⊛ learn · lesson 15
why one perfume has ten versions
flankers, from summer editions to new scents
the pillar and its flankers.
when a perfume sells well, brands often follow it with flankers: new versions that keep its name, and often its bottle, and change part of the scent. the original is called the pillar.
not a new idea.
the first flankers appeared in the 1970s. by 2012, nearly 1 in 5 new launches was a flanker.
why brands make them.
building on a hit costs less than starting from zero, and the bottle often doesn't need a new design. a former creative director at a fragrance house told a trade magazine that big brands launch a new perfume only every few years, but flankers every year.
kinds of flanker.
tap one.
better or worse?
it depends. critics often see flankers as rushed, but some find their own fans: a perfume writer calls coco mademoiselle, a 2001 flanker, perhaps the most successful flanker ever. a flanker can smell close to the original or nothing like it, so try it before you buy.