The Coming Spritz Blitz

Rebecca Hanners's grandmother wore one perfume -- Chantilly by Dana -- every day for 36 years. Ms. Hanners isn't so loyal. When the 32-year-old executive recruiter heads to the office, she spritzes on Ralph Lauren's Blue, but for the mall she favors Dior's Hypnotic Poison. In all, there are eight scents in what she calls her "fragrance wardrobe."

Perfume companies are trying a new approach to court fickle consumers like Ms. Hanners. Some top makers are set to launch multiple scents in groups, hoping women who don't want one signature fragrance will snap up several from a collection instead -- and become faithful to the umbrella brand.

The new collections include Les Exclusifs de Chanel, a 10-fragrance line the maker of iconic Chanel No. 5 will launch next month. In April, designer Tom Ford will launch Private Blend, a collection of 12 perfumes that spans floral and citrus scents. This fall, Dior will start selling a new line of perfumes created by designer John Galliano. Also later this year, Creed will offer a $1,600 collection of three perfumes packaged in a leather case.

These collections differ from the industry's longstanding practice of marketing boxed sets. Those sets typically contain a range of products -- such as perfume, lotion and soap -- all based on the same scent. The new collections group different scents under a single banner. Most companies are selling each scent individually -- intending for women to buy several perfumes from the collection over time instead of turning to competing brands.

"The problem today is that the one-shot scent no longer brings back the customer," says Thomas Saujet, president of Creed North America. "Launching a collection of fragrances is like a five-course meal: You can taste a little bit of everything, and if you like the meal, you'll come back and try the fish. Why have a customer go to another counter for something else when you can introduce them to something similar here?"

Some of the new scents are pricier than the brands' other offerings. In Chanel's new collection, the smallest bottle is a 6.8-oz. version that will cost $175. By comparison, a 3.4-oz. bottle of the brand's Chanel No. 5 costs $75.

Generally speaking, floral scents -- Joy, for example -- are the best sellers in the U.S., while deeper woodsy or spicy fragrances are popular in Europe. Another variety of scent growing in favor in the U.S. is the so-called gourmand type, which evokes foods like caramel or cotton candy and may appeal more to younger women.

The industry has seen profit margins slip recently because, with so many new perfumes on the market, "the life cycle of fragrances is potentially shorter," says Stephen Mormoris, senior vice president of marketing for Coty Beauty. Coty plans to add three scents this year to the Marc Jacobs Splash line it launched last year.

The shift in strategy follows a drop in U.S. fragrance sales that began in 2001, partly due to shoppers viewing perfume as an optional luxury, says Virginia Lee, senior research analyst at Euromonitor International. "Perfume lost its prestige factor," she says. "It's not like a designer bag or shoe, where people in the know can instantly recognize that you're carrying the 'It' bag. "

In 2005, due to a flurry of celebrity perfume launches, U.S. sales at department stores rose 3% to $2.9 billion, according to market researcher NPD Group. But sales most likely dipped last year. Through November, they were running 2% behind 2005 levels, says Karen Grant, NPD's senior beauty-industry analyst.

Brands are also trying to make the new scents seem special by limiting distribution and spinning elaborate stories around each one. The Chanel collection will be sold only at 76 Chanel boutiques around the world and Bergdorf Goodman in New York. One of the new scents is named 28 La Pausa, after designer Coco Chanel's home in the French village of Roquebrune, where she entertained friends such as Salvador Dali.

By introducing so many fragrances at once, companies risk overwhelming shoppers. "We live in an age of short attention spans," says Kim-Van Dang, president of KVD Inc., a New York beauty-branding consultancy. "Do people really have time to stand around and smell 12 fragrances from one company?"

But the companies hope that launching several scents at once will generate more buzz. "It's important for brands like Chanel to remind consumers that perfume is a special treat," says Laurie Palma, Chanel's senior vice president of fragrance marketing. "It's not a commodity like shampoo."

Write to Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan at cheryl.tan@wsj.com

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