ARO update

[Sunblessed]

At the end of August, there was a partial rejection of the ARO trademark because of the name and descriptions. Also issues with the logo.
They had 3 months to rectify, which you would think would be ample time.

But just a few days before the deadline, an extension has been applied for. Which would be another 3 months

So it’s obviously not an easy fix, I’m sure there have been countless people working to get this done and they have months! Yet they’ve not been able to sort it.

Seemingly, you are only allowed one extension. This would take her to the end of February. So pretty much a year since she’s launched and it’s no further forward, if anything she’s in a worse position. What a disaster.

And also, lest you think that things would have been different in the 2000s than when Charles was a teenager, in 2000 Tony Blair’s 16-year old son Euan was picked up by the police for being drunk and incapable after celebrating the end of his school exams. This caused international news headlines, and was a public embarrassment to his father.

No 10 was quick to accept then that under-age drinking made Euan a legitimate target for media attention. Exactly the same was true for Harry.

Euan Blair had to attend the police station with his parents to discover if any formal action would be taken against him, and apologised for his behaviour. So Harry got off fairly lightly, given he’d been both drinking and smoking cannabis - the police weren’t involved at all in his case.

What products would people like to see on ARO? Just curious

Don’t give us the crap that Harry stated in his book. It’s a euphemism for not telling the truth and telling the actual facts.

You obviously don’t understand how memories work.

But if you can support your view please do so. If you have a source that says memories are set in stone and incidents from the past are recalled exactly as they happened, I’d like to read it.

Who is ‘us’? You wrote ‘don’t give us the crap’.

Do you speak for all posters?

And also, lest you think that things would have been different in the 2000s than when Charles was a teenager, in 2000 Tony Blair’s 16-year old son Euan was picked up by the police for being drunk and incapable after celebrating the end of his school exams. This caused international news headlines, and was a public embarrassment to his father.

Of all the things I was thinking, that “things would have been different in the 2000s than when Charles was a teenager” was not one of them. Lest you think it was.

Of all the things I was thinking, that “things would have been different in the 2000s than when Charles was a teenager” was not one of them. Lest you think it was.

Thanks for clarifying, BettyBlueSky!

But “you” can also mean “you” plural - as in other MNers who may be reading and thinking times were different when Charles was a teenager.

I thought it was "you" generic/plural, as conversation here is usually general.

I remember the conniptions about Charles and the cherry brandy! The one involving the son off the PM had slipped my mind, but now it's been mentioned I remember it. Yes, it is correct to conclude that Britain was in a fairly censorious mood at the time. Taking Harry along on a visit to rehab, and stressing that he was given private time with service users, was a very good way of removing him from public opprobrium, and it was a way that worked.

@OneTealSloth For a celebrity product to do better than what I buy in the supermarket (where I live in the US we have a lot of fresh produce) it has to have some USP. I don’t buy hair care because X sells it, I buy it because it works for my hair. There is a very small line of celebrity products that do well, usually because they have tied up with a major outlet.
I got some nice crockery promoted by this cook I like on IG but it was a tie up with Anthropologie and it is very nice:
https://www.anthropologie.com/betul-tunc-collab
(but she’s also a well established name in the cooking world not a celebrity trying to show off a recipe or two).

But most celebrity brands that have name recognition are tie ups- Selena Gomez and Puma, George Clooney and Nespresso (would people buy coffee that was just branded Clooney- unlikely). Skims and Kardashian is interesting and very successful but is ruthlessly focussed. Fenty by Rihanna has done well but Louis Vuitton owns part of it doesn’t it? Also the Kardashians and Rihanna are big names in the US in a way that Meghan isn’t quite (not yet). Her best bet is a tie up with a major brand like Williams Sonoma or something but I don’t see that as hugely likely.

Thanks. I have huge reservations about Meghan’s life style products selling to be honest.

I bet she’ll start with a basic like Jam but make the bulk of money plugging other brands with affiliate links.

ARO needs to be established before selling own brand products.

But @OneTealSloth how can the brand establish itself if it doesn’t have own brand products? The brand they partner with really will have to be high end/luxury otherwise it doesn’t tie in to the brief glimpse of the ARO image we have.

They have a brand- Archewell. Maybe they would have been better off selling merchandise under that banner as at least it is has some recognition?

I agree that a tie in with an established retailer is essential. Fenty is sold in Sephora, Boots and other chains. Skims can also be bought in several high street outlets. Relying on your own online presence is risky, especially as Meghan has no social media and isn't often seen at high profile events.

Also, the brand has to have an obvious association with the person behind it. KK and a line of shapewear is a perfect match. The same is true for Rihanna and a beauty line. But Meghan and a homewares brand? Not so much. Also, as you say, she's not that a huge star in America and her fame is likely on the slide. Who associates her with homewares and cooking and is going to seek out her brand to spend money there?

As I said in a previous post, you can't just pop up one day and demand to be taken seriously in an overcrowded market. You need to put in the prep work first.

You have huge reservations about her products but you post that you’re so excited about ARO 2025 and state it will be a success?

Your posts constantly contradict themselves. Very odd

No TM, regardless of name, will be given out until the latter part of 2025. So she ain’t selling anything under her brand anytime soon.

Rhianna applied for the Fenty trademark in 2013, she launched Fenty beauty in 2017. She had the trademark long before she launched her product, and she also had collaborated successfully with Mac products prior to launching her beauty brand.

Brands are built on trust and reputation and the reputation and brand identity of American Riveria Orchard is already in the toilet before 1 item has been sold, from a brand name that has been ridiculed, to a launch that went nowhere, to a trademark failure on the first round and to a founder who is not seen as trustworthy or genuine by many.

I really do think it will need to be a full rebrand with a targeted launch to those customers it wants to attract.

The customers who will buy her products are fans, a minority, who if they do buy jam or dog biscuits or expensive items from little known companies, will only buy them because they feel they are helping MM, they will probably buy one or two items at the outset, but I think an even smaller minority will remain as loyal purchasing customers.

I think after the initial fanfare of a Netflix launch, it will settle into a small 'Mom and Pop' type platform with maybe a few outlets taking some of their products on.

Edited to ad: that is if they even do launch their own products or if becomes another Etsy type platform.

Rhianna applied for the Fenty trademark in 2013, she launched Fenty beauty in 2017. She had the trademark long before she launched her product, and she also had collaborated successfully with Mac products prior to launching her beauty brand.

I think part of the problem with the trademarking of ARO is that, unlike Rhianna and Fenty, Meghan doesn’t have the passion for ARO. Rhianna clearly had long term plans for Fenty well before its launch, whereas ARO smacks of a last minute idea to try and bring in some cash when other avenues have failed. That approach to setting up a successful business is highly unlikely to work. The same with promoting said business before the basics like which products to sell and supply chain are in place

I think ARO can be a success still, you don’t have to sell branded products to make money. No contradiction there.

ARO has been in the works for over 2 years, this is not rushed I assure you. Analysis paralysis for sure.

I fear that the only people with such harsh perceptions of ARO are people who have already wanted her to fail, couldn’t wait five minutes before calling it a disaster. I’m not buying that your average person not invested in hating and mocking Meghan feel that way. Trademark back and forths are not enough to sink a company.

Wasn’t it supposed to have launched this year (as in 2024) originally? But now the trademark issue is holding it back? Doesn’t suggest to me that all ducks are in a row 🤷‍♀️

Ones that will sell, so that the brand is a success.

But I'm not sure what those would be. Presumably they will need to fit the list of products that they've submitted to the trademark office, fit in with the soft launch trailer, whatever it is that has been filmed for the lifestyle show, plus jam and dog biscuits to build on Insta activity.

I'm mildly surprised that she's decided not to use this time to build the ARO site as Tig 2. I thought there would be new blogging content, to build an audience (and test reactions) to help inform what there will be.

I think you are right, a 'source; told People Magazine it would be launched in Spring of 2024, clearly that was the plan based on the few efforts they made around that time to try to promote it. All downhill from there.

I have just looked on instagram and i can’t see a place to register interest . Am I imagining it or was there a waiting list when it was launched ?
604k followers .

You can join the wait list here 😌

That’s what she’s doing, just a different name. She really like Montecito 🥴

That isn’t showing in Instagram @OneTealSloth . I won’t be buying overpriced jam thank you !

Yes, there was a set back. She can take all the time she needs to get back on track but it needs to be damn near perfect this time around.