'The shift to creating new prestige luxury perfumes leads to extraordinary personalisation, intimate with emotion", says Marc Chaya, chief executive and co-creator of Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
"Creativity, high-quality craftsmanship and seamless customer experiences are key differentiators to grow this business sustainably and become a market leader, even for a 14-year-old company," he says.
With a background in finance, working with global advisory firm EY, and a personal passion for art, architecture, drawing and literature, Mr Chaya gained the recognition of master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and together they launched Maison Francis Kurkdjian in 2009.
As it became a luxury fragrance powerhouse, spreading throughout Europe and to the United States, it entered the fold of the LVMH Group in 2017.
"Our brand journey in Thailand began five years ago and we've seen a natural progression, from Siam Paragon to EmQuartier and now our first flagship store at Iconsiam," says Mr Chaya.
Singapore and Hong Kong have also been added to the mix and the Maison just opened in China, with a boutique at Nanjing-Deji department store and an online presence on TMall.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian perfumes.
At Iconsiam, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Boutique not only attracts tourists in their droves but also lots of locals who account for half of its foot traffic.
"Although this is a challenging time with the prospect of economic recession, we are not afraid. When we started out in 2009, there was in a global recession, too, so we know it will pass," Mr Chaya says.
"The artistic luxury fragrance sector in which we operate is very resilient to economic downturn, including the pandemic."
Throughout the pandemic, the brand grew 200% globally as more customers embraced the ultra-high end fragrance category.
"Perfume is necessary for life and makes us feel good. People are willing to invest in such things and fragrance is part of that."
The luxury segment has stood up well and that's where the brand's customers originate.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian "Executive's Thought" 11/11/22
"People who used to buy more mass-market, widely available brands are now attracted to high-end, unique and more exclusive fragrances," he says.
"This is a real movement that has been happening for the past 10 years, starting in Europe and the US, and for the past three years we have been seeing it expanding globally and growing dramatically."
"Perfume has been mass market for the last 80 years but our customers are more sophisticated, demanding upscale genuine experiences. They want to have a more singular, more personal experience," Mr Chaya says.
"Our customers are attracted to something that is unique, creative and meaningful. They enjoy our perfume because it takes them on a sensory journey, it tells a story, it has certain qualities. They enjoy how it sits and lives on their skin, and how it's not widely available. It's something very personal that they can experience on their own terms."
In Maison Francis Kurkdjian's view, luxury perfume is defined by Francis Kurkdjian's extraordinary genius and creativity, melded to extraordinary quality and a unique customer experience.
The Maison Francis Kurkdjian flagship store at Iconsiam.
"As a creative house, our value proposition is that our creativity and craftsmanship are our key differentiators."
Now the industry is being challenged to move away from simplistic marketing to genuine creation by telling the customer a genuine story.
"Our industry has been fed by marketing for too long. Marketing enabled great things by empowering beauty but told consumers false messages such as calling something '100% natural' and saying anything less is dangerous or that something can destroy the land's phreatic water," says Mr Chaya.
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Another pressing challenge comes in the guise of sustainability.
"We are considerably increasing our efforts towards sustainability," says Mr Chaya. "This is not a marketing proposition but a matter of human responsibility to our planet."
As such, starting next year, Maison Francis Kurkdjian perfume bottles will be refillable while ingredients potentially harmful to nature will be eliminated.
Packaging for some products is being reduced by up to 60% from 2023. Maison Francis Kurkdjian is also putting its creativity at the service of sustainability by coming up with gift wrapping solutions that are highly desirable yet less wasteful.
"Sustainability should not be a competitive factor for brands in our industry. We are all in the race to transform our supply chain, at least by recycling paper and eliminating microplastics. We need to work together, stop spreading false messages, and get real," Mr Chaya says.
"Within the definition of luxury there is creativity, beauty, sophistication, durability. It's something that can survive time. When we launch perfumes, we want to be here in 100 years' time. We don't want in and out, new launches are not supposed to kill previous creations."
The upshot is global bestsellers Baccarat Rouge 540, Gentle Fluidity and À la rose.
Mr Chaya, centre, and Vinod Dadlani, CEO of Prestige Group, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Prestige Group management, third from left, at the Maison Francis Kurkdjian flagship store at Iconsiam.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian also prides itself on its steady growth with selective distribution focusing on quality and high profitability.
"We don't open many doors. After nearly 14 years in business, we have 750 doors globally, which is very little compared to mass market brands that have over 40,000 doors."
In Thailand, Maison Francis Kurkdjian has three points of distribution which will potentially rise to five.
Meanwhile, delivery of the customer journey will focus on retail stores, department stores, and shop-in-shops.
The agenda with China is to make it a formidable springboard for further development. The first boutique was opened earlier this year at Nanjing Mall and three boutiques are tipped to open every year over the next five years while also rolling out in department stores.
Every door needs to be productive and profitable. And so far, it is. Maison Francis Kurkdjian already ranks in the top 5 in Asia, top three in Europe, and no.1 in the US.
"The key to success is an ecosystem where we have the right location, product and training. The right experience is essential in-store to achieve customer desirability and retention," says Mr Chaya.
During the period 2019 to 2021, Maison Francis Kurkdjian grew in triple digits globally. It recorded double digit growth this year, while the industry had single digit growth.
REFLECTIONS OF A NEW IDENTITY
The identity is eloquently reflected in the latest Maison Francis Kurkdjian boutique at Iconsiam.
"It's very comfortable, elegant, contemporary and sophisticated, with a feelgood brightness that doesn't upstage the essential perfume story," says Mr Chaya.
Echoing Parisian architecture, sensorial mineral materials such as Lutetian limestone, marble and fluted concrete are enhanced by contrasting gold and wood details.
Referencing the Maison Francis Kurkdjian monogram, a K-shape is used in the fragrance display table profiles and the architecture as in the Paris store.
So far, the new identity has been rolled out in around 20% of the brand's outlets, including Singapore and Nanjing besides Bangkok. Hong Kong will be next.
Why Thailand? "We chose to open our own boutique here as the country is sophisticated with ultra-high end retail, art of living and culture that perfectly fits our model," says Mr Chaya.
Next year, will see the launch of exciting new products and the roll out of wider personalised perfume bottle engraving services. Home and body ranges such as body creams, candles and even a detergent will line up alongside the perfumes.
Since the pandemic drove online shopping, Maison Francis Kurkdjian saw 30% of total sales made online and this year the figure reached over 35%.
To achieve this, the whole online experience had to be upgraded with a designer user experience that is a joy to navigate. To make it more immersive, online events, master classes and personalised services have been added. Free shipping and free returns are also part of the package.
"We try to make our online completely coherent with our offline with a true omnichannel approach."
Online can attract new customers through, for example, online sampling where customers can purchase sample sets and then have the price deducted from their actual order. Going forward, 30% of business revenue will come from the retail boutiques and online, the rest from department store locations.
"We learned so much in the pandemic and discovered how our target customers yearned to feel good and special at home. We found that luxury perfume helps them feel in touch with their emotions and their soul," Mr Chaya says.
"Now that we are post-pandemic with open travel, consumers allocate budget to different things."
"Nevertheless, this category has seen a lot of untapped growth potential. A customer can own a mass market scent but also decide to embrace the prestige category. People are buying more than one scent these days," he says.
"They have a collection of scents and change their perfume every day according to their emotion whereas previously people would stick with one cent all their life," says Mr Chaya.
"Compared with fashion, luxury and jewellery, the universal language of perfume is still approachable. Everyone has an inner child and Maison Francis Kurkdjian awakens your soul to it."
