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The Perfect Perfume Shop?

post #1 of 5
8/29/10 at 8:16pm
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone,

I was just curious to find out what your opinions would be on what would make an excellent perfume store? What would it include? Design? What would it carry? What would make it different or unique?...etc


Thanks!

I like to create!
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post #2 of 5
8/29/10 at 8:56pm
m-l-m, my best wishes to you. A great question and a wonderful idea!

In my experience, I think a Sephora style store would be wonderful but I'm not sure how much waste that includes and whether that format is feasible for a small business (if in fact, you're speaking of a smaller business, a "shop"). It would carry a lot of the mainstream brands but also a lot of classics, hard-to-find, and discontinued items for the serious hobbyist. Ultra luxury or niche brands would be great but aren't a necessity for me personally when I visit a perfume shop--the classics and htf are.

HOWEVER, in my humble opinion, nothing is more important than a knowledgeable and enthusiastic (not pushy) sales associate. This person MUST know about the individual brands carried at the store, and ideally should know about the notes of each fragrance OR AT LEAST have resources available to refer to. In other words the sales associate must seiously be interested in fragrances. Just this part would make a fragrance store unique in today's market LOL!

This SA should be respectful of the customer who IS MORE knowledgeable than he/she is, and should be able to take a hint when the customer proves it and needs to be left alone to explore.

The customer must be able to sample as much as needed even without a purchase. I absolutely don't think giving out free samples (Sephora style or otherwise) is needed for a successful perfume shop. A lot of sales can be made with an honest and understated but informed and informative approach.

RM
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post #3 of 5
8/29/10 at 9:33pm
This is semi-tongue-in cheek: There have to be a few chairs, so weary family members can sit while I sniff!

We were at Aedes recently and they do have a chair! But their adorable little dog was in it, belly up, gazing languidly at us shoppers...my daughter was bored with shopping and dying to sit but didn't have the heart to boot the little dog from the chair.
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post #4 of 5
8/29/10 at 9:49pm
1.) A means of testing the fragrance without interference from the ambient smells around.
2.) Decants decants decants. Not sure about legality, but this is an exercise in imagination. Decants are win-win-win-win: 1.) they make an expensive fragrance within reach of most budgets 2.) they can potentially have wider profit margins 3.) they may increase sales for the manufacturer 4.) they make skin-testing easier and more convenient for the consumer 5.) increased loyalty, customer satisfaction if they purchase a full-size bottle -- less buyer's remorse or returns/exchanges.
3.) Knowledgeable, well-trained, staff.
4.) Selection: Stock the most reviewed fragrances on Basenotes that are generally not found in department stores. THEN, stock the top 1-5 best sellers in the industry for each gender.
5.) Be ethical. Be open about dates related to product freshness. My biggest reason for not buying is not knowing how long it's been sitting around. No fakes or dilutions unless openly stated.
6.) Organization...please have a logical method to the madness. Heck create a cheat sheet for the customer, where fragrances are categorized by type, notes, house, occasion etc. "Analysis paralysis" is one reason for no sales.
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post #5 of 5
8/29/10 at 11:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys!

I am loving your ideas!

I agree wholly on that the staff should be very knowledgeable - I wonder if a perfume store/shop should hire perfumists? I know a lot of niche shops that are owned solely by perfume makers but I don't know if it is 'necessary'. I think someone who has read all the books, able to describe notes and has a excellent memory for smell.

A friendly staff is key. I don't like pushy salespeople either and I agree on decants. I wonder if a membership of sorts could be employed to let customers have the chance to try up to 10 reasonable sized decants at a even more reasonable price.

Sephora's layout is nice but I am not sure how well that would work - it's so open concept and not what I thought a unique perfume shop would be but if there were funds, it could be do-able.

So far we have knowledgeable, expert salespeople (perfumistas they would have to called...like being a Barista, lol), we would need trial rooms perhaps that would be like fitting rooms for testing without interference of surrounding aromas. There would be maybe a book reference section with a fair amount of seats and a couple tables. Maybe even selling books on the subject?

I imagine a place that is a historical large home turned into perfume 'spa' (?) revamped to look a little boudoir and old school perfume shop. I like Sensuals idea on what to carry...actually I love all your ideas on that part!

Carry a reference catalogue for being able to order perfumes that aren't available in the store at the time.

I am trying to think of something unique to add to it. Events of sorts?

Inventory logging is an excellent idea to track when the fragrances come in and to relay the information to the client.

Should the shop play music or remain silent?

How do we make it appealing to both men and women in design?

Thanks for the ideas!

One day, the perfect perfume shop WILL exist! lol!

Anyone else have anything they think would be a good idea or that other shops/stores are lacking?
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