The France-based company reported sales of €51.8m for the year which represents an increase of 10.7 percent on 2006 and was in line with its expectations.

Now the perfume maker is eager to build on that growth and lay down plans that will set it on the path to becoming a major international player.

With the opening of a network of perfume shops in France in the second half of 2008 the company is looking to exploit what it considers to be a commercial gap between expensive perfumeries and supermarkets.

Ulric de Varen's claimed the shops will be 'engaging and innovative' alternatives to traditional perfumeries, offering perfumes at reasonable prices along with pleasure products for impulse buyers.

The new shops will contain between 250 and 300 products including, among traditional perfumes, children's fragrances, scented bath products, and a small make-up selection.

Currently the company sells its perfumes to retailers through a network of subsidiaries.

Its performance abroad has been particularly strong of late with export sales increasing 15.1 percent while sales in the French market, which represents 24 percent of its global turnover, have been less impressive.

The company said French sales fell by 1.5 percent over 2007 after the loss of a retail contract hit otherwise encouraging overall figures.

Looking to the development of the business in 2008 Ulric de Varens expects to benefit further from the success of its operations in foreign markets.

The company's optimism about the opportunities present in the fragrance market is shared by the market research firm Euromonitor, which in a recent report predicted annual sales volume growth of 3 per cent until 2011.

However, the market research firm warned that the US is currently an exception to the upward trend as sales fell by 4.5 per cent last year to $5.9bn (€4bn) while global sales rose 6 percent to $30.6bn.