Hello gang! Today we’re going to talk about a subject that’s important to us: The price of perfume. In the retail market, there are huge price differences between cheap perfume and branded perfume. And these price discrepancies are mostly unjustified. In France, 9 out of 10 women and more than half of all men wear perfume. So we thought you might be interested in knowing where your money goes 😉.
As you probably already know, perfume isn’t a recent invention. In fact, it’s an industry that is thousands of years old with a long history. However, we must keep in mind that for a very long time, perfumes were reserved for a powerful and wealthy elite.
Some history to help us better understand
From ancient times, scents and perfumes were used for a variety of purposes and occasions. Specifically, they were believed to be a way of communicating with the divine during rituals and religious ceremonies, or when embalming the dead. Over the centuries, perfumes were also used in rites of seduction. And even healing! In fact, aromatic herbs were the first medicines used by man.
During the Renaissance, perfumes were increasingly appreciated by the nobility. They used them to mask their stench caused by the lack of sanitation facilities such as baths and showers. Perfumes were at the time reserved for the wealthy because the natural ingredients they contained were highly concentrated and expensive. And perfumers would create high-quality bottles for these perfumes that were custom-made for their clients.
The beginning of industrialization and cheap perfume
Lower perfume prices started around Napoleon’s times. Indeed, the French Emperor was a fan of Eaux de Cologne. These were less concentrated and, therefore, slightly cheaper perfumes. However, perfumes could only become truly affordable if they were produced and marketed on a larger scale.
It is, therefore, thanks to industrialization and advances in chemistry that perfumes have become accessible to a larger proportion of the population. The discovery of synthetic ingredients (which do not deteriorate and always have a uniform appearance), and the ability to mass-produce bottles made it possible to considerably lower the price of perfumes.
Cheap perfume: a 20th-century invention
While perfume has always been a luxurious, intimate, precious, and custom-made product, advances in the 20th century made its industrialization possible. Technical advances and the general modernization of commerce have made perfumes consumer goods, a kind of “everyday luxury”.
This has allowed many more people to wear perfume, but unfortunately, it has also led to a number of abuses! Gradually, perfume chains have been created to distribute an ever-increasing range of products. These major brands that make up the selective market represent 90% of the perfume market in France. Selective distribution is, therefore, a determining factor for many brands and dictate the codes. However, this market has been losing momentum for several years (a 3% annual decline) for several reasons.
Consumer tests
With the opening of these new markets and the emergence of millions of new potential customers, perfumes have increasingly been “mainstreamed”. This is because each new perfume launch costs a small fortune. This includes the development of the formula or “juice”, the design of the bottle and packaging, their production, and, most of all, their sales (marketing, advertising, and distribution).
To limit the financial risks on these huge investment costs, the major brands are trying to create juices that appeal to as many people as possible. To do this, each new product offering is first tested by consumers and then modified in accordance with their comments and criticisms. Is it a good idea? Yes, it is! But it’s not necessarily the best way to encourage creativity and risk-taking by perfumers (or noses). In fact, it tends to “smooth” the Nez’s creativity and produce juices that are more conforming, and results in less original perfumes that are all quite similar.
One perfume, millions of copies
This ultimately has led to the loss of a certain magic and uniqueness that was always foundational to the perfume creation process. This loss is all the more obvious and frustrating when you meet 3 people wearing the same perfume as you in one day 🙁.
With millions of bottles produced each year, you can be sure you’ll be wearing the same perfume as many other people also sporting one of a major brand’s best sellers.
The niche market : a response to cheap perfume
“Niche” is a type of market that exists in many sectors. This term refers to a small market with a relatively small target audience. The products are generally of superior quality, and so is their price too…
Niche perfumery emerged in the 1970s with a few pioneers (Serge Lutens, Annick Goutal, L’Artisan Parfumeur, etc.) as a response to cheap perfume and mass production. These brands expanded rapidly in the 2000s with the launch of many new ones, a number of which are now well established. The success of this new market can be attributed to greater creativity on the part of the Perfumers and the use of more natural, high-quality ingredients.
Creativity and quality back in the spotlight
Many of the Perfumers wanted to create their own perfume houses or to join one of the up and coming houses so that they could be more independent and free to express themselves creatively. Similarly, some experienced Perfumers have left the major houses to pursue their own quests for self-fulfilment and freedom. Independence has allowed them to focus on developing their own juices without being forced to strictly adhere to briefs and consumer test results. Making a cheap perfume was no longer on their to-do list. With independence came greater artistic freedom.
One of the reasons why niche fragrances are more expensive is the quality of the ingredients they use. But this hasn’t stopped the young houses from going back to using natural ingredients or refusing to compromise on the quality of their craftsmanship. All this comes at a high cost, though, especially when smaller quantities are produced. Nevertheless, this doesn’t fully account for the higher prices of luxury perfumes, which very often are due to brand positioning and marketing strategies, rather than genuine quality.
Moreover, we have started noticing that the major houses are also entering this market by creating special collections. These collections claim to be luxurious compositions and rely on a strong heritage to make a name for themselves.
The niche, at a fair price
Still, it is possible these days to produce perfumes of uncompromising quality at a fair price. At Sillages Paris, we are HUGE fans of perfume. And our goal is to restore this noble craft to its former glory. Thanks to digital technology, it is now possible to do away with many intermediaries to reduce costs significantly. Yet, the idea is not to make a cheap perfume in terms of quality. But rather to cut the excess around a quality product.
As we mentioned above, the most expensive aspect of developing a perfume is marketing and distribution. To be successful, brands need to pay for expensive advertising campaigns (often using famous celebrities) to get noticed. And without marketing, you will not reach the customers you need to buy your perfume. No customers = no money, and no money = no brand 🙂.
Once you have made a name for yourself, distribution is key to getting your product out there so that customers can find it and buy it! Hence, the high costs brands must pay to distributors (perfumeries, concept stores, etc.), or for opening their own shop on the most beautiful avenues in the world (which is very expensive).
Nowadays, digital technology has made it possible to save on launch expenses. It’s what has allowed the emergence of many smaller brands in beauty, fashion, and jewellery. And it allows us to spend our money on what matters: perfumes!
Sillages Paris was created by and for perfume fans. Our guiding principle was inspired by the goal to create perfumes known for their exceptional quality and originality within our niche. But thanks to our online model, we knew we could offer our perfumes at a fairer price.
So how does it work?
To begin with, our identity (logo, bottle, and packaging) was created by Pierre Katz, one of France’s top designers. It was important to us that your Sillage perfume be the ultimate luxury product! (So that you will always want to carry it with you…)
We have an online perfume shop with a wide range of original products and perfumes, which we sell at very competitive prices. We have eliminated all expenses linked to the distribution of our perfumes. Also, we invest very little (if any) in advertising. We prefer to let customers who are convinced by our products and our philosophy share their opinions about us on Instagram or in real life. The most effective advertising for us is word of mouth marketing by our customers and genuine influencers.
The Sillages Paris way
So, it’s simple: we reinvest all the money we save in our perfumes. At Sillages Paris, our money goes into perfume, and only perfume. This is why our perfume concentrates are among the most luxurious on the market, with no compromises on quality. To give you an idea of the cost savings we are able to pass on to our customers, if we were to sell our perfumes using the traditional model (advertising and point of sale), our 50ml bottle would be priced at 204€ (instead of 83€ currently). Thank you, digital!
Our mostly natural ingredients are among the finest in Haute Parfumerie and are all clean, safe, and vegan. In addition, we give our talented perfumers total creative freedom to create formulas that are totally awesome using our customization algorithm.
Our goal? To make Haute Parfumerie accessible to all by allowing each person to create their perfect perfume in collaboration with our perfumers. And there are no limits to their creativity! They are always creating new and unique combinations of ingredients, which we add to our algorithm. Our customers can personalize their perfume on our website or in our workshops, according to their tastes, and with the confidence that they can’t go wrong while they’re at it! It’s like having your best friend perfumer at your side to create the ultimate fragrance. And we love that. But what if you don’t like the result? Just return the bottle to us for free, and we’ll give you your money back. Easy!
So, what do you say?
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