What is going on with Armani's catalogue? It's a mess!

slpfrsly · Jul 12, 2024

The best explanation for what Armani is doing was from @Varanis Ridari on another thread a few months ago (please feel free to link it or repeat it here), although I can't remember where it was posted.

I was looking to see how much Code Profumo was going for now and it seems they've discontinued it. Ok, fine, as stupid as that might be (same goes for AdG Profumo getting axed), these things happen. However, the whole catalogue of their mainstream/designer fragrances has been completely messed around. Trying to make sense of the AdG flankers is nigh on impossible without owning/smelling them, apparently Code Profumo is now being sold as Code Parfum (although the Code Parfum from a few years ago was a different scent)...it's absolutely infuriating! Reformulations are one thing - not knowing whether a fragrance still exists or not (or that the product name might stay the same but the fragrance could be different) is another.

This might be fine for brand new customers, or those with the memory of a goldfish. But for existing/returning customers, this is really sloppy stuff. How has this happened? This doesn't seem to apply to their high end line (as far as I can tell), only the lower end/more affordable fragrances.

Thoughts?

hednic · Jul 12, 2024

Confusing? Yes. Does it bother me? No. It is what it is.

slpfrsly · Jul 12, 2024

hednic said:
Confusing? Yes. Does it bother me? No. It is what it is.

Fair enough. Is Armani a brand you collect?

hednic · Jul 12, 2024

slpfrsly said:
Fair enough. Is Armani a brand you collect?

Yes.

Varanis Ridari · Jul 12, 2024

slpfrsly said:
The best explanation for what Armani is doing was from @Varanis Ridari on another thread a few months ago (please feel free to link it or repeat it here), although I can't remember where it was posted.

I was looking to see how much Code Profumo was going for now and it seems they've discontinued it. Ok, fine, as stupid as that might be (same goes for AdG Profumo getting axed), these things happen. However, the whole catalogue of their mainstream/designer fragrances has been completely messed around. Trying to make sense of the AdG flankers is nigh on impossible without owning/smelling them, apparently Code Profumo is now being sold as Code Parfum (although the Code Parfum from a few years ago was a different scent)...it's absolutely infuriating! Reformulations are one thing - not knowing whether a fragrance still exists or not (or that the product name might stay the same but the fragrance could be different) is another.

This might be fine for brand new customers, or those with the memory of a goldfish. But for existing/returning customers, this is really sloppy stuff. How has this happened? This doesn't seem to apply to their high end line (as far as I can tell), only the lower end/more affordable fragrances.

Thoughts?

I think it's L'Oréal trying to use Armani to eat LVMH's and Wertheimer's lunch, since they've been the trendsetters with their vertical alignment in the men's fragrance spaces.

Coty did it with Gucci Guilty pour Homme recently, by killing all the flankers except the Eau de Toilette/Eau de Parfum/Parfum ascension, adding Elixir.

It's just a corporate homogeneous clownshow now.

Toxicon · Jul 13, 2024

Varanis Ridari said:
I think it's L'Oréal trying to use Armani to eat LVMH's and Wertheimer's lunch, since they've been the trendsetters with their vertical alignment in the men's fragrance spaces.

Coty did it with Gucci Guilty pour Homme recently, by killing all the flankers except the Eau de Toilette/Eau de Parfum/Parfum ascension, adding Elixir.

It's just a corporate homogeneous clownshow now.

I don’t follow this segment closely but this instinctively sounds right. Honestly, I assume these brands think (and can probably back this up with colorful sales charts) that most folks who buy main line Armani masculines will not notice or care about the changes, and there’s more money to make by chasing their direct competitors than worrying about a small segment of sophisticated / disgruntled perfume enthusiasts who are more likely to pursue higher end lines, and are also savvy enough to buy basic designer fare from discounters anyway. Bottom line: they don’t care about us, and it sucks that we’re stuck begrudgingly caring about them. I like to remind myself that conglomerate fragrance companies are exactly as passionate about their new products as other commercial chemical companies that sell drugstore deodorant or plug-in air fresheners. Same shit, different segment.

Ken_Russell · Jul 13, 2024

Though not an avid Armani collector so far (while paradoxically not denying yet also fully their best work so far too), would still enjoy if ever several or at least one fragrance range would come up so far,

Even more so if being ideally Giorgio Armani released as well.

That is, within few words, both combining the wonders of regular (often, albeit not always vintage, admittedly) Armani (regular) designer lines with the ones more unashamed Armani style ones, wonderfully though mostly surrealistically,non-realistically while still enjoyably somehow available for far.

tspencer · Jul 13, 2024

I'm very ticked off that ADG Profumo got discontinued and now I cannot find a bottle of Profumo anywhere that I trust because of the ridiculous number of fakes on ebay and aftermarket. I used to obtain my private party fragrance buys mostly from here on Basenotes from people I trust. I am sure there is a legit bottle of ADG Profumo on ebay but I cannot tell the difference between the fakes and the real bottles. The fake bottles are literally so realistic looking that there is no way to tell who is selling a legit old bottle and who is selling a fake.

Profumo, IMO, was a masterpiece flanker of the original. And I'm luke-warm about the original. The Profumo flanker was a huge step up and a great fragrance. It's yet another example of the fragrance industry really making dumb product decisions and nixing a great piece of art that everyone should still be able to buy.

RPLens · Jul 13, 2024

slpfrsly said:
The best explanation for what Armani is doing was from @Varanis Ridari on another thread a few months ago (please feel free to link it or repeat it here), although I can't remember where it was posted.

I was looking to see how much Code Profumo was going for now and it seems they've discontinued it. Ok, fine, as stupid as that might be (same goes for AdG Profumo getting axed), these things happen. However, the whole catalogue of their mainstream/designer fragrances has been completely messed around. Trying to make sense of the AdG flankers is nigh on impossible without owning/smelling them, apparently Code Profumo is now being sold as Code Parfum (although the Code Parfum from a few years ago was a different scent)...it's absolutely infuriating! Reformulations are one thing - not knowing whether a fragrance still exists or not (or that the product name might stay the same but the fragrance could be different) is another.

This might be fine for brand new customers, or those with the memory of a goldfish. But for existing/returning customers, this is really sloppy stuff. How has this happened? This doesn't seem to apply to their high end line (as far as I can tell), only the lower end/more affordable fragrances.

Thoughts?

This is the best example of a toxic work environment.
Bad management.
Bullying.

I honestly have no doubt about it, I've seen it happening live.
The greatest giveaway is the Code Profumo / Parfum thing and the ridiculous amount of ADG flankers.

When things are a mess and make no sense, it's never a sophisticated plan.

slpfrsly · Jul 15, 2024

tspencer said:
I'm very ticked off that ADG Profumo got discontinued and now I cannot find a bottle of Profumo anywhere that I trust because of the ridiculous number of fakes on ebay and aftermarket. I used to obtain my private party fragrance buys mostly from here on Basenotes from people I trust. I am sure there is a legit bottle of ADG Profumo on ebay but I cannot tell the difference between the fakes and the real bottles. The fake bottles are literally so realistic looking that there is no way to tell who is selling a legit old bottle and who is selling a fake.

Profumo, IMO, was a masterpiece flanker of the original. And I'm luke-warm about the original. The Profumo flanker was a huge step up and a great fragrance. It's yet another example of the fragrance industry really making dumb product decisions and nixing a great piece of art that everyone should still be able to buy.

Yeah, I agree. Many discontinuations seems to make sense but chopping AdG Profumo was mad.

slpfrsly · Jul 15, 2024

RPLens said:
This is the best example of a toxic work environment.
Bad management.
Bullying.

I honestly have no doubt about it, I've seen it happening live.
The greatest giveaway is the Code Profumo / Parfum thing and the ridiculous amount of ADG flankers.

When things are a mess and make no sense, it's never a sophisticated plan.

Definitely bad management. I can only assume they made a mess of supply chain cessation during covid lockdowns? Cosmetic companies shifted to producing hand sanitiser etc for a time as well, so perhaps perfume was hit harder than most - it wasn't just a case of pausing, but a more significant overhaul.

Maybe the people running Armani saw it as an opportunity to make some significant changes? A reset, if you will haha. Along with sustainability/refillable measures (I see the new Code bottle is refillable), it provided an opportunity to shake things up, to bring the house in line with the competition i.e. EDT, EDP, Parfum etc instead of Profumo, Absolu, Intenso and so on.

Which is fine, until you consider customers over the age of 16...

Scentologist · Jul 15, 2024

Yes it's a mess and I fear they are losing their grandeur

maksidrom · Jul 16, 2024

Scentologist said:
Yes it's a mess and I fear they are losing their grandeur

I never thought of Armani Beauty as "grandeur" to start with, maybe some of the Armani Prive? To me it was and is a typical mass market designer fragrance house, nothing particularly imposing.

slpfrsly · Jul 16, 2024

maksidrom said:
I never thought of Armani Beauty as "grandeur" to start with, maybe some of the Armani Prive? To me it was and is a typical mass market designer fragrance house, nothing particularly imposing.

To chip in on that point, Armani is definitely close to the top of the designer fragrance pecking order, if not the top brand outside France (specifically Dior and Chanel). Acqua di Gio alone is in GOAT territory. To follow that up with Profumo - which is an absolute banger as well, probably even better - is something very few brands could compete with. They were early to the gourmand trend with Code and, as noted, one of the first to recognise the need for a high end/boutique line of fragrances as well. I don't think it's fair to say they're a typical designer house.

Brian5701 · Jul 16, 2024

I loved the original 1984 Armani Pour Homme. Everything since has been kinda meh to me. In the 90s, Acqua di Gio was not as good as the CK scents of the time. The rest hasn't really registered to me as unique or interesting.

I think it's obvious that the brand is not that connected to the scents and hasn't been for a while.

Varanis Ridari · Jul 16, 2024

Brian5701 said:
I loved the original 1984 Armani Pour Homme. Everything since has been kinda meh to me. In the 90s, Acqua di Gio was not as good as the CK scents of the time. The rest hasn't really registered to me as unique or interesting.

I think it's obvious that the brand is not that connected to the scents and hasn't been for a while.

If you deconstruct Acqua di Giò pour Homme, you'll see it's really part L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme's opening and some of it's base (courtesy Cavallier), and part cK One's white floral heart (courtesy Morillas), with the novel thing neither have being the salty persimmon edge of it carried over to all the subsequent flankers.

Maybe overdone by now, and not particularly inventive since it's just an olfactive portmanteau; but definitely smart perfumery, if nothing else. Sales speak for themselves. That said, I also like Armani Eau pour Homme more; I'm just giving fair credit where credit is due.

Toxicon · Jul 16, 2024

It’s interesting to see how different perceptions of Armani as a brand can be. ADG is obviously a massive seller, I think only topped by Sauvage at this point, but it’s been ubiquitous for decades and doesn’t feel much like a high-end designer product in my eyes. You can still get it at department store fragrance counters, but I mainly see the original ADG EDT sold at drugstores alongside things like Drakkar Noir, Azzaro Chrome, and Light Blue (though ADG does typically sell at a higher price than most of those). I still think of the higher end Armani fashion lines as relatively upscale (though not actually appealing), but having Armani Exchange in every mall in America for years seemed to lower the brand’s image quite a bit.

What is going on with Armani's catalogue? It's a mess!

slpfrsly

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hednic

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slpfrsly

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hednic

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Varanis Ridari

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Toxicon

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Ken_Russell

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tspencer

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RPLens

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slpfrsly

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slpfrsly

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Scentologist

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maksidrom

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slpfrsly

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Brian5701

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Varanis Ridari

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Toxicon

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