CEO of LVMH says Johnny Depp is 'working very well' for Dior Sauvage sales

The CEO of LVMH claimed that Johnny Depp was a significant sales driver for Diors fragrance division despite the controversy the actor has faced in recent months

Dior Sauvage was a leader in perfume sales throughout the year, achieving remarkable success, driven by the image of Johnny Depp, according to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault during the January 26 presentation for the luxury conglomerates 2022 financial report.

Dior Sauvage is the only fragrance listed under strong growth in perfumes in the 2022 highlights section of LVMHs financial report. According to the report, one major factor in success was the continued global success of Diors Sauvage, once again world leader in 2022.

A remarkable rebound for Sephora, which confirmed its place as the world leader in the distribution of beauty products, was the other highlight relating to beauty.

Since the 2015 release of Dior Sauvage, Dior Beauty has maintained Depp as the face of the perfume, despite the fact that Disney and Warner Brothers both dropped him from major film franchises due to the controversy surrounding abuse allegations made by his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The actor was prominently displayed in advertisements for the fragrance after the highly publicised April 2022 trial in which Depp sued Heard for defamation began. This included Sephora Instagram ads from May 2022 and a TV ad that ran in June 2022 with the slogan Fearless yet human.

While Dior Beauty last featured him on its Instagram account in a post from September that included a snippet of the commercial, his picture continued to appear on in-store displays of the fragrance. It published a number of videos of him performing at a concert in Paris in August.

LVMHs division for fragrances and cosmetics saw overall revenue growth of 17 in 2022. Although the main fragrance named as a growth driver was Dior Sauvage, other flagship scents like Miss Dior and Jadore, the Prestige serum, and the TikTok-viral Dior Addict lip oil were also highlighted during the earnings presentation. There were also listed as sales drivers Guerlain, Parfums Givenchy, and Fenty Beauty.

According to Axios, the Depp v. Heard trials sensationalism generated more social engagement at the time than any other news story. Despite the abuse evidence presented at the trial by Heards defence team, Depp was favoured in popular posts about the case. Far-right influencers online boosted Depps support, and the right-wing media outlet The Daily Wire spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads in his favour.

Depp reportedly renewed his contract with Dior in 2022, and he continues to be highlighted on the Dior Beauty homepage. By the time this story was published, a representative from Dior Beauty was unable to provide more information. The soccer player Kylian Mbappe, who was chosen as the fragrances global ambassador in 2021, is featured in one of the brands most recent social media posts about Dior Sauvage.