Cyndi Pierre, Ecommerce Manager, Parfums Givenchy/Kenzo Parfums, joined LVMH Fragrance Brands a year and a half ago with her priority being to revamp the brand’s beauty site in time for Holiday 2013. And a little more than a week ago she made that happen. Cyndi, who prior to LVMH worked at Buddy Media as a project manger setting up social media programs for NARS and Juicy Couture, talked with Beauty Insider about the new site and what’s ahead for Givenchy Beauty

 

Beauty Insider: What is the main goal behind the re-launch of givenchybeauty.com?

Cyndi Pierre: Essentially it was to create an elevated experience for U.S. customers and to make it more e-commerce based. As a brand we are moving in a new direction where we offer beauty products in line with Givenchy fashion. Visually, the nature of our brand is minimalistic with an emphasis on clean lines so the website needed to reflect this. We brought in our signature black and white color codes and included black leather texture in the header and footer as an ode to our Le Rouge leather-encased lipstick and our handbags. We also upgraded our technology so it is in line with ecommerce industry practices. The site originally launched in 2009; the marketplace has changed and we needed to ensure the brand embraced this.

BI: What are some of the site’s new features?

CP: We added beautiful videos and you find them as you discover products through our landing pages. There are ‘quick views’ and a one-page check out because we understand that our client doesn’t have a lot of time to shop. We also realized that there is often confusion surrounding product availability, so now we can notify our loyalists of our back-in-stock items. For example, earlier this year we sold out globally of Organza Indecence, a heritage fragrance, and many customers wondered about availability. We don’t want to lose the customer and now we have an extra communication point so that we don’t. The site also features share buttons and is optimized for the tablet user.

BI: How many people are on the digital team and what is the structure?

CP: In the U.S, I sit under the sales department with a dotted line between myself and a team of four in Paris. However on a day-to-day basis, I am the sole person in the U.S. that manages the site and steers our digital efforts collaboratively with U.S. PR and marketing.

BI: Is this a U.S. specific site for Givenchy?

CP: Yes. We are the only ecommerce operations for Parfums Givenchy at this time. We led the effort for the site re-launch and then met with Paris to make sure it was in line with their digital strategy. Paris is planning a branded fragrance and beauty site in 2014—they are currently brand focused. We wanted to launch in time for Holiday.

BI: What special Holiday promotions do you have planned for the site and how will you drive purchase?
CP: Since we just launched the site, we are focused on exclusive GWPs and shipping breaks. For Black Friday, we have this luxe traveling bag as a GWP. We are providing first access to our email list on Thursday and then advertising on the site and Adwords on Friday.

BI: How are you driving traffic to the site?

CP: Right now, it is a mix of SEO optimization which is in progress, paid search and digital partnerships. For example, we are live on Shop Bazaar for their Art Basel trend story. We also partnered with Into The Gloss on a contest. We want to be where we think our shoppers are. Next year we plan to start to display advertising.

BI: What social media platform do you think is best for Givenchy Beauty?

CP: We are about to launch a Pinterest site. For being ecommerce focused, Pinterest is a key initiative for us. Pinterest has been lauded in the digital community as a revenue driver and I saw this first hand when I looked at our analytics. Without an official page, I saw referral traffic from Pinterest yield some of the highest conversion rates and average order sizes. This made me really push to get this initiative off the ground especially since its core users are older women who looking for product inspiration. They are creating shopping lists there. At the end of the day, Pinterest provides our brand with the perfect storm to expand the world of Parfums Givenchy through visual editorial. Next year we are looking into launching a content destination but until then Pinterest is a great start with a promising ROI.

BI: What are some Google analytics for the site?
CP: Since we’ve re-launched the site we’ve seen a 47.17% increase in time spent on site. Our bounce rate decreased 50% which confirmed our thinking that customers were confused by what they knew the brand to be and what was being shown online. We’ve also seen a 21% increase in conversions, in just a week.