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RIP Montale?

post #1 of 117
Thread Starter 
Omens suggest the continued existence of Montale is more and more doubtful. The old Paris store is gone. Staff is gone. No responses to phone calls or emails. Telephone number no longer belongs to Montale. Opening of the new Paris store was in May, then June, then July, now late September. My last order through an on-line retailer has been back-ordered since April, to ship in mid-May, in mid-June, end of June, now end of July. Anyone see any signs of life?
post #2 of 117
They'll probably reappear when you least expect it.
post #3 of 117
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

They'll probably reappear when you least expect it.

It is to be hoped.
post #4 of 117
Any news anyone?
post #5 of 117
Interested as well. Cmon Montale back again soon.
post #6 of 117
I thought they renamed their stuff under an Italian sounding name now? That whole Pierre Montale name blunder thing, or whatever that was?

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/289...isbanded/page2
post #7 of 117
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kalli View Post

I thought they renamed their stuff under an Italian sounding name now? That whole Pierre Montale name blunder thing, or whatever that was?

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/289...isbanded/page2

I was following this thread earlier but there is no real new information in it since the Place Vendome shop closed (apparently it is now a lingerie shop). The old telephone number has reportedly been given to something else. The new store was (at one point at least) supposed to open this month but now the website says not until late September. Meanwhile, their distribution stream seems to have run dry and dealers have not been able to restock sold-out product. There was a rumor that the new shop was opening in the Av. Pierre 1er de Serbie but that was never either confirmed or updated. They seem to have vanished.

I was hoping someone in Paris might have seen the new place being renovated or run into some of the old staff or heard some rumors or something...
post #8 of 117
I thought they were simply relocating.

As having such a store on Place Vendome just boggles the mind.
post #9 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

I thought they were simply relocating.

As having such a store on Place Vendome just boggles the mind.

I'm wondring how long it takes to relocate a shop....
post #10 of 117
It's difficult to believe that such a successful outfit would simply shut down operations unless some fairly nasty internal problems have occurred. The whole Tenelli thing gives the impression of having been a failed attempt to circumvent those problems, but it seems that even that effort has not worked out. The idea that things would get to the point where you wouldn't even bother to retain your bussiness phone number....that certainly does not sound good to me.

Jeeze, any guesses as to what bottles of Black Oud are likely to start going for if indeed the company is gone for good ?

I shudder to think.
post #11 of 117
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdboy48 View Post

It's difficult to believe that such a successful outfit would simply shut down operations unless some fairly nasty internal problems have occurred.
I shudder to think.

Well, there is such a thing as bankruptcy, which happens when you owe more money than you can pay back. If General Motors could go bankrupt, I don't see why a small niche perfume house couldn't go bankrupt. And I don't see anyone bailing out a perfume company.
post #12 of 117
Does anyone knows if they are shipping by mail?
Thank you!
post #13 of 117
As far as I know they will be opening their new boutique in Paris in September.
Don't know if they take phone orders currently
post #14 of 117
I'm sure we will all know by September. If they do not open by then, it's curtains down.
post #15 of 117
And about the new perfumes they launch this year?
Whats that mean?
post #16 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by BurgundyMarsh View Post

Well, there is such a thing as bankruptcy, which happens when you owe more money than you can pay back. If General Motors could go bankrupt, I don't see why a small niche perfume house couldn't go bankrupt. And I don't see anyone bailing out a perfume company.

Well one makes trashy products, the other doesn't.
post #17 of 117
Hope that they open the new store!
I recenctly discovered Montale!
Dont want to lose them!
I'll try to email them about an order on monday!
post #18 of 117
Maybe an injunction was issued?
post #19 of 117
Thread Starter 
Sign of Life: my Montale order, backordered since April, has finally shipped.
post #20 of 117
Theyre responding the emails?
post #21 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by BurgundyMarsh View Post

Sign of Life: my Montale order, backordered since April, has finally shipped.

Things must have truly been a mess if it took that long to ship. Hopefully they are actually coming back to life, rather than simply trying to tie up loose ends from a legal liability standpoint, before going under as a brand forever.
post #22 of 117
Montale never won anything at the bn annual awards...
post #23 of 117
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by d4N13L View Post

Theyre responding the emails?

Not that I know of. This order was through Luckyscent who buys through a distributor. But it suggests the supply chain is moving again, maybe.
post #24 of 117
I dont want to bash Montale but company running their business on @hotmail.com is as niche as it can be . Hopefully they will come back with serious website and eshop like many other reliable niche companies.
post #25 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by mihailo View Post

montale never won anything at the bn annual awards...

lol!
post #26 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by BurgundyMarsh View Post

This order was through Luckyscent who buys through a distributor.

As of a few months ago, my friend who works at a stand-alone perfume store said that the Montale representative, who they had always had a good relationship with, had completely disappeared, and was not responding to their calls or anything, and as a result they were unable to renew any of their stock. I have not talked to her in a while, so maybe things have changed, but somehow I doubt that they have.

I saw a place on E-bay recently that seemed to carry a lot of their stuff, but I had the feeling that they were working off of stock they already had.
post #27 of 117
Any news about this whole thing?
post #28 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by LloydLlewellyn View Post

Any news about this whole thing?

You'll have to wait until mid-September...
post #29 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor View Post

You'll have to wait until mid-September...

I wonder if we'll hear that there's been yet another delay. For an outfit that presents the move as progress for their company, they've been awfully quiet.
post #30 of 117
Just received this email from Montale

"We are pleased to inform you that the online sales is working again.

If you still wish to order thank you to notify us.

However, we could only provide orders with 100ml and always 20ml gifts.

Service Payment: Paypal."
post #31 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rev320 View Post

Just received this email from Montale

"We are pleased to inform you that the online sales is working again.

If you still wish to order thank you to notify us.

However, we could only provide orders with 100ml and always 20ml gifts.

Service Payment: Paypal."

Yay! So, no 50 ml bottles I guess? That's a bummer, I don't need 100 ml of any Montale... unless science manages to grant me 100 additional years...
post #32 of 117
Very good news.
post #33 of 117
Fantastic news, i will contact them by mail again.
Hooraaaa


Dark Aoud full bottle in 3,2,1
post #34 of 117
My ears perked up to trouble when a variety of Montales suddenly showed up on Overstock.com at half price. Just a quick check of their line shows 80(!) different fragrances launched in the last decade. That is a crazy number of products to try to handle for a niche company - almost twice as many as Comme des Garcons carries, and those guys are pros and a diversified brand. At some point, the new launches are only going to cannibalize the old launches and they are going to start running into liquidity problems. One would need to walk a tightrope and have very deep pockets to make a business strategy like that work in the long term. It would not be surprising to hear that they found themselves in some difficulty.

They should pare the line down to 10 or so classics and do a couple of limited edition 50ml releases per year and leave it at that.
post #35 of 117
I got that email too. Hopefully they will get in 50ml bottles...I don't need that much.
post #36 of 117
I sent them an email asking if they would be selling the 50 ml bottles again soon, and they replied with the same standard email transcribed above. I then replied in turn asking them to notify me when the 50 ml become available again, stating that I am NOT interested in buying 100 ml bottles. Maybe if several of us did that they will start rethinking this policy?
post #37 of 117
Every time I email them I feel like I'm talking to a robot.
post #38 of 117
@LloydLewellyn why don't you organize a split? It will be cheaper to keep 50ml from 100ml bottle than buying a 50ml bottle itself.
post #39 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucasai View Post

@LloydLewellyn why don't you organize a split? It will be cheaper to keep 50ml from 100ml bottle than buying a 50ml bottle itself.

I like to keep the bottle, and 50 ml is perfect for me
Plus, before, two 50 ml bottles cost the same as one 100 ml bottle, and you had more variety...
post #40 of 117
you can send us a mail with your order and we send us a paypal invoice.
e-commerce will be installed next month,

best regards,
Amelie


Lmao at the English
post #41 of 117
... bad news part II : no longer free shipping, only within France!
post #42 of 117
How much are they charging for shipping then?
post #43 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kron View Post

How much are they charging for shipping then?

I await a reply and will report back! ;-)
post #44 of 117
I asked for prices before making an order and they didn't say anything about shipping costs... that would be bad news... prices are still OK for a quality niche house (still 100+20 for 75-105€)
post #45 of 117
Well they just released another 2 fragrances for October 2012
Aoud Ever and Candy Rose lol, and they do not have a store or permanent location, how bizarre.
post #46 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by vinramani09 View Post

Well they just released another 2 fragrances for October 2012
Aoud Ever and Candy Rose lol, and they do not have a store or permanent location, how bizarre.

Strange indeed.

Have they actually taken and shipped anyone's orders recently ?

But yeah, even from beyond the grave, you'd expect to hear about them releasing something new.
post #47 of 117
....shipping to Germany is 16 €....
post #48 of 117
Yes... expensive shipping costs...

Anyway it's still cheaper to order from them than many retailers. And those free 20ml are still a plus.
post #49 of 117
With these new conditions, I'll pass.
post #50 of 117
Hi All,

Can I ask if anyone has ordered and received everything ok since they started taking orders again? I would like to order, but want to ensure that everything is above board before placing an order.

Thanks

M
post #51 of 117
Just order from the very efficient German website, first in fragrance. You can Google the name (in English) to get their website or search for them on the BN search facility.

OK, you won't get an extra 20ml juice, but you will get peace of mind and a reliable delivery method. Plus they are based in Germany (which is also EU and isn't geographically far from France anyway!).
post #52 of 117
So, is the new Montale boutique now open for business?
post #53 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor View Post

So, is the new Montale boutique now open for business?

I know. How many reopening deadlines have they missed now ? Paris may be expensive, but you would think they would get an official storefront going somewhere. Even without one, hearing that their reps are out, and resupplying the retail outlets which carried their line in the past would be an encouraging sign. Don't know how true it is, but my contacts earlier in the year were indicating that their reps seem to have been laid off.
post #54 of 117
They used to fill out the bottles you ordered through the phone in their very own boutique, didn't they? So maybe now they are only selling factory-manufactured 100 ml bottles, thus no longer producing 50 ml bottles.
post #55 of 117
I'm somewhat disappointed in myself for not ordering when I had a chance. I might never get to try some of these now...I might still search out Dark Aoud but honestly while they were down I've managed to fill my oud void with others and it might be too little too late. I wonder if they lost a lot of business.
post #56 of 117
Really wanting to buy a new Montale. Hope to hear some positive news about the shop opening.
post #57 of 117
I ordered SOD and Aoud Lime a couple of weeks ago and received them yesterday. It seems that they don't ship overseas right now...
post #58 of 117
I wonder who was there at the Pitti Fragranze 2012 unveiling those two new montales... did anyone attend that show?

http://www.fragrantica.com/news/Mont...Rose-3584.html
post #59 of 117
Quote:
Originally Posted by Postumo View Post

I ordered SOD and Aoud Lime a couple of weeks ago and received them yesterday. It seems that they don't ship overseas right now...

Thanks for updating Postumo
post #60 of 117
They refuse to ship to the United States...I don't know who's decision that was, but It is a poor business move...
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