Picked 'Perfume' as Valentine's Day Gift... Genderless and Niche Perfume Trends

Men's Perfume Sales Up 27% from 1st to 11th
Hair and Body Mists Also Popular

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Perfume is gaining attention as a Valentine's Day gift in 2020. This is attributed to the genderless trend that breaks down the distinction between male and female, combined with the niche perfume trend that pursues special tastes.

CJ Olive Young announced on the 12th that, analyzing sales from February 1 to 11 ahead of Valentine's Day on February 14, sales in the men's perfume category increased by 27% compared to the same period last year.

The top brand driving sales growth in the perfume category is ‘Forment’. During the same period, its sales increased more than 30 times compared to the previous year. The brand ‘Clean’, which offers about 10 types of perfumes, saw its representative product ‘Clean Warm Cotton EDP’ rank second among popular perfumes.

In the body mist category, ‘Bodyholic’s ‘Doubtless Hair & Body Mist’ doubled its sales within three months after launching at the end of October, earning the nickname ‘heart-stealing perfume for women’.

Demand for niche perfumes, ‘premium perfumes for a select few’, is also increasing. In fact, at Olive Young Hongdae, a flagship town store specializing in the perfume category opened last October, sales of major premium perfumes such as Diptyque, Herm?s, Dior, and Prada increased by 56% compared to the previous month.

An Olive Young official stated, “With the genderless trend blowing through the perfume market, which used to clearly distinguish between men’s and women’s products, domestic small and medium brands are consecutively releasing men’s perfumes favored by women and perfumes that anyone can use regardless of gender. As preference-based consumption stands out mainly among the 20s and 30s generation, gift trends are also changing.”

Meanwhile, Olive Young is holding the ‘Everyone’s Valentine’ event proposing Valentine’s Day gifts at nationwide stores and its official online mall until the 14th.