Perfumania is on a roll. Last year the chain stayed on plan and opened 32 new stores. This year, the retailer is on track to open 35 stores, with another 40 planned for next year.
“The company in the past two-and-a-half years went from losing money to making money,” said Ray Piergiorgi, vice president of marketing and merchandising for Perfumania, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunrise, Florida-based E Com Ventures, Inc., which also owns perfumania.com. For the current fiscal year ended Jan. 28, Perfumania posted net income of $14.3 million. In 2004 it posted losses of $12.9 million.
While the company posted losses for the most recent quarter ended April 13, at least the losses are shrinking. Despite expansion, net loss narrowed to $1.7 million from $2.1 million, while sales grew $46.1 million, up from $43.3 million a year ago.
Today, more than 70 stores utilize a new look, which features glass and wood merchandising fixtures. A new merchandise mix, where more beauty items such as bath and body products are displayed, also aims to make Perfumania a more complete retailer, since about 95 percent of sales come from fragrance. Piergiorgi wants that number to be closer to 85 percent by the end of the year.
The $233 million retailer, which operates 263 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and discounts prices by 10 to 20 percent on many leading fragrance brands, including Estée Lauder’s, is now launching a cosmetics line, a bath and body line and a candle line.
To promote the items, Perfumania for the first time will run regional radio ads beginning in the fourth quarter. Seven markets will receive the ads, including South Florida, Southern California, Texas and the New York metro area. Freestanding inserts, direct-mail pieces and bounce-back coupons also will promote the new items. Industry sources said Perfumania’s advertising budget is likely a $750,000 effort.
In stores beginning September 1 is Mattese NYC, a color cosmetics line created by late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin. Mattese is currently sold in a smattering of beauty stores and includes eye powders, lip glosses, lip gels and nail colors. “It has a bit of a cult following among makeup artists because it has such as broad palette,” said Piergiorgi. The line, which consists of more than 100 items, has been slimmed down to 50 for Perfumania. The line will be merchandised in cases, such as in department stores, and will have tester units for customers to test and play with the line. Prices for Mattese NYC begin at $4.99 for nail enamel and go to $9.99 for lip gels.
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Three new shades of Perfumania’s first private label line, HydraPlump, also are entering stores in September. “We had tremendous success when it launched last year,” said Piergiorgi.
By mid-October, stores will receive a new line of bath and body products under the brand Jerome Privée Moments, which originally launched in Perfumania eight years ago. “We have created and redone the line with seven new fragrances and new products, including a body lotion, a shower gel, a body mist, a body cream and a body butter. Items range from $9 for a body lotion to $12 for a body butter.
A candle line, Jerome Privée Pour La Maison, is also set to enter stores in the fourth quarter, to include nine scents, three of which are seasonal. Each 10-oz. candle will sell for $19.99.