Notes from the Scent Front: Discount Drama, Dupe Wars & More
2026 . 02 . 23 |
The month of February has not lacked for activity. What do we see from the sidelines? Discount activity that’s out of control, retailers behaving badly, dupe wars escalating, all while the fragrance launch pace keeps escalating. What were the bright spots? Fragrance continues to lead the Beauty category and Paris Packaging Week hosted its biggest show ever. Read on for my take on all of this and more.
Discount Drama
The month hadn’t even started when I was alerted to an Influencer hinting at “the biggest Jomashop fragrance sale of the year” starting in a few days and running until Valentine’s Day. She mentioned brands including Mind Games, Creed and Bond N°9 while flashing the silhouette of Parfums de Marly. I had to check it out for myself, and sure enough, the discounts were deep: in some cases over 60% off. The niche brand assortment is impressive, including MFK, Sospiro, Byredo, Tiziana Terenzi, Memo, Mancera, Nishane, Xerjoff and countless others. Jomashop prides itself on being a “leading online luxury discounter” established in 1999. A quick scroll on Google shows the site is considered legitimate and credible by numerous sources. Reddit members overwhelmingly had positive comments though some said the shipping can be slow. But where are they getting the goods?
According to website Reviewed, Jomashop is a grey market seller who “sells its goods through legal but unauthorized trade channels at significantly discounted prices.” That means the fragrances are coming from authorized dealers, wholesalers or distributors. So the industry is dumping on itself, and that’s the real tragedy.
As a source pointed out to me, “Retailers – especially department stores – demand so much from brands from margin, to funding marketing initiatives (in-store animations, catalogs, sampling programs), to selling support – and then, they can have no shame in discounting the product.”
Throughout the month I received the normal emails from retailers such as Fenwick and Sephora offering 20% off as well. German specialty retailer Breuninger announced a Beauty sale where brands such as Tom Ford, Escentric Molecule, Montale and even BORNTOSTANDOUT were featured.
Only the Numbers
It begs one to think, sure, fragrance is posting volume and value growth, but is it thanks to reduced prices? Circana just released end of year 2025 data which reported that, in the US, Prestige Fragrance increased by +5% in dollars, while Mass performed at +15%. The growth continues to be fueled by higher concentrations such as extracts and perfumes, the popularity of mini sizes and the innovation and premiumization trends coming from luxury brands. What we can’t see is how many units were sold at full price.
Retailers Behaving Badly
An anonymous brand told me that when Saks bought Neiman Marcus the brands were informed that new payment terms were net 90 days. They were also told that invoices outstanding since October of 2024 would be paid over a 12 month period, beginning in June 2025. Bear in mind that included orders shipped for the 2024 Christmas season, typically the biggest orders of the year. Further, they were told that any brand that did not ship would be cancelled. This brand continued to ship and received three small payments until September, after which no payments came. On January 29th this same brand received an order from Bergdorf Goodman, just days after the Chapter 11 Filing. They are currently owed over $100k, a staggering amount for a small brand.
In another top story, Estee Lauder is suing US behemoth Walmart for allegedly selling counterfeit products on its online marketplace. Lauder said it purchased, inspected or tested a number of products sold on Walmart.com that used brand trademarks but were actually fakes. Fragrance from Le Labo and Tom Ford were among the products impacted.
According to Lauder, the references were promoted and advertised to shoppers on the platform, Lauder trademarks were used to drive traffic in Search Optimization tools and Walmart profited from the sales. While the products were sold by third-party sellers, Lauder alleges Walmart played an active role in facilitating the sales.
This suit will call in to play the due diligence done by companies like Walmart in vetting third party sellers operating on their platforms.
Dupe Wars
It is uncontestable that there has been an exponential rise in the number of dupe fragrances on the market. Recently, an anti-dupe campaign has been launched by the VKE Cosmetics Association and the Fragrance Foundation Germany using the hashtag #IAmNotACopy (#IchbinkeineKopie).
I reached out to Bodo Kubartz, Managing Director at Passion and Consulting, for more clarity on the initiative which aims to protect the integrity of the selective beauty industry against the imitations.
“The campaign is a stand for the entire creative chain: from the brand founders and their original concepts to the perfumers themselves. Its objective is to educate consumers and policymakers on the true value of originality. As Andreas Fuhlisch, Managing Director of the VKE, highlights, a major strategic challenge is that current Intellectual Property (IP) law does not yet protect fragrance compositions, allowing dupe suppliers to exploit the creative work of others without any investment of their own.
As a long-time participant and observer in the artistic perfumery sector, I see this as a critical moment for our entire industry. This is not just about protecting a formula; it is about respecting the holistic creative process: the brand founders who risk everything for a vision, the product developers who seek excellence, and the perfumers who translate emotions into scent. When we allow dupes to thrive, we devalue authenticity and the courage to be different.”
Essencional has learned that some comments have been made saying the initiative doesn’t define what is considered to be a dupe. There are also questions about creativity in the industry when brands launch multiple flankers. The most scathing critique calls out some retailers who stock both luxury and dupe brands on their shelves. We will be sure to follow this story for updates.
Pack it Up!
Paris Packaging Week underscored the fact that fragrance packaging is entering a major transition. Regulatory pressure, sustainability mandates, evolving consumer expectations and new experiential formats are reshaping both luxury and masstige segments - but in different ways. Here are four takeaways for luxury/niche fragrance.
Packaging Regulations Going into Effect
The EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) requires all packaging placed on the EU market to be recyclable by 2030 and recycled at scale by 2035. This will impact luxury and niche brands in several ways:
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Prestige fragrances, which traditionally rely on heavy glass, metal collars, complex assemblies and high-decoration techniques, will have to reinvent how they signal value without relying on material excess.
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Smaller niche luxury players may struggle with reformulation and retooling costs as the industry shifts to simplified componentry, the elimination of metal springs in pumps and the reduction of mixed-material decorative elements
Premiumization Must Now Be Sustainable
Brands still demand differentiation and elevated aesthetics, but premiumization will have to work with recyclability constraints and overall simplification. In a nutshell, packaging that’s heavy and ornate will need to go lean, clean and “technically sophisticated.” Luxury brands will have to redefine visual codes with a balance between minimalism and sophistication.
Refills: Inevitable but Execution-Dependent
The argument has been floating around for decades but can no longer be ignored. At the heart of it, refills need to be simple and intuitive for the consumer. The challenge for luxury brands is how to turn the practice into a ritual while maintaining prestige positioning.
Experiential Fragrance: Immersive Sampling & Brand Activation
Fragrance sampling company Orlandi presented a virtual reality headset which can diffuse scents that correspond to images the user sees. This blending of digital and olfactory cues opens new opportunities to deepen emotional engagement, enhance storytelling and create memorable events. Expect to see it in flagship stores, travel retail and high-end retail environments.
To sum it up succinctly, in the next five years, expect to see a redefinition of what “luxury” packaging means in fragrance.
Have you noticed a trend or do you have some hot scoop? As a community, you are our eyes and ears and we love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out and until then, see you next month!
km@essencional.com
SOURCES
Jomashop review: Authentic luxury goods at unbeatable discounts - Reviewed
U.S. Prestige and Mass Beauty Markets Grew in 2025 | Circana
Estée Lauder's Lawsuit Against Walmart for Alleged Counterfeit Beauty