Perfume Flankers: A Strategy for Boosting Sales
What are perfume flankers?
Perfumery is very close my heart as a business and as a product.
Having spent over 20 years in the aromatic world, managing some of the biggest brands in the perfume sector, I am now sharing my insights on how using perfume flankers is one of the top business games.
If you analyze each of the middle eastern perfume player or even go ahead with western perfumeries, each one of them has one or two main- Best selling fragrance label under their kitty.
Perfume flankers are variations of an original fragrance, created by brands to capitalize on a successful scent’s popularity while attracting new customers.
Prerequisite for introducing perfume flankers.
The success of parent version of the fragrance is indeed the main requisite.
Success of parent fragrance both in terms of sales (units) as well as imagery Visibility in the market and continuous persistent demand from all the distribution channels and consumers.
The parent fragrance should have seen at least two seasons of continuous growth in the channels prior to embark on creating a fragrance flanker.
Using perfume flankers for growing sales dominance.
Flankers typically retain the DNA of the original perfume but introduce slight modifications such as different notes, intensities, or bottle designs.
This strategy helps brands maintain customer interest, appeal to evolving trends, and drive additional sales.
For example,
Chanel No. 5, an iconic fragrance, has seen flankers like Chanel No. 5 L’Eau, a fresher and lighter version for younger audiences.
Dior Sauvage, a bestseller, has spawned variations like Sauvage Elixir and Sauvage Parfum, offering stronger and richer compositions.
Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl line has introduced multiple flankers, including Very Good Girl and Good Girl Supreme, each with a unique twist on the original.
Similarly, Club de Nuit Intense by Armaf has expanded with versions such as Club de Nuit Urban Man and Milestone.
Davidoff’s Cool Water also boasts numerous flankers, like Cool Water Intense and Cool Water Parfum.
Navigating fragrance markets in Africa, click here to read.
Advantages for creating perfume flankers:
These flankers not only refresh a brand’s fragrance portfolio but also enhance revenue streams.
Since the development of a flanker requires less investment than a brand-new fragrance, it allows companies to maximize profits while catering to diverse consumer preferences.
It also addresses the common question from the trade – whats new and trade feels confident to invest in new flanker riding on the popularity of the parent fragrance.
Caution for Niche Perfumes using flanker as their strategy
To be honest, I haven’t seen flankers doing well especially with niche fragrances.
My personal view is since the fragrance is niche, both in terms of heritage, design, formulation and unique offering which commands a higher premium from the masstige or Premium brands.
In niche brand marketing, you speak and target to a smaller audience within specific target group (demographics, psychographics profiling is limited)
For a true niche brand that is speaking to a narrow audience, launching flankers can run the risk of cannibalizing sales of an existing scent.
Personally, I would feel cheated if my niche fragrance brings out a flanker at lower price point, then for me… the brand is no longer in niche luxury space.
I haven’t seen a flanker of Hermes -birkin bag as yet… (have you?)
Way out for niche luxury perfume brand
Niche fragrance can bring out more concentrated flankers as Extraits which would appeal and keep the brand loyalty intact.
