Luke Grimes Fronts New Stetson Fragrance
Stetson is going younger — and wider — with its new fragrance launch.
Called Stetson Legend, the fragrance includes notes of upcycled cedarwood, vetiver and wild desert sage. It retails for $39.99 and will debut Tuesday on Amazon, Meijer, Stetson.com and licensee Scent Beauty’s website.
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A campaign featuring brand ambassador Luke Grimes heralds the launch. He initially teamed with the brand last year.
“With my résumé and the things I’ve done, Stetson just made sense, and it felt like I was on the right path,” Grimes said, adding that his father also wore Stetson fragrances. “It’s a brand for the people, it doesn’t price anybody out, it’s attainable, and it’s cool without being snooty.”
The launch comes at a time of success for that fragrance business, said Steve Mormoris, founder and chief executive officer of Scent Beauty, the brand’s fragrance licensee.
“With the relaunch of Stetson with new packaging, new levels of authenticity and the campaign with Luke Grimes, we’ve seen a huge increase in sales in all points of sale,” Mormoris said. “We’re up 30 percent versus a year ago. Now, Stetson Cologne is the seventh [fragrance] brand in the mass market, it’s been quite successful.”
Mormoris didn’t comment on sales, though industry sources think Stetson Legend could reach between $5 million and $10 million in retail sales during its first year.
Legend’s genesis started with data and consumer testing. “We do data, we do testing. We develop the fragrances, understanding which notes reach which demographic, and then we test them,” Mormoris said. “Spirit is reaching a base with the 20- to 30-year-old.”
Traditionally, the brand’s consumer has skewed older. Mormoris is looking to change that. “Stetson Original is a mainstay in American culture, reaching men 50-plus. It’s really a Walmart customer. Stetson has a lot of meaning to American consumers, and the children and grandchildren of people using Stetson are looking for a fragrance from the brand. There just wasn’t one from an olfactory standpoint,” he said.
As reported, fragrance dollar sales were up in the first half of 2023, though unit sales declined, according to Circana.
“The consumer in the U.S. doesn’t associate the place they shop with the luxury of the brand they shop,” Mormoris said. “The mass market has never been stronger. We’re seeing strong potential in specialty retail continued, and we are seeing strong traffic.”
Added Stetson CEO Robert Dundon in a statement, “Stetson Original has set the standard for more than 40 years. In creating Stetson Legend, we saw an opportunity to build on that legacy by offering a new scent for the next generation of consumers who are drawn to the spirit of the West. Legend is a modern, sophisticated update to a classic that’s equally appropriate for urban landscapes as it is for wide open spaces”
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