THE PERFUME BAR.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 3 February 1936, Page 8

THE PERFUME BAR.

Many of us can remember the day when praetk-nlly all perfumes were sold by the dram from bulk stock. In (hose days, 7.1 per edit: ot the perfume business was in the hands of the chemists, and even the smallest pharmacy <;:.: ried from three to live pints of bulk perfume.

Then came the era of packaging, and bulk perfumes, itlouy with many other lines, found their way into individual containers. With tlie advent of package perfumes. departmental and other types of retail stores, .started to expand their cosmetic departments, aad as a lesult made very serious inroads on the perfume trade which originally belonged to pharmacy. It Jin ally came to pass that 75 per cent of the perfume business was being transacted by departmental stores, beauty parlors and other types of retail shops. Many excellent odours whic hwero very popular in the day of the bulk perfume era, were swallowed up by a few highly advertised brands put up in individual packages. Some of our readers will remember those'old time favourites, such as "Four Roses," "Carnation," "Heliotrope" and "White Lilac' About four years ago, a manufacturer in America of very line perfumes, conceived the idea that selling perfumes in bulk could be revived if the idea was presented to women attractively and in keeping with modern merchandising trends. This manufacturer developed the idea of a perfume bar. One of the first experiments was a complete perfume liar, counter, brass rail and all, installed in a large departmental store. It looked to all intents and purposes like the modern cocktail bar, which has become so popular in recent years. Women could step up to this perfume bar, test out the various types of perfume, and buyone or two drams of their favourite odour.

This miniature perfume bar took the I'ountry by storm. Here was another cayc where history repeated itself, aim to-day the selling of perfumes by the iliam is definitely greater than it was in the "-ood old days." Women who looked upon package perfumes at Ms (id and up as a luxury, jumped at the chance to buy a dram of fnmd perfume at from Is (id to L's (id,. What is more important is the faH that (lie chemist j s ..(.;;iriM' b.".rk some of (lie business which originally belonged to him, and ; s :i !,;,. ;,, compete with the departmental store, t!\e beauty parlor mid l!,e pei-flime shop. The position on perfumes to-day in • Au.-tralia ami New Zealand as far as pharmacy is concerned, is almost identical with wiiat it v.-as in America be-fni-e the introduction of the perfume, ;,,.,.■ i,!,i : i. If tiie perfume bar succeeded "n back a bio- share of the bulk perfume business to pharmacy in ~;:;<■. p.u.s df the world, there is no reason why it should not do the same :r and Xew Zealand, because, :i!'ter all, human nature is the same the world over.