Perfumes Leave Bad Smell For Elizabeth Arden

Cosmetic firm Elizabeth Arden (NasdaqGS: RDEN - news) has seen its share price drop by 24% after it revealed a plunge in sales of celebrity-linked perfumes.

Sales were hit hard by a decline in interest for scents for music stars Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

The company's quarterly pre-tax loss in the three months to the end of June was $81m (£48m), its worst ever result.

In a statement the company said: "The company had expected weaker sales comparisons due to the lower level of fragrance launch activity in fiscal 2014 versus fiscal 2013.

"(But) the decline in sales of celebrity fragrances, particularly the Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift fragrances, was steeper than anticipated."

The company admitted there was also a decline in other scents linked to celebrities.

It sells prestige beauty products in more than 120 countries and markets perfumes for a number of famous names, including Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, along with Rocawear designer fragrance.

The company said net sales for the fourth quarter to the end of June dropped by 28%, to $191.7m (£115m), while full-year net sales declined 13.4% to $1.16bn (£700m).

Elizabeth Arden was founded in 1910 and became the glamorous go-to shop for famous names.

In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was a regular visitor, and in 2008 actress Catherine Zeta-Jones opened its new Fifth Avenue flagship store.

The results are in stark contrast to the health of rival Estee Lauder, which saw net sales jump 13% to $2.73bn (£1.64bn) in the same quarter.