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On Thursday, Amouage, the luxury perfume line based in Oman, reported a 48 percent increase in sales in its first quarter, reaching $100 million in retail sales. Growth was led by its 17 owned boutiques, which lifted 75 percent, while e-commerce and travel retail increased 52 and 49 percent respectively.
Known for its premium perfumes like the best-selling Guidance range, starting at $395, the brand takes inspiration from its Omani roots. In April it opened a pop-up cafe to celebrate both Ramdan, Eid Al-Fitr and the rose harvest — a key ingredient in many perfumes — in Jabal Akhdar, Oman. It also staged a showcase at Milan Design Week in April highlighting frankincense from Wadi Dawkah, which is known as the “land of frankincense” and dates back to ancient and medieval times.
According to chief executive Marco Parsiegla, around a third of its sales now come from its Exceptional Extracts range, from $520, which have a high concentration of fragrance oil and are aged in wooden barrels, some for more as much as six months to provide a more distinctive fragrance. Renaud Salmon, the brand’s chief creative officer, said customers were especially attracted to how unique and rarefied the scents were, with the ageing process adding a sense of delayed gratification. Parsiegla said overall, demand for its higher-concentration products which are said to last longer on the skin, are especially high, and that more than 80 percent of its clientele is under 45.
Amouage noted particular dynamism in the US, where sales increased 41 percent, and became a top ten fragrance brand in the department store Neiman Marcus this year, whilst also climbing the rankings in SKP in China and Harvey Nichols in Saudi Arabia. Amouage makes all of its fragrances in-house; Parsiegla said while a 10 percent tariff in the U.S would likely affect them, they conduct annual pricing reviews and are not currently adjusting pricing for that market. “It’s more important to do a global pricing review…than basically making very short ad hoc adjustments for that specific market,” he said.
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In February, L’Oréal announced it had taken a minority stake in the firm. Parsiegla said the investment would support the brand as it continues to add new scents to its Decision and Existence franchises, hires more staff, and open more new boutiques in new markets like Europe.
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