Launched on September 8, 2017, Fenty Beauty came out of the gate with a ton of positive energy, leading to multiple items selling out. Results were strong enough to garner a positive shout out from parent company LVMH on its recent earnings call.
With Rihanna not only included in all campaign images but also making appearances at Sephora stores in multiple cities, social media coverage of Fenty Beauty was massive.
Tribe Dynamics, a company that tracks the value of publicity gained through promotional efforts (as opposed to paid for efforts), has issued its September report for earned media value within the beauty industry, and not surprisingly, Fenty Beauty tracked very high on the top ten list.
The top three cosmetic brand performers were Anastasia Beverly Hills with $97.3 million in earned media value, MAC with $77.1 million and Fenty Beauty with $72 million, beating out established labels NYX with $51.5 million, Benefit with $48.1 million and Urban Decay with $37 million.
In analysis of Fenty Beauty’s number, the report noted the team of high-power influencers who helped deliver the numbers: “Rihanna fêted the release with a launch party in New York, inviting established beauty YouTubers Alissa Ashley (778.8K subscribers) and Nyma Tang (440.0K subscribers), as well as powerhouse vlogger JeffreeStar (5.4M subscribers). Following the launch, the internet erupted with influencers eagerly reviewing the brand’s products on YouTube and Instagram.”
There has been misunderstanding around dollar figures with some misconstruing the earned media number as a sales figure when in actuality it represent an estimate of the value of organically generated social media coverage. While LVMH provides overall financial info on all the brands housed within it perfume and cosmetic category, it’s not likely it will ever provide Fenty Beauty’s stand-alone revenue figures.
![The Hundreds, founded by Bobby Kim and Ben Shenassafar in 2003, closed its Fairfax flagship store before making the announcement public. The store, which opened on Fairfax Avenue in LA in 2011, was a cornerstone of streetwear culture. Bobby reflected on the closure, the evolution of streetwear, and more in a thoughtful note on his Monologue Substack. You can read a preview in the next slides.
In an interview with GQ, Bobby announced that longtime team member David Rivera will be taking over as the brand’s creative lead, stating, "I am effectively stepping back as far as creative control and oversight of how The Hundreds looks and feels from here on forward. This is the first time that someone else has full creative control, and that’s David Rivera. He’s been with us for more than half the existence of the company at this point. He grew up on the brand as a fan. He started off at the bottom as a photo assistant, and then he became an accessories designer and then an apparel designer. He’s worked every role in design, worked his way up to the point of creative director where we now have entrusted him with the brand over the last couple of years."
"Me relinquishing control over it is the best thing that could ever happen for the brand at this point in time. Souls of Mischief, this rap group, has a song called “Limitations” where they say, Emcees should know their limitations. I know my limitations. Do I think I know how to design well? Do I think I understand street fashion well? Absolutely. But am I the one to do it the best for The Hundreds at this point in time? I’m not, and David is. Having to swallow that pill was incredibly humbling."
"If it were up to me, we would still have a store on Fairfax and Rosewood, but that’s not where streetwear is at anymore. That’s not where The Hundreds is at. That customer doesn’t even exist. That customer has grown up. [We want to] keep this thing going and see where it takes us. Now, let’s see where David takes us.
I still want to be a part of it, and I want to be enjoying the ride."
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