Why Perfume Sales May Offer a Better Economic Indicator

Retail sales and the Michigan sentiment data may be important, but there are more ways to assess the health of the American consumer. Perhaps economists should try sniffing around the perfume aisle in the local department store, said Achim Daub, President of Scent and Care at Symrise (SYIEY) . 'It is absolutely consumption driven,' says Daub. 'Some of the fragrances relate very much to discretionary income so if people have more money they will spend more to look healthy and beautiful.' Holzminden, Germany-based Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances, flavors and cosmetic active ingredients. Its clients include manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, food and beverages, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of nutritional supplements and pet food. Last month Symrise reported a 10 percent increase in sales in its first quarter results to 731.8 million euros, up from 668 million euros the prior year.