Welcome to you all,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ambassadors, Foreign Affairs Ministers, and I am thrilled to see that President Mary McAleese of the Republic of Ireland is here today, as well as the Prime Minister of France, François Fillon, and his Holiness The Dalai Lama. I am so glad you are here with me today. Thank you all for traveling to the Scented Pavillion, for my "State of the Perfume" message. This is my very first address on the state of perfumery today.
First let me begin by saying that lovely scents like Shalimar, Tresor, J'Adore and the Chanels are still selling like hotcakes worldwide, which is nice to know. It gives one a sense of stability.
Secondly, I want to point out the 2007 sales of Irish perfumes, such as Inis and Inis Arose were very good. Congratulations to Fragrances of Ireland.
The year 2007 was a very prolific perfume year. Hundreds of new scents were introduced, and niche perfumer's continued to blossom in many countries. Artistic types began making perfumes at home, and some quality limited edition fragrances were available through their efforts. Although we saw shortages of some natural raw materials which we will address in detail throughout the new year, chemists are constantly making new synthetic notes, which save our rain forest trees and plants, and are often hypo-allergenic. The careful creation of very high quality upscale organic fragrances is also on the rise, giving consumers more choices than ever before. Pacifica reports that sales of their perfume, Tibetan Mountain Temple, are brisk.
We are happy to report that the popularity of perfumes continues and grows.
People who remained lost and unscented for decades are now trying perfumes for the first time, and not just for special occasions. Various scents are being applied in meditation rituals, at bedtime, and sometimes as invigorating tonics, depending upon the person's aromatic spiritual needs.
Thank you very much, I wish each and every one of you a very fragrant New Year and don't forget to grab some virtual sample scents on your way out of the pavillion.
Thank you again for attending.
