Salvatore Ferragamo liked to see fine details in a bottle of fragrance as much as he did in a stiletto.
According to his eldest son, Ferruccio, Salvatore adored fragrance and introduced it in his Florentine shop in 1956.
“He had a scent that he packaged in Baccarat crystal bottles,” Ferruccio Ferragamo said.
The company didn’t consider fragrance again until four decades later, in 1996, when the Ferragamo Group entered a joint venture with the Bulgari Group to produce Ferragamo fragrances. A year later, two scents bowed — Salvatore Ferragamo Pour Homme and Salvatore Ferragamo Pour Femme, which are still made.
The joint venture with Bulgari was dissolved in 2000, but a year later, Ferragamo created its own fragrance division, Ferragamo Parfums, and appointed Luciano Bertinelli director.
Besides the Ferragamo fragrances, Ferragamo Parfums acquired the license for Emanuel Ungaro fragrances in 2001. The license was recently extended even though Ungaro’s fashion business was sold.
In 2003, the division launched Incanto by Salvatore Ferragamo, an oriental women’s scent. Flankers Incanto Dream and Incanto Charms were spun off in 2005.
Another fragrance, Apparition by Emanuel Ungaro, bowed in 2005 simultaneously with the men’s fragrance Incanto Pour Homme.
Ferragamo Parfums closed 2004 with wholesale volume of $36.3 million, and had $49.5 million in 2005.
F by Ferragamo was launched this month, and Bertinelli said Ferragamo Parfums is on track to deliver profit to the Ferragamo Group by yearend, ahead of expectations. Turnover is expected to hit $76.4 million, or 60 million euros, at wholesale.
“We were so enthusiastic when we took the fragrance business back in-house,” Ferragamo said, “and since then, we’ve had some great results.”