourcing and manufacturing muscle should ensure that this collection sells.
Not to mention raking in a handsome profit. Carey's jewelry will be priced between $39.99 and $199.95. When you consider an average retailer's markup on jewelry for brick and mortar shops is 100 percent and higher, HSN's take is going to be tidy. It doesn't have the kind of overhead a small bijoux boutique does, and the sheer volume of its orders should slash prices at the manufacturing level.
The shaky spot is shoes -- and not based on the height of the heels. Carey's an unabashed devotee of vertiginous footwear and has a fabled closet that's made the pages of Architectural Digest. But other than her 20-year fetish for Yves Saint Laurents and Jimmy Choos, she'll have to rely on collaboration to turn out her own collection. The assortment will feature fur lined booties and quilted, chain-wrapped riding boots (water-resistant and practical!), and will be priced from $69.90 to $169.90. No details yet on where the footwear will be manufactured but here's another opportunity for HSN to cash in on margins. Most retailers mark up shoes 2.4 to three times the wholesale price.
Along with the boots and bling, HSN's going to be peddling Mariah's holiday CD Merry Christmas II You. Can you say package deal? Ka-ching.
Finally, Mariah Carey's personality should carry the day on television. At least that's what HSN's CEO Mindy Grossman is betting on. "She is magnetic, and I think this has the opportunity not just to appeal to our existing customer base, but also a lot of new customers."
The retail moral of this story is: if the shoe fits, sell the crap out of it.
Image via HSN.com
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