Inter Parfums Sales Down in First Quarter

Inter Parfums Inc. reported a first-quarter net sales decline of more than 10 percent, due in part to the negative impact from the strong dollar. For the three months ended March 31, company net sales decreased 10.3 percent to $109.2 million, compared with $121.7 million in the year-ago period. The company said that at comparable foreign currency exchange rates, consolidated first quarter net sales were $118.4 million. By division, its European-based product sales declined 15.2 percent to $86.7 million, while its U.S.-based product sales gained 16 percent to $22.5 million, driven by two new launches, namely Extraordinary by Oscar de la Renta and Icon by Dunhill. Jean Madar, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums, cited difficult year-over-year comparisons and the foreign exchange for the sales decline in European operations. He stated, “The decline in sales is also due in large part to the difficult comparison for the Karl Lagerfeld brand. The launch of Karl Lagerfeld’s signature scents for both men and women yielded more than $13 million in sales in 2014, as compared to brand sales of $2.5 million in 2015. With a new Karl Lagerfeld product launch scheduled for later this year, we expect to see more robust brand sales.

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‘Panorama’ Aims to Change Italian Image

MILAN — In a bid to move beyond the heaping plates of spaghetti and sprawling olive groves that shape many a tourist’s mental picture of Italy, several leading associations from the private sector have partnered with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development; trade promotion agency ICE; Simest — a company that promotes Italian business abroad; the Milan Chamber of Commerce, and the city of Milan on a special audiovisual installation called “Panorama,” to debut May 20 in Piazza Gae Aulenti. With design heavyweights the Fondazione Altagamma, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and the Salone del Mobile onboard, the coalition aims to put on a unified front for the hoards of sightseers expected in Milan for the World Expo, which begins May 1. Visitors who step inside the octagonal “Panorama” — which features a dark wood exterior, and walls more than 16 feet high — will be swept into a high definition, 360-degree view of about 300 Italian cultural, natural and manufacturing sites, including the ancient ruins of Agrigento in Sicily, and the lush red-and-gold interior of Milan’s La Scala opera house. The images were shot using drone technology, and an accompanying soundtrack will feature pieces from top Italian composers and performers. “Italy is

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