Takashimaya closing sale and a possible Miller Harris issue

The closing sale at Takashimaya started on Monday. Everything is 40% off, including fragrance and cosmetics. From the way things looked today, only three days into this sale, I doubt there's going to be much left after the weekend. The housewares floor is already nearly empty and it's almost impossible to find a complete set of anything. But we're not here to talk about napkin rings, right?

 Some perfumes are already sold out, but as of Wednesday afternoon there's still quite a bit left (apparently perfume is less popular than scarves and table linens). A partial list:

Yosh
Keiko Mecheri (Loukhoum is already sold out)
Neil Morris
Ineke
DelRae (Bois de Paradis might already be gone)
Mona de Orio
Esteben (some are already missing)
Santa Maria Novella (stock greatly depleted)
Histoire de Parfums
Ulrich Lang
Caron (a bunch of the EDTs in fancy leather atomizers)
Fragonard (Grain de Soleil and a couple of others)
Ramon Molvizar

Home fragrance tip: While there are still quite a few reed diffusers on the entrance floor (mostly Antica Farmacista), if you go up to the Bed & Bath department (5th floor), there are several other brands (including Takashimaya's private label).

Leaving the store for the very last time was very sad. I'm thankful for the bargains I found, since everything I bought are items I wanted and planned on buying anyway. But it will be a long time before anything even remotely comparable to Takashimaya will open again in our area.

In other not good news, I wanted to check and confirm an unsettling suspicion that something was up with Miller Harris. If you check online, the US e-commerce site is closed (it's a fairly recent development. Last time I checked it was in February and everything looked normal). Furthermore, both Saks and Bloomingdale's no longer carry the line (I hear some Bloomie's stores are selling what's left at discount). A visit to Saks 5th Avenue flagship revealed the Miller Harris counter is gone completely. It used to be the only place you could find the Nouvelle Edition range other than online.

Luckyscent is sold out of several Miller Harris perfumes and there's no date or information when (or if) they're coming back. The same goes for MiN New York- almost everything is already out of stock. A quick Google search shows many online discounters now offer them, so it seems like full stocks were dumped everywhere. Prices aren't all that attractive, though, and some of these sites look a bit too shady for my liking. It's not that I suspect these bottles are fake- Miller Harris isn't that popular of a brand counterfeits would bother imitating. I just don't trust sites with names like dirtcheapperfumes4u (not a real one, but you get my point) with my personal or credit card information.

The thing is that Miller Harris main UK site looks alive and well. It's updated for spring and the e-commerce is operating. So I suspect a US distribution issue, the kind we've experienced with MPG before the house made its comeback to our shelves. To some this up and before an online rumor begins- Miller Harris is alive and possibly well in the UK, but at the moment there is no official and legit retailer in the US (the list of stockists on the website is clearly outdated- they only list Bloomingdale's and Saks locations).

Photo by Alfred Eisensstaedt, 1940, life.com

Breaking News: Takashimaya NYC is closing

This is sad news. WWD is reporting that Japanese retailer Takashimaya is closing the NYC store on 5th Avenue  in June. Takashimaya said it plans to sell the real estate and dedicate the proceeds to faster growing markets in Asia.

It's incredibly sad- I loved ogling the (unbelievably pricey) Japanese art and housewares, but even more so the beauty and fragrance department, even in its reduced size. It's even more unfortunate when you remember they just started carrying Mona di Orio perfumes (the only USA point of sale), and as far as I know they are the only ones in the NYC area who sell Neil Morris perfumes.

Info: Women's Wear Daily
Photo: about.com

Discontinued? Out Of Business?- Ask The Non-Blonde

There's only one issue that gets me more comments, emails and direct messages on Twitter than mascara: Brands and products that disappear from the market. The last few years have been brutal for many companies, resulting in a lot of confusion among customers. Let's try to make heads and tails out of this mess.

Has Prescriptives gone out of business?
Yes. The brand was shut down by the owner, the Lauder Group. Their fragrance, Calyx is still made, though. You can read more here and here.

Is Estee Lauder going out of business?
A world of NO.
Some of their less successful brands aren't safe, though.

What happened to Fendi perfume(s)?
All of them, including the original Fendi and Palazzo have been discontinued. Some online retailers still have a limited stock, but the prices have been climbing up.

What's the story with Crabtree & Evelyn?
While the company has filed for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy protection) it is still alive and producing its products. I might not be all that thrilled with the quality of its lotions and soaps lately, but many staples like the hand creams and scrubs are the same.

Is Annick Goutal going out of business?
No. The company has actually just released a new scent. There have been some distribution issues in the US, but things have gotten back to normal. It looks like the new distributor is going to keep a tighter control, so don't expect to see many Goutal products at discounters once they sell their current inventory.

Is MPG (Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier) a goner?
Even though for a while it certainly seemed dire with boutiques closing and the bottles disappeared from stockists all around North America, it was another case of a distributor going belly up. As of now Henri Bendel in NYC is carrying the line again.

Is it true that Chanel Hydrabase lipsticks are being phased out?
Yes. As is often the case when a company introduces a new spiffy line, they get rid of older formulas. The new Rouge Coco is fabulous (I'll review and show photos later this week). The same goes for the older Dior single eye shadows, by the way. They've been replaced with the new 1-Color Extreme.

Is Le Metier de Beaute exiting Liberty London?
No. The counter is moving, but Le Metier de Beaute is going strong and expanding. You will soon be able to find their products in a couple of other prestigious London locations and also in Paris.

Do you have more questions about discontinuations and product availability? Let me know and I'll do my best to find out.

Breaking News: Prescriptives Calyx Will Remain In Production

Yesterday's announcement about Lauder shutting down Prescriptives has mostly alarmed fans of the brand's perfume, Calyx. I just received an official confirmation that the fragrance will continue to be distributed through Aramis and Designer Fragrances and sold at the fragrance bar in select fine department stores and online beginning February 1st.

Breaking News: Estée Lauder Cos. to Shutter Prescriptives Brand

From WWD:

Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. said Thursday it will shut down wholesale distribution of its 30-year-old Prescriptives brand by Jan. 31. Products will continue to be available through the brand’s Web site for consumers needing replenishment, until supplies run out.
...
Without elaboration, the company stated: “A core component of the Estée Lauder Companies’ corporate strategy is to evaluate, and where possible, turn around underperforming brands with the goal of improving return on investment. After a thorough analysis of the Prescriptives brand, management concluded that the brand’s long-term business model is no longer viable given the current market environment. We believe that the difficult decision relating to Prescriptives will allow us to redirect our resources to key strategic imperatives where we see the highest growth potential,”

I think Prescriptives has always had an identity problem. The products were nice and solid, but the image was lacking in personality. Not fabulous enough to attract new customers and not cheap enough to fly off the shelves. They lacked sex appeal and/or glamour, and I guess in this economy you got to have some kind of hype.

Are you a Prescriptives user? Are you surprised?

Info and quotes: WWD.com

Sign Of Times: Spafumerie2 Is Closed

I had an unpleasant surprise yesterday when I discovered that Spafumerie2 (also known as Turtle Bay Spa/Perfumery) is closed. The place looked like a hurricane has swept through, with shelves mostly empty and only a few bottles remaining. I never heard a word about a clearance/going out of business sale, so your guess about the fate of their stock is as good as mine. Their phone number has been disconnected and the last Twitter update is from July 6th.
If anyone knows more, please comment.

Things didn't look too cheerful at the beauty department of Takashimaya on 5th Avenue. With no customers in sight and fewer brands available, I'm worried about the future of this place. Frankly, the shelves looked bare and the atmosphere depressing.

Crabtree and Evelyn filed for Chapter 11- Who didn't see it coming?

Crabtree & Evelyn filed bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. According to WSJ, the company expects a 24.4% drop in retail sales for fiscal 2009 from 2008 (though online sales will probably increase 10% this year), and is over $24 million in debt.

Sad news, indeed, which leads me to try and remember when was the last time I shopped at Crabtree & Evelyn for anything other than their environmental oils. The answer was that I stopped buying their body products a few years ago. And apparently, I'm not the only one.

Last time I was at one of their stores I noticed those jumbo body wash bottles (they were selling three for the price of two, or something like that), but upon sniffing I realized they all had the same unpleasant plastic smell, which didn't much resemble the original labeled scent. I passed on that deal. New scents seemed to appear briefly, not impress anyone and go into oblivion. The Holiday trio (vanilla, chocolate and pomegranate, if I remember correctly) had shimmer in the bottles, seemed more like a BBW product and seriously lacked in the class department.

But the most annoying aspect and the reason I stopped shopping there was the discontinuing of favorite scent lines. I'm still hoarding half a bottle of the Rose Damask bath and shower gel which was so much better than the somewhat aquatic Rosewater. I also liked their Citrus body wash, the original Vanilla and the Azzemour home products. And there were lavender laundry detergent and linen spray that were sold for a brief moment. The point is that in the last five or six years you could never be sure a favorite product would still be there the next time you need it.

Since I refuse to pay inflated prices for a soap on eBay, I simply moved on. You'd think someone at the company would notice the crazy hoarding and the crazier bidding wars over some of the discontinued items and would come to a certain conclusion. Instead, they filled the store with those godawful Vera Bradley bags.

What do you think? Do you still shop at Crabtree & Evelyn?

Photo by G.M. Kowalewska

Are Stila's Troubles Over?

Were the rumors of Stila's demise exaggerated? It was no secret that the brand was in dire straights and product availability has been somewhat spotty lately. Their web site is mostly gone and there's a notice saying orders that were place on 3/23/2009 - 3/24/2009 may be canceled.

Stila has changed hands- Lauder sold it to Sun Capital who didn't seem to make it work, to the point that (according to WWD) they could not make payroll and have sent all employees home last month for an unpaid vacation time. The latest news is of another change in ownership. WWD is now reporting that Stila was sold to venture capital firm Patriarch Partners LLC.

Personally, I was never a big fan and had no Stila must-haves. I found most of the products overpriced for what they were, but I know enough beauty-obsessed who love the brand. Are you stocking up on your favorite Stila products?

Too Bad

It looks like Adrienne Vittadini is going out of business, which makes me very sad. I've been a loyal customer, especially this past season, when it was getting hard to find flattering and not ridiculous fashionable clothes. This leaves me with very little outside of Saks and Neiman's, and there's only so much Elie Tahari that one can wear.