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Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

The Agea day ago
Celebrities are venturing beyond the billboard and the big screen – and into big business. Hailey Bieber, a model married to Justin, recently sold Rhode, her make-up brand, in a deal valued at as much as $US1 billion ($1.5 billion).
Skims, a shapewear label founded by Kim Kardashian, a reality-TV star, makes $US1 billion in annual sales and is expected to list on the stockmarket soon. Rihanna is now a billionaire not directly because of her music, but thanks to Fenty Beauty, her make-up label. Ryan Reynolds, a Hollywood actor, is active in everything from telecoms to online privacy. Surprisingly, many of these superstar businesses have become a source of innovative new consumer products.
Celebrities have long used their fame to peddle things. Michael Jordan, a basketball player, is thought to have made over $US1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) from his partnership with Nike over the past 40 years. Nespresso has reportedly paid George Clooney more than $US40 million ($61 million) to have his mug selling its coffee. Two decades ago Hulk Hogan, a professional wrestler, helped market the 'Hulkster' cheeseburger, pre-cooked and frozen for your convenience.
The practice continues. This week President Donald Trump launched 'Victory 45-47″, a line of fragrances for men and women priced at $US249 ($379), having launched 'Fight Fight Fight' ($US199, $303) last year.
By contrast, the new superstar brands put the A-list into capitalist. Ms Bieber and co are involved in operations and hold equity stakes of varying sizes in the underlying businesses. Many celebs have begun to rethink the value of traditional endorsement and licensing deals. Social media now give them a line straight to their fans. Direct-to-consumer distribution, meanwhile, has made getting a product to market easier than ever. Given that the real money is in building and owning a brand, rather than advertising, why not launch one instead?
This thinking in turn is altering the life-cycle of consumer goods. Just as pharmaceutical giants acquire biotech startups to refresh their drug pipelines, so consumer giants are buying up the most successful celebrity brands. The match makes sense. The hardest part of building a brand is the first 100,000 sales, but the A-list has a fan base that is well-disposed towards them and their wares. Once a celebrity brand gets off the ground, a consumer giant has the production and distribution networks to help it grow.
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Hence the series of deals. Among the first was Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics, a headphones and streaming business co-founded by Dr Dre, a music producer. Many were shocked when the tech giant, which prides itself on in-house research and design, paid around $US3 billion ($4.5 billion) for the brand in 2014. More recently Diageo, a drinksmaker, has bought a tequila firm co-owned by Mr Clooney, in a deal valued at around $US1 billion, and a gin distiller partly owned by Mr Reynolds, for up to $US610 million ($928 million).
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Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before
Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

Sydney Morning Herald

timea day ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

Celebrities are venturing beyond the billboard and the big screen – and into big business. Hailey Bieber, a model married to Justin, recently sold Rhode, her make-up brand, in a deal valued at as much as $US1 billion ($1.5 billion). Skims, a shapewear label founded by Kim Kardashian, a reality-TV star, makes $US1 billion in annual sales and is expected to list on the stockmarket soon. Rihanna is now a billionaire not directly because of her music, but thanks to Fenty Beauty, her make-up label. Ryan Reynolds, a Hollywood actor, is active in everything from telecoms to online privacy. Surprisingly, many of these superstar businesses have become a source of innovative new consumer products. Celebrities have long used their fame to peddle things. Michael Jordan, a basketball player, is thought to have made over $US1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) from his partnership with Nike over the past 40 years. Nespresso has reportedly paid George Clooney more than $US40 million ($61 million) to have his mug selling its coffee. Two decades ago Hulk Hogan, a professional wrestler, helped market the 'Hulkster' cheeseburger, pre-cooked and frozen for your convenience. The practice continues. This week President Donald Trump launched 'Victory 45-47″, a line of fragrances for men and women priced at $US249 ($379), having launched 'Fight Fight Fight' ($US199, $303) last year. By contrast, the new superstar brands put the A-list into capitalist. Ms Bieber and co are involved in operations and hold equity stakes of varying sizes in the underlying businesses. Many celebs have begun to rethink the value of traditional endorsement and licensing deals. Social media now give them a line straight to their fans. Direct-to-consumer distribution, meanwhile, has made getting a product to market easier than ever. Given that the real money is in building and owning a brand, rather than advertising, why not launch one instead? This thinking in turn is altering the life-cycle of consumer goods. Just as pharmaceutical giants acquire biotech startups to refresh their drug pipelines, so consumer giants are buying up the most successful celebrity brands. The match makes sense. The hardest part of building a brand is the first 100,000 sales, but the A-list has a fan base that is well-disposed towards them and their wares. Once a celebrity brand gets off the ground, a consumer giant has the production and distribution networks to help it grow. Loading Hence the series of deals. Among the first was Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics, a headphones and streaming business co-founded by Dr Dre, a music producer. Many were shocked when the tech giant, which prides itself on in-house research and design, paid around $US3 billion ($4.5 billion) for the brand in 2014. More recently Diageo, a drinksmaker, has bought a tequila firm co-owned by Mr Clooney, in a deal valued at around $US1 billion, and a gin distiller partly owned by Mr Reynolds, for up to $US610 million ($928 million).

Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before
Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

The Age

timea day ago

  • The Age

Celebrities are putting the ‘A-list' in capitalist like never before

Celebrities are venturing beyond the billboard and the big screen – and into big business. Hailey Bieber, a model married to Justin, recently sold Rhode, her make-up brand, in a deal valued at as much as $US1 billion ($1.5 billion). Skims, a shapewear label founded by Kim Kardashian, a reality-TV star, makes $US1 billion in annual sales and is expected to list on the stockmarket soon. Rihanna is now a billionaire not directly because of her music, but thanks to Fenty Beauty, her make-up label. Ryan Reynolds, a Hollywood actor, is active in everything from telecoms to online privacy. Surprisingly, many of these superstar businesses have become a source of innovative new consumer products. Celebrities have long used their fame to peddle things. Michael Jordan, a basketball player, is thought to have made over $US1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) from his partnership with Nike over the past 40 years. Nespresso has reportedly paid George Clooney more than $US40 million ($61 million) to have his mug selling its coffee. Two decades ago Hulk Hogan, a professional wrestler, helped market the 'Hulkster' cheeseburger, pre-cooked and frozen for your convenience. The practice continues. This week President Donald Trump launched 'Victory 45-47″, a line of fragrances for men and women priced at $US249 ($379), having launched 'Fight Fight Fight' ($US199, $303) last year. By contrast, the new superstar brands put the A-list into capitalist. Ms Bieber and co are involved in operations and hold equity stakes of varying sizes in the underlying businesses. Many celebs have begun to rethink the value of traditional endorsement and licensing deals. Social media now give them a line straight to their fans. Direct-to-consumer distribution, meanwhile, has made getting a product to market easier than ever. Given that the real money is in building and owning a brand, rather than advertising, why not launch one instead? This thinking in turn is altering the life-cycle of consumer goods. Just as pharmaceutical giants acquire biotech startups to refresh their drug pipelines, so consumer giants are buying up the most successful celebrity brands. The match makes sense. The hardest part of building a brand is the first 100,000 sales, but the A-list has a fan base that is well-disposed towards them and their wares. Once a celebrity brand gets off the ground, a consumer giant has the production and distribution networks to help it grow. Loading Hence the series of deals. Among the first was Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics, a headphones and streaming business co-founded by Dr Dre, a music producer. Many were shocked when the tech giant, which prides itself on in-house research and design, paid around $US3 billion ($4.5 billion) for the brand in 2014. More recently Diageo, a drinksmaker, has bought a tequila firm co-owned by Mr Clooney, in a deal valued at around $US1 billion, and a gin distiller partly owned by Mr Reynolds, for up to $US610 million ($928 million).

Stephen Baldwin hails daughter Hailey Bieber as 'super smart' and billion-dollar business sale
Stephen Baldwin hails daughter Hailey Bieber as 'super smart' and billion-dollar business sale

Perth Now

time2 days ago

  • Perth Now

Stephen Baldwin hails daughter Hailey Bieber as 'super smart' and billion-dollar business sale

Stephen Baldwin has hailed Hailey Bieber as being "super smart" amid her billion-dollar business sale. The 59-year-old actor has heaped praise on model Hailey, 28, after she sold off her Rhode beauty brand for the massive sum. Speaking on The Adam Corolla Show podcast, he said: "The cool part of it is she's super smart, smart in business. "Succeeded as a model prior to everything she's doing now. But the cool part was she actually had an offer to do something pretty big and cool in the cosmetics a couple years ago and didn't. "The reason it's succeeding is people are responding to it. It actually works as hydration and all of that." Stephen - who is also father to actress Alaia, 32, - added that he has "remained the same" throught the success of his children and insisted that they can always rely on him to be honest with them. He said: "The sweet part of my kids, too, is, in the wake of whatever their success is, their dad remains the same. I've always been the same way. You know you're going to tell your daughter the truth." Hailey - who is married to pop star Justin Bieber and has 11-month-old son Jack Blues with him - sold her company to e.l.f. Beauty in a deal estimated to be worth up to $1 billion, but she'll stay on as chief creative officer and head of innovation as well as acting as a consultant to e.l.f. Beauty - and Hailey is adamant the arrangement will help her take the products to a whole new level and expand across the world. She told Glamour magazine: "When you're launching a brand, you're just so focused on what's right in front of you at the time. "And of course, you always have really big dreams and really big goals for it. This is definitely one of those things being realised. I could have never anticipated that it would happen at this exact time ... "I'm super excited ... I'll be the chief creative officer and head of innovation at Rhode and advisor to Elf Beauty. "I feel like at this very moment in time, my vision has not been more clear to me. I want to expand globally, and I have so many more dreams and goals that I want to be realised. And I really believe that Elf is going to help us get there."

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