The Perfume Shop, the UK’s largest specialist perfume retailer, has released its Gender Pay Gap Report for 2026, highlighting continued progress towards pay equity and increased representation of females in leadership roles across the business.
The mean gender pay gap has improved to 12.93%, a reduction of 2.06 percentage points compared to 2024, demonstrating ongoing progress in balancing pay outcomes across the business.
A particularly positive development can be seen in bonus pay. The company’s median gender bonus gap has shifted from 7.97% in 2024 to 9.87% in 2025, indicating a positive change in favour of women. This improvement is largely driven by continued investment in commission for store based teams during the Golden Quarter.
Overall participation in bonus schemes also remains strong, with 92% of women receiving a bonus compared with 83% of men, reflecting the significant contribution of store teams across the business. Females continue to play a leading role across the organisation. 76% of employees in the upper pay quartile are women, demonstrating strong female representation in senior and leadership positions.
Michelle Fellows, people, sustainability and development director at The Perfume Shop, said: “At The Perfume Shop, our people are at the heart of everything we do. While gender pay reporting is an
important benchmark, our focus remains on creating an environment where everyone can grow, develop and be rewarded fairly. We’re encouraged to see positive progress across several of our key measures this year, particularly the movement in our bonus pay gap in favour of women. This can also be seen across the significant contribution from our female colleagues that deliver across our stores.”
The company continues to invest in policies designed to support employees throughout their careers. For example, The Perfume Shop’s maternity pay for salaried management and head office teams, helping to better support employees during maternity leave and designed to support financial wellbeing at a critical time for new parents.
Internal progression also remains a key focus of the business. Continuing to invest in women’s careers, two senior female leaders who have progressed within the organisation. Lauren Seabrook has been promoted to Head of Supply Chain, while Shelley Malone has been promoted to Logistics Operations Manager, reflecting The Perfume Shop’s continued commitment to developing talent from within. The Perfume Shop continues to have a high proportion of females in their most senior roles and these appointments are a testament to the drive determination of these women to develop, in what has historically been a male dominated sector.
Gill Smith, Managing Director at The Perfume Shop, commented: “We are incredibly proud of the progress our teams continue to make. Developing talent from within the business is a key part of our culture and seeing females progress into senior roles is always a highlight. Our Gender Pay Gap report allows us to track progress, hold ourselves accountable and ensure we continue creating opportunities for everyone across our business.”
The Perfume Shop remains committed to transparency in pay, equitable recruitment and internal progression opportunities as it continues to build an inclusive workplace for all employees
