Why Scentiments.com stays with what works

Internet sales are up about 28% year over year to $8.9 million for Scentiments.com. The reason: Scentiments, an online fragrance retailer, is sticking to a tried-and-true merchandising strategy of maintaining good relations with suppliers and offering customers a low price.

“We operate in a commodity space that’s totally driven by price,” says CEO Howard Wyner. “People will shop the mall for the latest fragrance and then go online to see who’s got the best deal and that’s who we see as our core customer.”

Over the years Wyner says more competitors, including manufacturers, have entered the competitive online perfume retailing space. But Scentiments.com, which has sold on the web since 1998 and has deep connections in the fragrance industry, keeps pace because it can offer nearly 1,000 SKUs from suppliers such as Carolina Herrera and Yves Saint Laurent when other retailers can’t.

“Our space is pretty saturated, but we can offer a pretty well-rounded inventory,” Wyner says. “Our inventory is also in real-time so shoppers know exactly when we have something in stock and when we don’t."

Scentiments.com, which processes an average ticket of about $60, also offers the “Fragrance Guru,” which is a site feature and e-mail program by which shoppers can submit questions and receive detailed answers back from the retailer’s knowledgeable customer service team. “All of us participate in the Fragrance Guru including me because we’re all very hands on,” Wyner says.