Scentura

Infobox Company
company_name = Scentura Creations
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1975
location = Chamblee, Georgia
key_people =
industry = Multi-level marketing, perfume
products =
homepage = [http://www.scenturacreations.com scenturacreations.com]

Scentura also known as Scentura Creations is a perfume company based in the city of Chamblee, Georgia, within the Atlanta metropolitan area. The firm is a "multilevel selling company" (also known as a pyramid scheme) which manufacturers inexpensive imitations of designer fragrances. Salespeople are sent out, often in pairs, to sell perfume door-to-door or in parking lots. cite journal
first =Kristen
last =Stieffel
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =2001
month =September
title =Perfume Bandits. (Fake Perfume Offered In Parking Lots)
journal =Orlando Business Journal
volume =18
issue =16
pages =23
id =
url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-10231373.html "Scentura is described by the Better Business Bureau as a "multilevel selling company." The firm manufacturers inexpensive imitations of designer fragrances. Salespeople are sent out, often in pairs, to hawk the product door-to-door or, yes, in parking lots."]

History

Larry Hahn is the founder of Scentura Creations. The company itself began in 1975 as W.M. Industries Inc. (WMI). WMI was a door-to-door retail business which sold products such as luggage, toys and perfume. In a 1984 motivation film, Hahn described his early experience:

In 1975, with loans from friends, Hahn purchased his first product: 31-piece sets of bakeware. For several years Hahn trained new recruits himself. By the 1980s there were thousands of distributors.

Johnny Whitworth, a distributor of Larry Hahn, cite journal
first =E.
last =Thomas Jr.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =1987
month =October 5
title =Who Wants To Be Rich? Larry Hahn: From Sleeping In A Car To A $5 Million Home
journal =Atlanta Business Chronicle
volume =10
issue =19
pages =1 (5)
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] left the company to start his own perfume company, World Perfume in Dallas, Texas.

Criticism

In 1999 Scentura Creations, Inc sued Daniel J. Long, a former distributor, for $31,236.44, the cost of perfume which had been delivered to distributors recruited by Long. In 2001, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the contract between Scentura and Long was a "pyramid sales scheme", violated the law and was unenforceable. The appellate court ruled that Long was not liable for products in the possession of other distributors. cite web
title =Scentura Creations, Inc. vs. Daniel J. Long
work = Appellate Court of Illinois Second District
url = http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2001/2ndDistrict/September/Html/2000964.htm
accessdate=2006-01-10 ]

Independent distributors recruit salespeople by placing classified advertisements in the employment section of the newspaper under the heading of "Management". Turnover tends to be very high.Atlanta Business Chronicle, "...Former managers point out that turnover of salespeople was high in their offices. “We had very few that would stay with us for a long period of time." Fucci says, “You never could back off from recruiting."] Intelligencer Journal, "'Crazy, Greedy ... Must like $$$, music and fun. Office and general work. Call Warren ... ,' reads Jentis' ad in all three local newspapers.", "Jentis said hundreds of people have passed through his doors, but admittedly few make the cut. One training class started with about 70; five remain.", "...the fledgling salespeople begin a four--to eight-week training program"] Training is from six to eight weeks.Fact|date=September 2007

Sometimes, new salespeople are promised large salaries and are later disappointed to discover that the actual position has no salary and is a 100% commission job.cite journal
first =
last =
authorlink =
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year =2004
month =July 20
title =Company Leaves Perfume Peddlers Feeling Betrayed
journal =WFTV Orlando Channel 9
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.wftv.com/news/3556228/detail.html "They promised us that we would be making $30,000 a year," she says...There was no paycheck, but they could make a few bucks profit on each bottle sold.] The Palm Beach Post, "The interviewer said she had the qualifications to make $30,000 and more with the company-- if she could commit immediately...Butterworth asked about the $30,000 job an interviewer had mentioned. A recruiter told her, 'Don't worry about it, Pam. It's going to work out.' But it never did. The job was selling knockoffs of designer perfume door to door for a commission of $2 to $9 per bottle."] Columbus Ohio Dispatch, "The sellers, for example, said they were promised a weekly paycheck of $295 or more." ] Noblesville Eyewitness News They said we're going to make like $75,000 the first year,' recalls Dan Penale.] Richmond Times - Dispatch (2002), "But, she said she had trouble getting straightforward answers to how much money she'd make and whether the job involved selling, which she did not want to do."] Richmond Times - Dispatch (2000), "When you first starting working for them, they say you get paid at least $200 a week...The only money I made was from perfume I sold on the street"] Intelligencer Journal, "After about two months, Jentis said that 'successful' salespersons are offered contracts with annual salaries ranging from '$30,000 to $35,000 and a car,' and that free vacations are commonplace."] The only income is from selling knock off perfume door-to-door or in parking lots. Atlanta Business Chronicle, "None of their sales managers or salespeople, the people in the field, were on salary," says Gordan Gates, former WMI executive vice president. “They were all independent contractors."] Employees are also sometimes encouraged by independent distributors to lie about the products they are selling. WFTV.com, "...recruits like Shelby Sillen claim they were trained to lie and tell people they just left a perfume show and had to sell at cost...When another woman from EOE approached us, while we were undercover, to make a sale, suddenly the perfume "knock-offs" were the actual designer fragrances." ] Atlanta Business Chronicle, "An El Paso County, Texas, police report from April states: “The subjects [alleged to be] ‘Managerial agents' for W.M. Industries, had employees selling their products on a door-to-door sales campaign and all were purporting that their products were manufactured by the authentic companies who also manufacture the trade name products."...A 1986 complaint filed in the Iowa District Court for Polk County by the State of Iowa...making false, deceptive and/or misleading statements to potential customers about the nature of the transaction and the origin of the goods being sold...] Scentura salespeople have been in trouble with police for soliciting without a permit. cite journal
first =
last =
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year =1991
month =October 22
title =4 cited for criminal trespass
journal =The Daily Collegian Online (Penn State)
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/1991/10/10-22-91tdc/10-22-91dnews-09.asp ] The Palm Beach Post, "Another time, her group stopped at a Jacksonville mall and approached strangers there to buy perfume, keeping an eye out for cops who might ask questions about permits."] Columbus Ohio Dispatch, "But instead of offering to buy, Bogey Inn managers called police. The salespeople were a nuisance, restaurant managers said, and had no license to sell. They were asked to leave and not return...Aston and the others were operating illegally when they sold their perfumes without peddler licenses throughout Columbus and some other central Ohio cities."] Intelligencer Journal, "Hardly a day goes by, said the Downtown Investment District bicycle police officers, when they don't cite one or more of Jentis' crew for soliciting without a permit...DID Police said most are repeat offenders and face fines between $50 to $600 on each daily charge." ]

Every manger and perfume salesperson must first sign an independent contract. Scentura representatives state that because these are independent contractors, Scentura is not responsible for either the ads or the tactics used by salespeople. cite journal
first =
last =
authorlink =
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year =2002
month =February 11
title =Dream Jobs That Turn Out To Be Nightmares
journal =
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://web.archive.org/web/20030107065608/http://www.icflorida.com/partners/wftv/consumer/2001/job_scam0211.html ] WFTV Orlando Channel 9, "All the companies sell perfume made by Scentura Creations in Atlanta, which says it has nothing to do with the way its independent contractors do business."] Atlanta Business Chronicle, "Independent firms purchase products from W.M. Industries or Scentura Creations and sell the directly to people in their offices, on the street and in their homes, The direct vendors of WMI products work for the independent firms not the central office."] The Palm Beach Post, "The manufacturer of the perfume she was supposed to sell, Scentura Creations of Chamblee, Ga., accepts no responsibility for the actions of independent distributors who sell its product, said Vice President Bob Hasty."] Linda Fucci, a former administrative aide to Hahn and distributor, stated that "The independent contractor concept was preconceived before the first truck load was ordered in. It was already planned out before we ever opened up."

Scentura products are often sold in parking lots by salespeople who approach women and ask them to sniff a perfume sample. There is an urban legend that similar tactics were being used by thieves who, instead of using perfume, would have the victim inhale a substance (reportedly ether) which would render her unconscious, whereupon she would be robbed. Despite the fact that this legend is false, and there have been no credible reports of anyone being robbed in this way, sightings of Scentura salespeople in parking lots are often reported as evidence that this crime occurs. [cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/perfume.asp|title=Snatch and Sniff|publisher=Snopes.com|accessdate=2007-09-22]

Nationwide media coverage on the company has tended to be overwhelmingly negative. cite journal
first =Lornet
last =Turnbull
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =2002
month =March 4
title = Perfume-Selling Operations Smell Like Scam, Women Say
journal =Columbus Ohio Dispatch
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
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year =
month =August 26
title =If it sounds too good to be true
journal =Eyewitness News Noblesville, Indianapolis
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
authorlink =
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year =
month =
title =Perfume jobs smell fishy, BBB says
journal = New Orleans Channel 6
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.theneworleanschannel.com/no/6onyourside/stories/6onyourside-20000719-165758.html ] cite journal
first =Iris
last =Taylor
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =2002
month =June 9
title =Know What You Are Applying For When Answering A Want Ad
journal =Richmond Times - Dispatch
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
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year = 2000
month =December 6
title =Perfume Purveyors Are Real Thing, Even If The Myth Isn't
journal =Richmond Times - Dispatch
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =Thomas L
last =Flannery
authorlink =
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year = 1997
month =March 07
title =There’s Big Dollars In Street Scents
journal = Intelligencer Journal
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =James T.
last =Madore
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =1992
month =March 28
title =Perfume Sales Just A Smelly Scam? Young People Say Amherst Company Fails On Training, Pay Promises
journal =Buffalo News
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF95EE86024226&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Alternate link] ] cite journal
first =James T.
last =Madore
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =1992
month =June 13
title = Former Employees Cheer Reports Perfume Firm Is Out Of Business
journal =Buffalo News
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF9615702B5EAD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Alternate link] ] cite journal
first =Kim
last =Chievrue
authorlink =
coauthors =
year =2001
month =June 22
title =Perfume Sales Company Recruits In Munster, Indiana
journal =The Times (from Munster Indiana)
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-8343274.html ] cite journal
first =Linda
last =Eardley
authorlink =
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year =1993
month = June 22
title =Ads Spur Warning On Jobs Company's Internship Is Sales Spot, BBB Says
journal =St. Louis Post - Dispatch
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
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year =2002
month =February 14
title =Workers Say Perfume Business Stinks Employees Sell Knockoff Perfume
journal =
volume =
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url = http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/wpb/news/stories/news-123621420020214-180213.html ] cite journal
first =Charles
last =Elmore
authorlink =
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year =1992
month =July 27
title =Too True To Be Good
journal =The Palm Beach Post
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
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year =1996
month =February 15
title =Officials: Scent Of Fraud Lingers In Sales Scheme
journal =The Atlanta Journal Atlanta, Associated Press
volume =
issue =
pages =
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url = http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff36647.htm ] cite journal
first =
last =
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year =2004
month =November 23
title =Team 4 Investigates Perfume Scheme
journal =WTAE TV Channel 4 Pittsburgh
volume =
issue =
pages =
id =
url = http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/team4/3944970/detail.html ]

Notes

Further reading

* [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-8842960.html Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch Column] 06/08/2002 Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia).