All Wrapped Up Holiday : Baskets Make Fragrance a Romantic and Convenient Present
FOR YEARS,fragrance sets were regarded as uninspired presents, fit only for dowdy Aunt Mildred. Today, they have been repackaged and reconsidered, and they are some of the most popular items on holiday shopping lists. The sets began arriving in stores in October, and by Halloween retailers had sold out of several styles.
A return to romantic traditions in the late ‘80s has fed the demand for the new gift sets, says Annette Green, executive director of the New York-based Fragrance Foundation, which studies the perfume industry. Baby boomers who watched their fathers give their mothers gift boxes filled with Evening in Paris or Wind Song are heading for fragrance counters for a 1989 version. Says Green: “The trend in fragrance purchases now is toward romance and personal involvement. A basket or gift set selected for a loved one is consistent with that kind of thinking.”
Margo Scavarda, senior vice president/general merchandise manager for cosmetics at The Broadway, reports that prepackaged gifts of Giorgio, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein’s Obsession, Chanel No. 5 and Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium are selling well at the stores’ fragrance counters. She says that most people are willing to spend $35 to $50 for a set that contains two or three items, such as cologne combined with powder, soap or lotion. Customers perceive the variety of products--often in sizes not usually available--and the decorative packaging as a good value.
Many sets are priced under $25. At Sav-On Drugs, for instance, Jaclyn Smith’s California dusting powder and cologne is priced at $22.50, as is Lalura’s lotion and perfume spray, which comes in simple white packaging at Mervyn’s. At J. C. Penney, Le Jardin de Max Factor eau de toilette spray is boxed with two bars of perfumed soap for $10.50.
Extravagant shoppers can spend more than $100. For example, at Nordstrom and Robinson’s, a $140 wicker basket filled with Red by Giorgio Beverly Hills includes cologne, dusting powder, body moisturizer and perfume. At Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, a $150 coffret , or fitted gift box, from Chanel No. 5 includes eau de parfum and a pair of signature earrings.
“Last year, we were out of all the best sets by Thanksgiving,” says Pam Rosengard, fragrance buyer for I. Magnin and Bullocks Wilshire. Since there was no time to reorder, Rosengard’s salespeople improvised. They put together custom baskets containing fragrance items selected by each shopper, who paid only the cost of each item, not for the presentation. The concept was so successful that the stores are repeating the service.
A similar service provided last year in the cosmetics area at Saks inspired other departments to offer customized gifts in complimentary baskets. “So if someone wants to create their own set with a Chanel handbag and earrings, along with a bottle of Chanel No. 5, it’s possible,” says Patricia Fox, director of fashion and marketing for Saks’ Southern California stores.
Whether gift sets are prepackaged or assembled to order, their popularity owes as much to convenience as romance. Says Ruth Gordon, manager of cosmetics at Saks in Beverly Hills: Men, who buy 75% of the expensive perfume sold at holiday time, “tend to buy the most-elaborate baskets because it’s easy.”
