THE NOSE KNOWS

First, we brought you firsthand reaction (it was mixed) to the new Michael Jackson perfume line, Magic Beats. Now we take you behind the counter to see how Unwind, Heartbeat and Wildfire are selling at some department stores where the fragrances are carried:

Jessie Childers, manager, JC Penny in Downey: “Wasn’t selling, so I returned it to the company. I needed room for other items.”

Betty Larsen, manager, Lakewood JC Penny, did likewise: “I felt that the perfume was aimed at younger people and we don’t have that kind of clientele.”

Long Beach Target saleswoman Sheri Adams: “It’s highlighted as a ‘New at Target’ item, so it’s still on a trial basis. People are rummaging through the display but it’s not really selling.”

At the Lakewood Montgomery Ward: “I have almost as much in as when we first got it, “ said manager Genevea Salvero. “We’ll probably send it back. Customers will look at it, smell it--but won’t buy it.”

An employee at the Sears Cerritos store (anonymity requested): “People like the packaging because it’s so bright, but as for smelling it, they don’t like it. We have plenty of the perfumes left. Usually the kids just look at it.”

Manager Laura Walker reported that the Torrance Montgomery Ward has gotten a strong response to Wildfire and Heartbeat.

The Carson JC Penny never carried the fragrances, “but we do carry the LaToya Jackson bath oil from the Mahogany line and that sells a lot,” said an employee.

A Max Factor publicist ventured that “it’s still too early to discuss sales figures.”