What led you to create Maison 21G and inform us extra concerning the modern idea of bespoke perfumes?
Evocative, distinctive, and memorable, I deeply imagine that the fifth sense conjures up 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 instrument to imprint recollections, and convey confidence all through key moments of your life. As such, I imagine that your scent needs to 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 trade 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 enormous 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 improper on this stunning trade, so I made a decision to interrupt free from the glamorous company world and shake the conventions of this sleeping trade.
My imaginative and prescient was to carry again the “energy of creation” into the palms of customers, providing a novel and fascinating scent discovery expertise. Dedicated to a cleaner fragrance trade, I used to be pushed by a need to carry 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” on your clients?
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 intention to create a luxurious expertise in perfumery like no different for our clients. We encourage confidence, self-expression, and exploration in perfumery, with a poly-sensorial strategy. With 10 flagship shops internationally, each nook of our boutiques is meticulously curated with a sequence of devoted zones corresponding to our well-known modern scent bar to find and select your elements, the perfumer organ the place customers mix their very own scent, and our non-public atelier’s areas to study the artwork of creation.
We additionally regularly search new expertise to boost our experiential retail choices. As an example according to our dedication to innovation, we provide a novel AI character quiz. Our open app accumulate data corresponding to your pores and skin tone, your scent desire, your values in life, and your required advantages to suggest 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, clients can add a private contact through the use of our complimentary UV Printing Machine to customize their fragrance bottle design. As well as, we offer fragrance workshops for {couples}, staff constructing occasions the place our scent consultants information purchasers in making a personalised perfume in a single hour by appointment.
Our experiential retail area encourages cross-cultural exchanges. And clients come collectively to share concepts and cultures, pushing the envelope of creativity. Maison 21G is dedicated to disrupting the posh trade by making a neighborhood of perfume designers, connoisseurs, aficionados, or novices in each main metropolis on this planet, pushed by a novel offline retail expertise, relayed by a powerful digital presence to finish the offline expertise with a devoted loyalty program, and automated reorder companies on your personalised scent from wherever on this planet.
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 can be tailor-made to the distinctive character and olfactory preferences of every of our clients. Our flagship shops function laboratories, the place highly-skilled scent designers information clients of their scent creation, guaranteeing that their personalities and preferences are thought of at each step of the method. We imagine {that a} fragrance is way more than simply an adjunct. It’s private, intimate, and turns into your voice to precise your distinctive id. This is the reason we provide our clients 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, participating and enjoyable: we start by asking clients 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, enjoyable, and many others.). This builds a buyer scent profile that’s distinctive to their id. 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” alternatively, can be extra drawn to softer, comforting, and caring notes corresponding to musk, vanilla, and light-weight juicy fruits.
With the usage of cutting-edge expertise, leveraging AI alongside extra conventional abilities, we’re revolutionising the fragrance trade by understanding the wants and tastes of every nationality, tradition, and era. The extra clients 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 in a position to study immediately from our buyer base and reply instantly to new customers tendencies in every capital like Seoul, Shanghai, Paris, and elsewhere. It’s a game-changing strategy for the fragrance trade, and the extra we develop, the extra educated and concise we’re in a position to 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 imagine within the energy of scent to carry individuals collectively, and our workshops are designed to supply an unforgettable and distinctive sensory expertise. It’s a enjoyable and exploratory expertise, the place individuals can reconnect, share, and find out about one another by scent.
One among my favorite recollections 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 stunned 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 offered her with the bottle, he obtained down on one knee and revealed a hoop hidden contained in the field. Your complete room was moved to tears by this romantic gesture. In that second, I used to be reminded of the ability 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 overtly about recycling and the reuse of fragrance bottles.
At Maison 21G, our sustainable pillar is built-in into all the things we do. Our give attention to eco-consciousness, moral and clear manufacturing and distribution, is a part of our dedication to excellence, high quality, and luxurious. In an trade the place the usage of buzzwords and advertising jargon to ‘greenwash’ merchandise is rampant, we attempt to be clear, sincere, and open about our sustainability practices.
To attain our sustainable objectives, now we have partnered with IFF-LMR (Laboratoire Monique Rémy) to supply the very best high quality of perfumes. IFF’s vertical integration permits us to manage each step of our elements provide chain, and its adherence to particular sustainable and clear standards, together with environmental accountability, honest working circumstances, and optimistic relations with native communities.
At Maison 21G, we satisfaction 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 scale back our environmental impression.
We imagine in creating merchandise which can 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’ve gotten expanded your product vary and Maison 21G now provides inside its boutiques perfumed candles, the very begin of an elaborate dwelling scent assortment. How is it performing?
The pandemic introduced unprecedented modifications in our existence, with individuals spending extra time at dwelling than ever earlier than. At Maison 21G, we recognised that buyers have been searching for methods to make their dwelling surroundings extra snug, inviting, and reflective of their personalities. This impressed us to launch our sustainable, pure, and customisable Residence Scents vary, and we’re delighted with the way it has been embraced.
Our Residence 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 elements that may assist clients chill out, focus, and sleep extra successfully. We imagine that individuals should unlock the scent of their soul, and our Residence Scents vary is designed to make that course of straightforward, satisfying, 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 clients to decide on and mix their favorite scents in trendy and opulent ornamental objects, a premiere within the Residence Scent world. As with our personalised perfumes, we put the client on the coronary heart of the creation course of and set it aside from all of our opponents.
We imagine that the data to create a wonderful, wholesome Residence Scent for the entire household, needs to be accessible to everybody.
E-commerce is rising quick throughout all continents. We see your staff working exhausting 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 automated reorder companies for personalised scents from wherever on this planet. We provide bespoke inventive experiences to anybody, wherever, with our DIY inventive set, which we will 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 combos on-line based mostly on their character, tradition, age, and totally different needs for a fragrance, corresponding to freshness, magnificence, and seduction. The twin-scented crayon permits individuals to strive 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 bored with off-the-shelf scents and have leapt on the probability to craft their very own scents from sustainable and high-quality elements 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, in search of 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 lively neighborhood of scent designers, now we have constructed a loyal buyer base that shares our ardour for creativity, high quality, and sustainability.
Inform us about your newest growth 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 only ingrained into their tradition, and it’s wonderful for me to precise the DNA of my model there. I’m personally passionate concerning the Center East market, and now we have thrilling plans for the area with the assist of the celebrated {and professional} Chalhoub Group.
In Dubai, I’m at all times impressed by the range of cultures and the pure inventive instincts of the individuals I meet. They’re so stylish and take wonderful care of their picture and scent id. Dubai has no boundaries, and I like the grandiose and multisensory experiences discovered at each nook of this buzzing worldwide capital. We’re trying to broaden our presence in Dubai but additionally Abu Dhabi, with a give attention to opening extra shops in key selective high areas like Bloomingdales, Tyrano, Malls of the Emirates, and past.
In Qatar, we’ve simply opened a wonderful 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 corresponding to Printemps, Galerie Lafayette, and Harvey Nichols, with a inventive scent bar idea. We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and fervour of the individuals for our stunning elements and experiential ideas.
My greatest problem now’s to beat Saudi Arabia, with the opening of our flagship retailer in Nakheel mall. We all know it’s a demanding market by way of high quality and repair, with a big base of fragrance connoisseurs and aficionados. Nevertheless, we’re assured that now we have all the things 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 clients in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Center East.
Fragrance is an inseparable a part of Center Japanese tradition. What angle in the direction of fragrance have you ever observed amongst Center Japanese customers?
The Center East is revered to a excessive diploma and perfumery rooting in historic practices. As an example, the Persians have been the primary to make use of distillation in extracting oils from flowers to create stunning essences that solely Center Japanese individuals have the tradition to understand. Who would’ve identified that a long time, centuries later, fragrance utility nonetheless stays a vital ritual of their day by day lives.
Famend for probably the most aromatic of traditions — smouldering incense, burning bakhoor, utilizing ritualistic important oils, and aromatic teas — it’s no marvel why the language of scent creation applies on many ranges of their tradition. From a religious technique to anoint oneself earlier than prayer to epitomising a private fingerprint, deep recollections of their life, an announcement of themselves; fragrance is a strong instrument in characterising one’s individuality right here.
With absolutely the strongest olfactive preferences globally, the residents of the Center East search a daring, distinctive scent and positively 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 Japanese customers who’ve been layering and mixing scents for many years. They recognize the artwork of fragrance making and have a deep understanding of the complexities of making a novel scent that displays their character and magnificence.
After opening boutiques in Vietnam and South Korea, what’s your subsequent vital 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 repute and growth in Asia. As a result of South Korea is understood for being a trending marketplace for luxurious manufacturers, attaining success there can set the tone for the remainder of Asia, together with nations corresponding to China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Customers in these nations 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 carry our distinctive expertise to each main capital.
My subsequent greatest problem for 2023-24 can be China the place now we have a really formidable plan with Everlasting group. We’ve already opened a wonderful 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 categorical our model DNA. To succeed in stylish Gen Z and Millennials, we’ll additionally give attention to digital platforms like Tmall, Weibo, Little Purple E-book, and WeChat, translating our AI quiz and selling our hero merchandise in Chinese language.
In China, customers have a comparatively quick historical past with perfumery and are wanting to study concerning the elements, uncover their preferences, and develop their very own scent type. They’re additionally keen on 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 need amongst customers to precise their id and individuality by perfume, in addition to a rising appreciation for high-quality, artisanal merchandise. This development is partly pushed by a need to face out and be totally different from the group, with distinctive fragrances that can’t be present in mass status perfumes. Chinese language customers are additionally more and more keen on unconventional scents with characters that permit them to precise their edgy type.
To adapt to those totally different expectations, Maison 21G will tailor our advertising strategy and companies to Chinese language customers. That is the power 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 trade.
The place do you see Maison 21G in 5 years down the highway? Any IPO deliberate forward?
Turn out to be 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 trade: 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 through the model’s robust credentials in design, innovation, and sourcing new pure elements for our scent designer neighborhood.
We repeatedly enhance our service and coaching of Maison 21G scent designers, probably constructing an academy of perfumery to share data and experience. We’ve tasks in Web3 to tokenise our distinctive fragrance creation recipes, which can stop copying and grant possession to our loyal clients, preserving their creativity at Maison 21G.
We additionally plan to accomplice with different industries corresponding to artwork, culinary, music, motels, and mixology to create polysensorial occasions.
To assist the imaginative and prescient and mission, Maison 21G will proceed to lift good cash with larger traders to problem the normal fragrance trade, acquire sustainable market share and turn into probably the most fascinating fragrance model.
We need to preserve the authenticity of what they do so long as attainable, supported by lively 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 vital progress markets such because the Asia-Pacific area and journey retail. Their success in disrupting the fragrance trade years in the past is noteworthy. This acquisition is a testomony to the worth of constructing a powerful model picture with modern merchandise, reaching untapped customers, and being led by a daring, robust founder.
Maison 21G goals to observe in Tom Ford’s footsteps by making a luxurious inventive model picture with modern services that may attain untapped customers. We try to be a challenger within the high-end luxurious section of the perfumery trade, specializing in personalisation, sustainability, and an experiential strategy to create your individual scents. Our dedication to creativity units us aside from opponents, and we’re always pushing the boundaries with new expertise and machine studying to higher perceive the wants and tastes of our clients. We’re daring and unafraid to disrupt the fragrance trade, bringing transparency and openness into an trade sorely missing in disruption.
What are the commanding valuation ratios within the magnificence and fragrance trade?
Valuation ratios within the magnificence and fragrance trade are decided by plenty of elements, together with an organization’s measurement, progress potential, profitability, barrier of entry, expertise, robust 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 trade, it’s not unusual for bigger corporations to pay as much as 10-12 instances an organization’s income in the event that they see potential for progress and growth.
So for small magnificence corporations, the important thing to attaining 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 corporations can’t simply replicate with their established buildings. It’s certainly troublesome for bigger corporations to innovate as they should stability danger and sometimes have heavy buildings to navigate.
This creates important potential for acquisition and growth with huge teams, as they search out modern and disruptive corporations to boost their portfolios and acquire market share.
Within the fragrance trade, by disrupting the trade with new and modern concepts, small corporations have an enormous potential for acquisition and growth with huge teams and doubtlessly command excessive valuation ratios within the course of.
To seek out out extra about Maison 21G, go to https://www.maison21g.com/dwelling or contact them at create@maison21g.com
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