Milwaukee-based company Prolitec is partnering its services with stores, hotels, casinos to create a positive scent experience for customers. Its patented, micron-sized droplets are distributed quietly and subtly throughout a space. And from the retail perspective, it seems to be working. According to Andy Ginsberg, facilities director of the Mirage hotel and casino, where “This is by far one system that actually does work. Not the cheapest system out there, but it’s a quality product.”

Read more at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

The conference was held Dec. 7-9 at the Gansevoort Hotel in Miami Beach. In a statement following the announcement, SMI said it jointly gave the award to Prolitec and Abercrombie in order to recognize the two companies for their “ground-breaking in-store scenting program” and “as acknowledgement of their leadership in the use of scent in merchandising and in-store communications.”

“When it comes to using scent in merchandising, Abercrombie is a true pioneer,” said Prolitec CEO Richard Weening. “Abercrombie’s CEO Mike Jeffries and his leadership team are superstars in retail merchandising and masters of the art of engaging all the senses in the store. They are key contributors to ambient scenting’s emergence as one of the hottest trends in retailing.”

From MarketWatch

For further reporting on ScentWorld Expo, check out the NY Times: Scent Makers Sweeten the Smell of Commerce

Whether you realize it or not, a lot of businesses stink.

OK, so perhaps “stink” isn’t the right word; “have a scent” is more like it.

For the better part of the last decade, retailers, casinos and hotels have experimented heavily with “ambient scenting,” a fancy term that describes the process of using scent distribution technology to give a space a unique and inviting smell. The goal for businesses is to enhance the customer experience, increase brand recognition and ultimately drive sales.

Sound too farfetched to be mainstream? It’s not. In fact, if you’ve sat in the lobby of a Westin hotel or shopped at an Abercrombie & Fitch sometime in the last few years, you’ve likely experienced it yourself.

What’s fascinating about ambient scenting is that it’s a trend that hasn’t worn off during these tough economic times. Like a good perfume, it has staying power…

Read more at Fox Business.

While many chain stores across America are stalling growth in today’s economy, Goodwill thrift-store locations are thriving, and the company is expanding. Ambient scenting is part of a move toward making the thrift store shopping experience more like a mainstream retail experience.

The 44 stores will utilize a signature scent featuring hints of sweet orange and honeysuckle, custom-designed by Milwaukee-based Prolitec to create a clean, crisp atmosphere.

More at Marketwire.

Flawless incorporates a blend of cucumber, pear and citrus along with magnolia and verbena, and is finished with rich saffron and cocoa.

Ben Bridge assembled a dynamic team to create Flawless, including renowned perfumer Raymond Matts, who helped create Clinique’s “Happy” and Elizabeth Taylor’s “White Diamonds,” and Prolitec Inc., whose  system enables a scent experience without  spritzing.

More at diamonds.net

Retailer uses cutting-edge Air/Q(TM) technology to introduce shoppers to its new signature scent

MILWAUKEE, WI — August 21, 2009 — bebe stores, inc. (Nasdaq: BEBE) has launched its highly anticipated new fragrance in all U.S. bebe stores. Thanks to a partnership with Milwaukee-based Prolitec, the sensuous new “signature” scent now wafts through select areas of bebe’s stores via the Air/Q(TM) Adjustable Room Air Freshener(TM) — a miniaturized and fully programmable version of Prolitec’s ambient-scenting technology, which is already in use at many of the world’s finest hotels, resorts and spas.

“Rather than scenting the entire store, bebe is using Air/Q to scent specific in-store areas, such as those around the luxurious visual displays that introduce the new fragrance,” explained Roger Bensinger, Prolitec’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “This allows bebe to marry its visual marketing efforts with the olfactory experience of the fragrance itself — a very powerful combination.”

“With Prolitec’s innovative scenting machines strategically placed in our stores, clients will experience an immediate emotional connection to the scent,” commented Manny Mashouf, Chairman & CEO, bebe stores, inc. “This is a terrific way to reveal our new undeniably feminine fragrance in a subtle yet sensual mannerand, based on initial results, we are encouraged by the overwhelming response.”The retailer licensed the new fragrance through France’s Inter Parfums, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: IPAR), which collaborates with noted designers such as Francis Kurkdjian to manufacture and distribute prestige perfumes and cosmetics for the likes of Burberry, Paul Smith, S.T. Dupont and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Inter Parfums chose the bebe fragrance for its first-ever foray into automated ambient sampling, said Andy Clarke, President of Inter Parfums USA LLC, Specialty Retail Division. “Ambient scenting is one of the hottest trends in retail, and many companies are keenly interested in new approaches to ambient sampling that are more efficient than, say, paying a person to spray a new perfume on shoppers’ wrists as they walk in the store,” he noted. “At the same time, many retailers do not want any remnant of an in-store fragrance to last on the ready-to-wear clothing they sell. These stores need to be able to control the intensity and range of the automated ambient sampling technology they use to an extraordinary degree. This is precisely what Prolitec’s Air/Q system offers.”

A sleek, five-inch cube handsome enough to be on display but small enough to be hidden away, Air/Q(TM) is the only fully adjustable room air freshener on the market today. Scent intensity levels can be set from ’1′ to ’50,’ to precisely match room sizes and user tastes. The device can also be programmed to start and stop at certain times each day.”

Prolitec’s patented micro-droplet technology delivers a uniform scent impact with an ultra-low quantity of fragrance in the air — less than one molecule in every 1 million. “By combining an ultra-low concentration of fragrance with a ‘smart’ and environmentally sensible delivery system, retailers can communicate to customers with scent as never before,” Bensinger said.

About Prolitec
Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) is a world leader in the development and deployment of innovative air-freshening technologies and solutions for aerobiology, indoor air quality and the use of scent as a medium of communication. Clients include retailers, hotels, casinos and other commercial organizations in the US and around the world.

About bebe
bebe stores, inc. designs, develops and produces a distinctive line of contemporary women’s apparel and accessories, which it markets under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp and 2b bebe brand names. bebe currently operates 308 stores, of which 211 are bebe stores, 34 are 2b bebe stores, 62 are BEBE SPORT stores and one is a bebe accessories store. These stores are located in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada. In addition, there is an online store at www.bebe.com.

About Inter Parfums
Inter Parfums, Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes prestige perfumes and cosmetics as the exclusive worldwide licensee for Burberry, Paul Smith, S.T. Dupont, Christian Lacroix, Quiksilver/Roxy, and Van Cleef & Arpels. The Company also owns Lanvin Perfumes and Nickel S.A., a men’s skin care company. It also produces personal care products for specialty retailers under exclusive agreements with Gap, Banana Republic, New York & Company, Brooks Brothers and as announced above, bebe stores. In addition, Inter Parfums produces and supplies mass market fragrances and fragrance related products. The Company’s products are sold in over 120 countries worldwide.

Under the agreement, the Gulf Breeze, Fla.-based Adergy will market Prolitec’s services to the 26 chains it currently serves in 34 states, as well as new accounts in the supermarket and c-store sectors. This will augment the company’s current programs that utilize Trusonic Internet transmission technology to provide retail food clients with in-store music, customized location-specific messaging, and national and local advertising.

Milwaukee-based Prolitec’s technologies will be introduced to the supermarket and c-store sectors through Adergy’s newly formed Adding Sense(R) Division. The relationship may also open new opportunities for Prolitec with certain non-food retailers, adding to its existing scented marketing retail programs.

“After careful consideration of the Prolitec technology advantage over all competing providers in the marketplace, we decided to partner with Prolitec to offer the best sensory marketing solution and the best value to our clients,” said Adergy President John Greenfield. “For those retailers aware of the tremendous power scent brings to strategic brand building, Prolitec’s services provide a key marketing tool in the most competitive retailing environment in decades. With Prolitec’s flexible technologies, scent can be strategically utilized to enhance the appeal of the overall store, key departments or specific products. The opportunities are numerous.”

The Adding Sense Division will also market Prolitec’s odor remediation technologies, with potential applications in the supermarket and c-store sectors including restrooms and trash storage areas.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Adergy to pursue new growth opportunities for our technologies in the fertile supermarket and c-store sectors,” said Roger Bensinger, Executive VP of Marketing at Prolitec. “With this new capability, Adergy effectively becomes the one-stop source for food retailers for digital music and messaging, scented marketing and odor remediation. We see great synergies here.”

While Adergy currently focuses on the supermarket and c-store industries, the company will be exploring opportunities to selectively expand its services to non-food retail sectors through its capacity as a Total Solutions Provider for Trusonic. “Adergy’s potential move into these other retail markets where Trusonic’s superior technology is being deployed could ultimately create additional opportunities for our scent marketing programs in the retail arena,” Bensinger said. Trusonic currently provides in-store music and on-hold messaging to such major retailers as Ace Hardware, Crate & Barrel, Dillard’s, Guitar Center and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers.

About Prolitec

Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) is a world leader in the development and deployment of innovative air-freshening technologies and solutions for aerobiology, indoor air quality and the use of scent as a medium of communication. Clients include retailers, hotels, casinos and other commercial organizations in the US and around the world.

About Adergy

Adergy (www.adergy.net) is a premier Total Solutions Provider of Trusonic Internet transmission technology for music, custom, location-specific messaging and national and local advertising to the supermarket and convenience store industries. It currently services over 26 major retailer and convenience store banners in 34 states–with over 8,000 messages aired each week. The company’s new Adding Sense(C) Division will be a Prolitec Services provider of sensory marketing and odor remediation services.

Supermarket and c-store retailers seeking information on Adergy’s music, scent and odor remediation products should contact: John Greenfield, President, Adergy Inc., at 888-255-1105 or jgreenfield@adergy.net

Read more at Kiosk Marketplace

Links:

• Prolitec
• Serta

Prolitec has announced a new fully adjustable, computer-controlled, commercial scent-delivery system. Dubbed the Air/Q 510, the appliance serves spaces from 200 to 30,000 cubic feet, and uses a single board computer. Whereas most commercial ambient scenting systems have 3 or 4 settings, the Air/Q 510 has 50 precise settings, allowing the user the flexibility necessary to accommodate any room size or scent level. The system uses Prolitec’s micro-diffusion technology, which makes a scent impact with just a tiny scent concentration.

Designed for hotel lobbies, malls, retail stores and other public spaces, the Air-Q 510 can be installed in a track lighting system, an HVAC system, or mounted on the wall. It’s available in black and eggshell, or by special order in any custom color or texture.

Links: Prolitec