Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : PERFUMANIA.COM . . PRFM . . .FOR LONGS ONLY -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rande Is who wrote (1079)	1/30/1999 12:28:00 PM
From: Dante Sinferno	Respond to of 2489

<<followed AP and believed that he was holding short thru the weekend. >> Are you saying that you know for a fact Anthony closed his short position ? Rob

To: Rande Is who wrote (1079)	1/30/1999 12:38:00 PM
From: justaninvestor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2489

That was an excellent post Rande - you have presented a very plausible scenario as to what could (will!) happen over the next few days. PRFM will be a short some day, but for the life of me, I can't understand shorting it right now.

To: Rande Is who wrote (1079)	1/30/1999 1:00:00 PM
From: Mark[ox5]	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2489

HERE IS A GREAT FORBES ARTICLE! A MUST READ ABOUT PRFM AND THE FAMILY STRUGGLES FROM June 1997! READ IT - IT ALREADY TALKED ABOUT FAMILY STRUGGLES OVER A YEAR AGO.. this has been brewing for a long time it seems! forbes.com Smells perfumes can't mask By Zina Moukheiber Tender loving care AT PERFUMANIA IN New York a customer asks for a whiff of the Romeo Gigli perfume. The saleswoman obliges, but urges the customer to sample 360 Degrees for women by Perry Ellis. "It's similar; sure you don't want to try it?" she says, spraying the scent on a strip of paper. Why the aggressive sales pitch for Perry Ellis? It's a house brand at Nasdaq-listed Perfumania, which sells luxury perfumes at a discount. The house brand is made by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Parlux Fragrances, also Nasdaq-listed. There's an incestuous relationship between the two companies. Ilia Lekach, a 48-year-old with a Caesar haircut, runs Parlux, owning a big chunk of it with his younger brother, Zalman. Ilia Lekach owns 37% of Perfumania, which is run by their brother-in-law, Simon Falic, 36. Parlux depends on Perfumania for one-third of its revenues. Perfumania carries Parlux-made fragrances in its 269 stores nationwide, and also sells them to wholesalers and mass merchandisers. The rest of Parlux's revenues come from sales overseas and to department stores. The arrangement has enabled Parlux to cash in on dying brands. As giant cosmetics' goods companies, such as Sanofi and Benckiser, get rid of their slower-selling perfumes, Lekach picks them up for Parlux. Thus he acquired the dwindling Perry Ellis and Fred Hayman franchises. While they are too small to support much advertising, they can be milked through Perfumania, Lekach's essentially captive distribution system. From a marketing point of view the arrangement makes sense. Revlon has a similar arrangement. It owns Prestige Fragrance & Cosmetics, a chain of 195 stores through which it sells surplus merchandise—nail enamels and lipstick, plus cosmetics from Coty and Maybelline. In April it bought the Cosmetic Center, a retailer of discount perfume and cosmetics, which competes with Perfumania. The relationship between Perfumania and Parlux is familial rather than corporate. But it is not always smooth. Consider the current hassle over the Perry Ellis brand. "Perfumania would call in here and say: 'I'm gonna need 200,000 pieces next year of Perry Ellis.' And we manufactured it. Either they didn't really need it, or they didn't forecast properly, or customers went bankrupt," says Zalman Lekach, 30, president of Parlux. Zalman is complaining about the Perry Ellis stuff even though Parlux has booked the sales. Receivables, due from Perfumania, have been accumulating at Parlux for one year, and now amount to $23 million—25% of sales. That's almost double what other companies owe Parlux. Perry Ellis is shaping up into a major problem for Parlux. Last summer Parlux spent $7 million—more than it earned—to introduce Perry Ellis America at places like Saks Fifth Avenue. It got pummeled by Estée Lauder's launch of Tommy—hot designer Tommy Hilfiger's new fragrance. Parlux's year ends in March and its fourth-quarter results have yet to be announced, but while sales shot up 52%, to $91 million in the latest 12 months, net income fell 18%, to $6 million. Right now Parlux is bleeding cash. The stock price has gone down from a high of 12 1/2 last June to a recent 3 1/8. Who's this cast of characters? Ilia Lekach emigrated in 1956 from Russia to Chile, where he distributed watches. In 1970 he came to the U.S., where he started peddling designer-name perfumes to the gray market. Thus was born Perfumania in 1988. Later Ilia would buy a stake in Parlux, then a small supplier to Perfumania. Last year he and his older brother, Rachmil, bought a 25% stake in a moneylosing Florida company called L. Luria & Son. This former catalog showroom has 28 stores selling kitchen appliances and jewelry at low prices. Apparently the Lekachs hope to use Luria to move perfume. Already boxes of discounted Parlux fragrances, such as Vicky Tiel and Todd Oldham, are stacked up on tables at the entrance of Luria's shabby store in Fort Lauderdale. "Luria should help Parlux get a little more distribution," says Ilia Lekach. Pity the minority shareholders. Tender loving care

To: Rande Is who wrote (1079)	1/30/1999 1:32:00 PM
From: Dante Sinferno	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2489

Rande , In this post , you seem to indicate that you know Anthony's position in PRFM : exchange2000.com In this post , it "appears" to me , that Anthony will be suing a Yahoo poster for "similar" comments : exchange2000.com Were you just passing that rumour along or do you have factual knowledge that Anthony covered ? Rob

To: Rande Is who wrote (1079)	1/30/1999 1:37:00 PM
From: ArtAlley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2489

WHAT Anthony was REALLY trying to do with THIS short is to show just a little strength & create a 'little fear'...so, that when he is really ready to committ(at a much higher level) he has already established his 'credibility' with those that he wants to fear him most...so that they are ready to 'head for the hills' when it REALLY makes a difference to him. He KNOWS that PRFM is going UP next week...and he doesn't care. He is concerned with the future...just like with SKYM. Anthony and his 'shorties' are just playing games at this point. No different than a jackyl that is not yet bold enough or hungry enough simply because the odds are not in his favor.