Inter Parfums, Inc. Reports Record Second Quarter Net Sales

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

NEW YORK–(Business Wire)–
Inter Parfums, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: IPAR) today announced that net sales for the
second quarter of 2010 hit a new record reaching approximately $107.8 million, a
21.6% increase from $88.6 million in the second quarter of 2009. At comparable
foreign currency exchange rates, net sales for the second quarter were up 28.3%.
Thus, net sales for the first half of 2010 increased 26.9% to $227.1 million
from $179.0 million in the same period last year. At comparable foreign currency
exchange rates, net sales for the first half of 2010 rose 28.6%. Inter Parfums
plans to issue final results for the second quarter of 2010 on or about August
9, 2010 and conduct a conference call on the following day.

Three months ended Six Months Ended
June 30,
June 30,
2010 2009 % Change 2010 2009 % Change
($ in millions)

European-based product sales $ 91.9 $ 79.4 15.8 % $ 200.2 $ 161.4 24.1 %
United States-based product sales 15.9 9.2 71.5 % 26.9 17.6 52.9 %
$ 107.8 $ 88.6 21.6 % $ 227.1 $ 179.0 26.9 %

Discussing European-based operations, Jean Madar, Chairman & CEO of Inter
Parfums noted, “The strong performance achieved in the first quarter has
continued through the first half. Burberry fragrance sales did exceptionally
well with year-to-date growth of 26% in local currency due to global rollout of
Burberry Sport fragrances, as well as the popularity of established Burberry
scents including Burberry Brit and The Beat. Similarly, in local currency,
Lanvin fragrance sales are up 21%, Van Cleef & Arpels (“VCA”) increased 36%,
S.T. Dupont rose 65% and Paul Smith advanced 12% through the first half of 2010.
These sales gains are due to a combination of new fragrance launches including
VCA`s Oriens and S.T. Dupont`s two new scents Intense and Essence Pure Ice, as
well as continued sell-through of established scents. Thus far this year, we`ve
had robust sales growth in Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Eastern
Europe where, in local currency, first half sales rose 39%, 67%, 22% and 68%,
respectively, while sales in Western Europe and North America rose a more than
acceptable 12% and 14%, respectively, over the first half of 2009.”

On the subject of U.S.-based operations, Mr. Madar pointed out, “We are
delighted by the significant upturn in sales, fueled by deeper and broader
international specialty retail product distribution as well as from new product
launches. We are working on several new initiatives including products for our
recently announced license arrangement with Betsey Johnson. We hope to announce
additional licensing arrangements for our U.S.-based operations in the near
future.”

Inter Parfums, Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes prestige perfumes and
cosmetics as the exclusive worldwide licensee for Burberry, Van Cleef & Arpels,
Jimmy Choo, Paul Smith, Montblanc and S.T. Dupont. The Company also owns Lanvin
Perfumes and Nickel, a men`s skin care company. It also produces personal care
products for specialty retailers under exclusive agreements for Gap, Banana
Republic, New York & Company, Brooks Brothers, bebe and Betsey Johnson brands.
In addition, Inter Parfums produces and supplies mass market fragrances and
fragrance related products. The Company`s products are sold in over 120
countries worldwide.

Statements in this release which are not historical in nature are
forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can
give no assurance that such plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved.
In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by forward-looking
words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,”
“may,” “should,” “will” and “would” or similar words. You should not rely on
forward-looking statements because actual events or results may differ
materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result
of a number of important factors. These factors include, but are not limited to,
the risks and uncertainties discussed under the headings “Forward Looking
Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Inter Parfums’ annual report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and the reports Inter Parfums files from
time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Inter Parfums does not
intend to and undertakes no duty to update the information contained in this
press release.

Inter Parfums, Inc.
Russell Greenberg, Exec. VP & CFO, 212-983-2640
rgreenberg@interparfumsinc.com
www.interparfumsinc.com
or
Investor Relations Counsel
The Equity Group Inc.
Linda Latman, 212-836-9609/llatman@equityny.com
Lena Cati, 212-836-9611/lcati@equityny.com
www.theequitygroup.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Our nostrils share a ‘smelly’ rivalry

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 21 (ANI): Our nostrils may look like a happy pair, but according to a new study, when they pick up conflicting scents, the nose holes become deadly rivals.

The study, published online in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, explains that when the nose encounters two different scents simultaneously, the brain processes them separately through each nostril in an alternating fashion.

The finding by researchers at Rice University in Houston is the first demonstration of “perceptual rivalry” in the olfactory system.

“Our discovery opens up new avenues to explore the workings of the olfactory system and olfactory awareness,” said Denise Chen, assistant professor of psychology, who coauthored the research paper with graduate student Wen Zhou.

For the study, 12 volunteers sampled smells from two bottles containing distinctively different odors. One bottle had phenyl ethyl alcohol, which smells like a rose, and the other had n-butanol, which smells like a marker pen.

The bottles were fitted with nosepieces so that volunteers could sample both scents simultaneously-one through each nostril.

During 20 rounds of sampling, all 12 participants experienced switches between smelling predominantly the rose scent and smelling predominantly the marker scent. Some experienced more frequent and drastic switches than others, but there was no predictable pattern of the switch across the whole group of volunteers or within individuals.

Chen said this “binaral rivalry” between the nostrils resembles the rivalry that occurs between other pairs of sensory organs.

When the eyes simultaneously view two different images-one for each eye-the two images are perceived in alternation, one at a time. And when alternating tones an octave apart are played out of phase to each ear, most people experience a single tone that goes back and forth from ear to ear.

In the laboratory setting in which each nostril simultaneously received a different smell, the participants experienced an “olfactory illusion,” she said.

“Instead of perceiving a constant mixture of the two smells, they perceive one of the smells, followed by the other, in an alternating fashion, as if the nostrils were competing with one another. Although both smells are equally present, the brain attends to predominantly one of them at a time,” the expert added.

“The binaral rivalry involves adaptations at the peripheral sensory neurons and in the cortex,” Chen said.

“Our work sets the stage for future studies of this phenomenon so we can learn more about the mechanisms by which we perceive smells,” the expert said.

In binaral rivalry, the tug-of-war between dominance and suppression of the olfactory perception exists only in the mind of the person who smells the odors, while the physical properties of the olfactory stimuli remain unchanged, Chen said. This gives humans the rare opportunity to dissociate olfactory perception and physical stimulation. (ANI)

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Now, electronic nose that sniffs out wine’s origin

June 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, June 28 (ANI): Researchers in France have found a way to identify wine so accurately they can pinpoint where the drink was made and in which barrel it was fermented.

It uses an electronic nose to make even the most well established sommelier a little nervous.

The unique way exploits the complex mix of thousands of compounds found in each bottle of wine that gives the drink subtly different scents and flavours.

Researchers analyzed the compounds in vaporised samples of wine to produce detailed chemical signatures that can be matched against a database of characteristics to identify a wine’s source. They did so by using a kind of electronic nose, known as a mass spectrometer, reports The Telegraph.

It means they can tell exactly which variety of grape a wine is made from, the region and vineyard where it was produced and the source of the wood used in the barrel.

Regis Gougeon, from the University of Bourgogne, in Dijon, France, who led the research, said: “In winemaking, several processes can subtly modulate the characteristics of wine.

“Wine experts use their eyes, mouth and nose as detectors and are able to distinguish wines according to their ages, grape varieties, terroirs.

“All we know is that so far, none of the sensory analyses of the wines we looked at could discriminate like we did.

“Our approach reveals the extremely high yet unknown chemical diversity of wine. It was exciting to be able to observe such a diversity at once, where many compounds, even in low concentration, may contribute to the body of the wine.” (ANI)

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Women’s noses are wired to sniff out men’s body odour

April 7, 2009 By 1 Comment

Washington, Apr 7 (ANI): Don’t go overboard with the deodorant if you’re meeting a woman, for a new study has found that ladies are really good at sniffing out biologically-relevant information from males’ underarm sweat.

“It is quite difficult to block a woman’s awareness of body odor. In contrast, it seems rather easy to do so in men,” said study lead author Charles J. Wysocki, PhD, a behavioural neuroscientist at Monell Center.

The researchers speculate that females are more attuned to biologically relevant information in sweat that may guide women when choosing a mate.

In the study, women and men rated the strength of underarm odors, both alone and in conjunction with various fragrances.

The fragrances were selected to test their ability to block underarm odor through a method known as cross-adaptation.
lfactory adaptation refers to the loss of sensitivity to an odor when one is constantly exposed to that odor. Olfactory cross-adaptation occurs when the nose adapts to one odor and then also becomes less sensitive to a second odor.

Sniffed alone, the underarm odors smelled equally strong to men and women. When fragrance was introduced, only two of 32 scents successfully blocked underarm odor when women were doing the smelling; in contrast, 19 fragrances significantly reduced the strength of underarm odor for men.

Wysocki noted that in earlier studies, men and women did not differ in their ability to cross-adapt to odors not from the body.

“Taken together, our studies indicate that human sweat conveys information that is of particular importance to females. This may explain why it is so difficult to block women’s perception of sweat odors,” he said.

Not only were women better smellers the men, but male odors were harder to block than female odors. Even though underarm odors from the two sexes didn’t differ in how strong they smelled, only 19 percent of the fragrances successfully reduced the strength of male underarm odor; in contrast, over 50 percent decreased intensity of female underarm odor.

In the study, one sensory panel evaluated fragrances for their ability to counteract female underarm odor; a second panel judged the effectiveness of fragrances against male odor. Each panel contained both men and women.

To make their odor evaluations, panelists sniffed vials of underarm sweat previously collected in the laboratory from volunteers.

Panelists first rated the intensity of underarm odor to provide a measure of the odor’s strength. They then continued to rate underarm odor intensity while sniffing a fragrance for 2-1/2 minutes.

A drop in intensity ratings for the underarm odor indicated that the fragrance was a successful cross-adapting agent, capable of neutralizing the odor.

“Men and women differ in how they perceive body odors from both their own and the opposite sex,” summarized Monell scientist George Preti, PhD, an analytical organic chemist who co-led the research with Wysocki.

“Women are more aware of underarm odor and they appear to be detecting differences in odor quality,” the expert added. (ANI)

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Girlfriend’s fake tan woke Brit man from coma!

March 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar 27 (ANI): Tom wouldn’t have imagined that her girlfriend’s fake tan – which he always griped about – would one day help save his life.

His girlfriend Jo Ventham was a die-hard fan of fake tan, no matter how much her boyfriend moaned about the smell.

And it was this smell that helped get him out of coma he’s been in for 9 days.

Tom was attacked on a night out that left him fighting for life. He was in a coma and on a life-support machine after been head butted by a man following an argument.

Like any other girlfriend Jo wanted him to get out of the coma and get well soon, and she hoped that smothering smell of her fake tan could do the needful.

“Tom had always moaned about the smell of it. And I knew that if he could smell anything at all he’d pick up on that and know I was there,” the Mirror quoted her as saying.

According to Jo, who has been going out with Tom for three-and-a-half years, doctors said while he’s still in coma he might be able to smell things.

“They also told us he might be able to smell things, so I decided I would try my best to let him know I was with him,” said Jo.

Jo used to douse herself in familiar scents – using her favourite shampoo and applying her favourite Nina Ricci perfume. She even went for fake tan.

It did work and Tom finally woke up. (ANI)

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Cancer-sniffing artificial noses on the anvil

March 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Feb 28 (ANI): Duke University researchers are decoding the way people’s noses recognize scents – a development that will lay the groundwork for a future of cancer-sniffing artificial noses.

In an experiment, researchers tested hundreds of receptor gene types found in human and mouse noses, reports National Geographic News.

Scientists were able to figure out which receptors respond to which odor molecules and translate the smells into brain signals by inundating the receptors with odors.

Unlocking this interface would show how the brain recognizes and reacts to different smells.

“We used many different types of [odorus] chemicals, from strawberries to garlic, and these chemicals have specific structure. [We asked] what kinds of receptors are activated by each?” said study co-author Harumi Saito of Duke University.

“Only three receptor types facilitate all of color vision,” said geneticist Joel Mainland of the Duke University Medical Center, whose findings will appear in tomorrow’s issue of the journal Science.

“For human smell you have 400 [receptors], so it becomes a very complex system to decode,” the expert added.

Avery Gilbert, author of What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life, added that “the big problem is lining up which odor molecules go with which receptors. It’s as if you have a pile of locks and a pile of keys and you’ve got to find out which key goes to each lock.”

Knowing how different receptors recognize odors could help produce artificial noses able to sniff out scents from cancer to bombs. (ANI)

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Holi preparations keep colour manufacturers in UP busy

February 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hathras (UP), Feb 26 (ANI): With ‘Holi’ round the corner, the colour-manufacturing units at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh are working overtime to meet the huge demand for colours from many parts of the country.

Workers at Hathras colour manufacturing industry say that not only during Holi, but during other festivals also, colour is exported to other states from the town.

Laxman Singh, an owner of a colour-making unit said that the aim is to churn out new quality products every year ahead of Holi to combat the increasingly tough competition.

“Hathras is famous throughout India for its colour business. People trust the quality of colours that we make. But this year, there are some problems. We are facing a lot of competition. Many units have come up. The economic slowdown is also hurting our business,” said Singh.

People involved in the business say that the raw material for making the coloured powder is mixed with ingredients like starch and topia. Colour pigment and water is also added and the mixture is then dried and ground into powdery form.

This ground mixture is again dried with random quality checks. Later, perfumes and scents are added to lend an attractive fragrance.

All the three ingredients, topia, starch and corn flour are herbal products.

Colour manufacturers said that China had made a failed attempted to capture a part of the Indian colours market two years ago with cheaper and low quality products.

“China had tried to enter this colour business. It had tried to capture our market. Two years back, we thought, we would lose our business to China, but then the quality of its products is not good, and people had many complaints. Now, once again people are coming back to us despite the fact that the Chinese products are cheap,” said Vinod Mittal, another colour manufacturer.

The owners of colour-making units reveal that the turnover prior to Holi is almost a six-figure digit. Industry experts say that the multi-million Holi colour industry grows at the rate of 15 per cent per annum.

Hathras has more than two dozens small and big industrial units catering to the nationwide demand while providing employment to hundreds of persons in the region. By Devendra Varshnay (ANI)

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