What led you to create Maison 21G and inform us extra concerning the progressive idea of bespoke perfumes?
Evocative, distinctive, and memorable, I deeply consider that the fifth sense evokes profound feelings and connections with others. Your signature fragrance is a lot greater than a mere accent; it’s a true extension of your character, a device to imprint reminiscences, and convey confidence all through key moments of your life. As such, I consider that your scent must be as distinctive as you might be!
In 2020, I conceptualised Maison 21G, supported by my ardour and 25 years of expertise in perfumery as a inventive director working alongside famend designers and perfumers. All through this time, I watched this stunning business lose its soul and accept one-size-fits-all scents, creating the identical on a regular basis floral, fruity, and gourmand scents for everyone, whereas pushing large advertising campaigns on the expense of high quality, distinction, and character of what’s contained in the bottle. I felt that one thing was going fallacious on this stunning business, so I made a decision to interrupt free from the glamorous company world and shake the conventions of this sleeping business.
My imaginative and prescient was to deliver again the “energy of creation” into the arms of customers, providing a novel and interesting scent discovery expertise. Dedicated to a cleaner fragrance business, I used to be pushed by a want to deliver transparency, sharing, schooling, and sustainability to make a greater perfumery world for the following era. My final mission was to recreate an actual “Maison de creation” for all of us, creating a novel expertise with stunning scent encounters.
The idea of “expertise” is essential for opening and operating a boutique. What’s a profitable “expertise” to your prospects?
Maison 21G is a luxurious Maison of Creation with fashionable iconic flagship shops worldwide, utilizing a poly-sensorial strategy to create a novel retail expertise. We purpose to create a luxurious expertise in perfumery like no different for our prospects. We encourage confidence, self-expression, and exploration in perfumery, with a poly-sensorial strategy. With 10 flagship shops the world over, each nook of our boutiques is meticulously curated with a sequence of devoted zones reminiscent of our well-known progressive scent bar to find and select your substances, the perfumer organ the place customers mix their very own scent, and our personal atelier’s areas to study the artwork of creation.
We additionally frequently search new expertise to boost our experiential retail choices. As an example in keeping with our dedication to innovation, we provide a novel AI character quiz. Our open app gather data reminiscent of your pores and skin tone, your scent desire, your values in life, and your required advantages to advocate well-matched scents for every particular person. Our RFID Expertise informs and educates buyers on the origins, the olfactive profile and properties of our scents.
After creating their customized scent, prospects can add a private contact by utilizing our complimentary UV Printing Machine to customize their fragrance bottle design. As well as, we offer fragrance workshops for {couples}, group constructing occasions the place our scent specialists information purchasers in making a personalised perfume in a single hour by appointment.
Our experiential retail house encourages cross-cultural exchanges. And prospects come collectively to share concepts and cultures, pushing the envelope of creativity. Maison 21G is dedicated to disrupting the posh business by making a group of perfume designers, connoisseurs, aficionados, or novices in each main metropolis on the earth, pushed by a novel offline retail expertise, relayed by a powerful digital presence to finish the offline expertise with a devoted loyalty program, and computerized reorder companies to your personalised scent from anyplace on the earth.
The personalisation of scent is on the core of Maison 21G’s idea? What are the parameters that go into figuring out a bespoke perfume?
Maison 21G is a model that prides itself on its dedication to craftsmanship, personalisation, schooling, and expertise. On the coronary heart of our enterprise mannequin is the will to create bespoke fragrances which might be tailor-made to the distinctive character and olfactory preferences of every of our prospects. Our flagship shops function laboratories, the place highly-skilled scent designers information prospects of their scent creation, guaranteeing that their personalities and preferences are thought-about at each step of the method. We consider {that a} fragrance is rather more than simply an adjunct. It’s private, intimate, and turns into your voice to specific your distinctive identification. For this reason we provide our prospects direct entry to fragrance concentrates with the very best share of perfume focus to make tailored haute perfumery accessible.
The method of making a bespoke perfume at Maison 21G is interactive, partaking and enjoyable: we start by asking prospects to fill out our character quiz, which focuses on their values in life, private DNA (nationality, pores and skin color, age), likes and dislikes associated to their olfactive preferences, and the explanations they need to put on a specific fragrance (to be seductive, elegant, excellent, stress-free, and many others.). This builds a buyer scent profile that’s distinctive to their identification. We’ve outlined 5 distinctive character profiles, every with its personal distinctive ingredient suggestions. For instance, an “Spectacular character profile” will want a fragrance that tasks strongly, with long-lasting sillage, and options daring woody, oriental, and spicy notes. A “Social Fanatic Profile” however, will probably be extra drawn to softer, comforting, and caring notes reminiscent of musk, vanilla, and light-weight juicy fruits.
With the usage of cutting-edge expertise, leveraging AI alongside extra conventional expertise, we’re revolutionising the fragrance business by understanding the wants and tastes of every nationality, tradition, and era. The extra prospects we get, the extra highly effective our AI turns into, and the extra exact the suggestions reveal themselves to be. As a bottom-to-top strategy, we’re capable of study immediately from our buyer base and reply instantly to new customers developments in every capital like Seoul, Shanghai, Paris, and elsewhere. It’s a game-changing strategy for the fragrance business, and the extra we develop, the extra educated and concise we’re capable of turn into in tailoring scents to people.
Workshops are on the very core of the Maison 21G DNA. What’s your favorite reminiscence of a Maison 21G workshop you organised in 2022?
We consider within the energy of scent to deliver folks collectively, and our workshops are designed to supply an unforgettable and distinctive sensory expertise. It’s a enjoyable and exploratory expertise, the place folks can reconnect, share, and study one another via scent.
One among my favorite reminiscences is from a Love Atelier that we organised in 2022. Throughout this workshop, the couple had the chance to take their like to the following degree! A younger man shocked his girlfriend with a wedding proposal. He had requested the scent designer to print “Marry Me” on the bottle that he had created for her. As he introduced her with the bottle, he received down on one knee and revealed a hoop hidden contained in the field. The complete room was moved to tears by this romantic gesture. In that second, I used to be reminded of the facility of scent to create deep and significant connections, and I used to be grateful to be part of such a particular second of their lives.
Inform us extra concerning the sustainability efforts behind all of the packaging and glass bottles used at Maison 21G? You appear to be amongst the very first luxurious homes speaking brazenly about recycling and the reuse of fragrance bottles.
At Maison 21G, our sustainable pillar is built-in into every little thing we do. Our concentrate on eco-consciousness, moral and clear manufacturing and distribution, is a part of our dedication to excellence, high quality, and luxurious. In an business the place the usage of buzzwords and advertising jargon to ‘greenwash’ merchandise is rampant, we try to be clear, sincere, and open about our sustainability practices.
To realize our sustainable targets, we’ve got partnered with IFF-LMR (Laboratoire Monique Rémy) to supply the very best high quality of perfumes. IFF’s vertical integration permits us to regulate each step of our substances provide chain, and its adherence to particular sustainable and clear standards, together with environmental duty, truthful working circumstances, and optimistic relations with native communities.
At Maison 21G, we pleasure ourselves on being clear and open about what we embody in our bottles and what we don’t. Our scents are 100 per cent vegan, cruelty-free, CMR-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, and preservative-free. We additionally formulate our scents as biodegradable to cut back our environmental impression.
We consider in creating merchandise which might be recyclable and refillable. We’ve banned the usage of plastic in any of our merchandise. We’re the primary firm to have refillable bottles, encouraging buyers to reuse their bottles, with reductions and incentives for individuals who reuse, recycle, and cut back their waste. By committing to eco-consciousness, moral manufacturing, clear sourcing, Maison 21G is taking steps in the direction of a greener future for all.
You might have expanded your product vary and Maison 21G now presents inside its boutiques perfumed candles, the very begin of an elaborate dwelling scent assortment. How is it performing?
The pandemic introduced unprecedented adjustments in our life, with folks spending extra time at dwelling than ever earlier than. At Maison 21G, we recognised that buyers had been on the lookout for methods to make their dwelling setting extra snug, inviting, and reflective of their personalities. This impressed us to launch our sustainable, pure, and customisable House Scents vary, and we’re delighted with the way it has been embraced.
Our House Scents vary was launched with the identical daring and disruptive strategy that characterises our fragrance vary, and is underpinned by a dedication to wellness, together with all-natural substances that may assist prospects calm down, focus, and sleep extra successfully. We consider that individuals need to unlock the scent of their soul, and our House Scents vary is designed to make that course of straightforward, fulfilling, and eco-conscious.
The gathering contains our stunning 100 per cent pure wax Twin Candles, Bespoke biodegradable Reed Diffuser, and pure Oil burner which permit prospects to decide on and mix their favorite scents in trendy and splendid ornamental objects, a premiere within the House Scent world. As with our personalised perfumes, we put the shopper on the coronary heart of the creation course of and set it other than all of our rivals.
We consider that the data to create a ravishing, wholesome House Scent for the entire household, must be accessible to everybody.
E-commerce is rising quick throughout all continents. We see your group working laborious on growing the worldwide digital presence of Maison 21G. How are on-line gross sales performing for you?
Maison 21G’s experiential on-line e-commerce completes the offline expertise with a devoted loyalty programme and computerized reorder companies for personalised scents from anyplace on the earth. We provide bespoke inventive experiences to anybody, anyplace, with our DIY inventive set, which we are able to ship to any location throughout the globe. Our absolutely customised web site permits a novel and playful inventive expertise at dwelling.
Our lead magnet, the AI-Powered Quiz, guides customers in creating the right scent mixtures on-line primarily based on their character, tradition, age, and totally different wishes for a fragrance, reminiscent of freshness, class, and seduction. The twin-scented crayon permits folks to attempt mini scents earlier than buying a full bottle. At this time our fragrance followers on-line who can’t entry to our retailers have grown considerably. Lots of people are uninterested in off-the-shelf scents and have leapt on the likelihood to craft their very own scents from sustainable and high-quality substances on our bespoke web site. Our model promise of pure, clear, and ethically sourced essences has resonated strongly. Our core buyer base consists of Millennials and Gen Z customers from Asia, US, Canada, Australia, and Europe, searching for personalised merchandise with an experiential edge on-line. By way of varied activations with on-line campaigns, direct advertising, and a devoted, inclusive, engaged, and energetic group of scent designers, we’ve got constructed a loyal buyer base that shares our ardour for creativity, high quality, and sustainability.
Inform us about your newest enlargement within the Center East with the opening of a boutique in Dubai and a long run partnership with the Chalhoub group. This all sounds very promising!
We’ve been thrilled with the responses from the Center East customers since we launched Maison 21G. Perfume is solely ingrained into their tradition, and it’s superb for me to specific the DNA of my model there. I’m personally passionate concerning the Center East market, and we’ve got thrilling plans for the area with the assist of the distinguished {and professional} Chalhoub Group.
In Dubai, I’m at all times impressed by the range of cultures and the pure inventive instincts of the folks I meet. They’re so stylish and take superb care of their picture and scent identification. Dubai has no boundaries, and I really like the grandiose and multisensory experiences discovered at each nook of this buzzing worldwide capital. We’re seeking to broaden our presence in Dubai but additionally Abu Dhabi, with a concentrate on opening extra shops in key selective prime areas like Bloomingdales, Tyrano, Malls of the Emirates, and past.
In Qatar, we’ve simply opened a ravishing flagship retailer within the model new luxurious mall of Vendome, subsequent to all probably the most luxurious manufacturers. We’re now increasing and have established partnerships with prestigious shops reminiscent of Printemps, Galerie Lafayette, and Harvey Nichols, with a inventive scent bar idea. We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and fervour of the folks for our stunning substances and experiential ideas.
My greatest problem now’s to overcome Saudi Arabia, with the opening of our flagship retailer in Nakheel mall. We all know it’s a demanding market when it comes to high quality and repair, with a big base of fragrance connoisseurs and aficionados. Nonetheless, we’re assured that we’ve got every little thing at Maison 21G to make an impression there. I’m personally concerned in each facet of the shop opening, and we’re dedicated to offering the very best high quality services to our prospects in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Center East.
Fragrance is an inseparable a part of Center Jap tradition. What perspective in the direction of fragrance have you ever seen amongst Center Jap customers?
The Center East is revered to a excessive diploma and perfumery rooting in historic practices. As an example, the Persians had been the primary to make use of distillation in extracting oils from flowers to create stunning essences that solely Center Jap folks have the tradition to understand. Who would’ve identified that a long time, centuries later, fragrance utility nonetheless stays a vital ritual of their every day lives.
Famend for probably the most aromatic of traditions — smouldering incense, burning bakhoor, utilizing ritualistic important oils, and aromatic teas — it’s no surprise why the language of scent creation applies on many ranges of their tradition. From a religious approach to anoint oneself earlier than prayer to epitomising a private fingerprint, deep reminiscences of their life, a press release of themselves; fragrance is a strong device in characterising one’s individuality right here.
With certainly the strongest olfactive preferences globally, the residents of the Center East search a daring, distinctive scent and undoubtedly above-average longevity. Furthermore, their conventional strategy contains layering a number of opposing scents. Most prevalently, they use spices, earthy patchouli, deep resins and amber, sensual oud, floral rose Taif, all to create probably the most elaborate, unique, and astounding compositions distinctive to themselves, which they’ll discover at Maison 21G. Our idea of making your individual fragrance is completely tailored to Center Jap customers who’ve been layering and mixing scents for many years. They respect the artwork of fragrance making and have a deep understanding of the complexities of making a novel scent that displays their character and elegance.
After opening boutiques in Vietnam and South Korea, what’s your subsequent necessary tasks and developments throughout 2023 & 2024?
South Korea is a key marketplace for Maison 21G in Asia and success on this nation can have a major impression on our model’s fame and enlargement in Asia. As a result of South Korea is understood for being a trending marketplace for luxurious manufacturers, reaching success there can set the tone for the remainder of Asia, together with international locations reminiscent of China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Customers in these international locations could also be extra doubtless to concentrate to a model that has already confirmed itself within the aggressive South Korean market.
Subsequent for me is to proceed increasing my model selectively in Asia with experiential retail, sustainability, and schooling. I’m dedicated to opening extra flagship shops, store in store in luxurious department shops, counters in responsibility free areas, to deliver our distinctive expertise to each main capital.
My subsequent greatest problem for 2023-24 will probably be China the place we’ve got a really formidable plan with Everlasting group. We’ve already opened a ravishing retailer in Hainan with Lagardere and can quickly be opening flagship shops in Shanghai and Shenzhen, in addition to partnering with stylish distributors who perceive and may specific our model DNA. To succeed in stylish Gen Z and Millennials, we’ll additionally concentrate on digital platforms like Tmall, Weibo, Little Crimson E book, and WeChat, translating our AI quiz and selling our hero merchandise in Chinese language.
In China, customers have a comparatively brief historical past with perfumery and are desperate to study concerning the substances, uncover their preferences, and develop their very own scent fashion. They’re additionally involved in studying about perfumery suggestions and methods, together with what scents to put on for various events and the variations between high- and low-quality perfumes. The development in the direction of area of interest perfumery in China displays a want amongst customers to specific their identification and individuality via perfume, in addition to a rising appreciation for high-quality, artisanal merchandise. This development is partly pushed by a want to face out and be totally different from the group, with distinctive fragrances that can not be present in mass status perfumes. Chinese language customers are additionally more and more involved in unconventional scents with characters that permit them to specific their edgy fashion.
To adapt to those totally different expectations, Maison 21G will tailor our advertising strategy and companies to Chinese language customers. That is the energy of our personalised strategy, which isn’t solely tailor-made to the person but additionally to the tradition and context. We put excessive effort into localising our strategy, contemplating the cultural and historic context of perfumery in every market and the way this influences client preferences and behavior to succeed worldwide. The period of “one-size-fits-all” fragrance and super-centralised advertising is unquestionably over, and I’m excited to be on the forefront of this new strategy to the business.
The place do you see Maison 21G in 5 years down the street? Any IPO deliberate forward?
Turn into the primary tailor-made perfumery model globally.
The model goals to problem ready-made merchandise and set up a brand new section within the perfume business: the Tailor-made Perfumery section — after the shock of Area of interest Perfumery. We intend to have iconic Homes of Creation in key perfume capitals worldwide to put in this new section by way of the model’s sturdy credentials in design, innovation, and sourcing new pure substances for our scent designer group.
We constantly enhance our service and coaching of Maison 21G scent designers, presumably constructing an academy of perfumery to share data and experience. We’ve tasks in Web3 to tokenise our distinctive fragrance creation recipes, which is able to stop copying and grant possession to our loyal prospects, preserving their creativity at Maison 21G.
We additionally plan to companion with different industries reminiscent of artwork, culinary, music, lodges, and mixology to create polysensorial occasions.
To assist the imaginative and prescient and mission, Maison 21G will proceed to lift good cash with greater traders to problem the normal fragrance business, achieve sustainable market share and turn into probably the most fascinating fragrance model.
We need to maintain the authenticity of what they do so long as attainable, supported by energetic funds and monetary companions who perceive the significance of disruption, branding building and innovation to fulfill the brand new customers’ wants in perfumery.
How did you react to the acquisition of Tom Ford by the Estee Lauder Group in November 2022 for a hefty US$2.8 Billion price ticket (together with debt)?
This acquisition of Tom Ford is a strategic transfer that strengthens Estee Lauder’s high-end luxurious magnificence portfolio. Tom Ford has established itself as a number one model within the perfume and cosmetics market over the course of a number of a long time and has a major presence in necessary progress markets such because the Asia-Pacific area and journey retail. Their success in disrupting the fragrance business years in the past is noteworthy. This acquisition is a testomony to the worth of constructing a powerful model picture with progressive merchandise, reaching untapped customers, and being led by a daring, sturdy founder.
Maison 21G goals to observe in Tom Ford’s footsteps by making a luxurious inventive model picture with progressive services that may attain untapped customers. We attempt to be a challenger within the high-end luxurious section of the perfumery business, specializing in personalisation, sustainability, and an experiential strategy to create your individual scents. Our dedication to creativity units us other than rivals, and we’re continuously pushing the boundaries with new expertise and machine studying to higher perceive the wants and tastes of our prospects. We’re daring and unafraid to disrupt the fragrance business, bringing transparency and openness into an business sorely missing in disruption.
What are the commanding valuation ratios within the magnificence and fragrance business?
Valuation ratios within the magnificence and fragrance business are decided by various elements, together with an organization’s measurement, progress potential, profitability, barrier of entry, expertise, sturdy USP and model picture. When an organization has a powerful model picture and a disruptive strategy, it tends to have larger valuation ratios. Within the magnificence business, it’s not unusual for bigger firms to pay as much as 10-12 occasions an organization’s income in the event that they see potential for progress and enlargement.
So for small magnificence firms, the important thing to reaching excessive valuation ratios is to problem the normal enterprise mannequin and create a powerful, disruptive worth proposal with excessive barrier of entry and agility, that bigger firms can’t simply replicate with their established buildings. It’s certainly troublesome for bigger firms to innovate as they should stability danger and infrequently have heavy buildings to navigate.
This creates vital potential for acquisition and improvement with huge teams, as they search out progressive and disruptive firms to boost their portfolios and achieve market share.
Within the fragrance business, by disrupting the business with new and progressive concepts, small firms have an enormous potential for acquisition and improvement with huge teams and probably command excessive valuation ratios within the course of.
To search out out extra about Maison 21G, go to https://www.maison21g.com/dwelling or contact them at create@maison21g.com
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