A Perfume Brand Asks, ‘What China Downturn?’

Many international fashion and beauty brands are hedging their bets on China, where a faltering luxury market has an economic slowdown.

But those warning signs haven’t deterred niche British fragrance brand Perfumer H. In early 2025, it will open a four-story, 4,000-square-foot store in Shanghai’s fashionable French Concession, near stores like streetwear maker Supreme. In addition to the sales floor, the store will also include a film screening area, a candle refilling station, a tea room and space for an artist in residence.

Despite not yet having a physical presence in China, Harris said the brand has reason to believe its new shop will resonate in the market. Perfumer H’s scents, such as Ink (with notes of vetiver and black pepper), Rainwood (which smells like juniper) and Moss (with notes of grapefruit and patchouli), all $190, are already popular with Chinese customers making purchases overseas.

“I don’t fear anything, really,” said co-founder and perfumer Lyn Harris. “I can feel people [in China] want the product, and we offer something special and unique.”

China may be the world’s second-biggest beauty market (after the US), but lately, it’s been posing headaches for international beauty brands. In the post-pandemic era, local brands often come out on top over global names, and China is seeing a slower economy recovery, compounded by government crackdowns on excessive wealth and softer consumer spending. Muted demand caused LVMH-owned retailer Sephora to cut 10 percent of staff in August, while overexposure in the market has dragged down earnings for conglomerates like Estée Lauder Companies and Shiseido.

The Chinese fragrance market is still a nascent one, with customers more comfortable shopping for skincare and cosmetics. According to market insights firm Digital Luxury Group, Chinese consumers are still in the early development stage with fragrance, and just beginning to build habits around consumption and usage — which could mean they’re more malleable, and that behaviour and uptake could still evolve.

Harris is resolute that there’s plenty of opportunity. She and co-founder Christophe Michel are hoping that a combination of innovative products and experiential elements to the store will increase their chances of success. Their bet is also on the wider power of brick and mortar, as the company plans to have 10 points of sale in China by 2028.

“We offer something really special and unique … we’re giving an experience,” said Harris.

Experience and Emotion

There’s precedent for Perfumer H’s confidence. Gen-Z and Millennial shoppers are not only voracious consumers of fragrance, but prioritise spending on experiences. Many consumer brands have seen success adding lifestyle or experiential elements to their retail outposts — think Ralph Lauren’s “Ralph’s” cafés, or Glossier’s purpose-designed selfie areas.

Penetration of fragrance in the Chinese market is lower than categories such as skincare and cosmetics, due to cultural preferences that favour smelling clean rather than perfumed, but the market is showing early rumblings of growth. Per local press, the local luxury department store chain SKP opened a new outpost in the Chinese city of Wuhan in July that featured 40 fragrance brands, while conglomerates like L’Oréal and Estée Lauder Companies have tapped homegrown indie labels like To Summer and Melt Season for investment.

Perfumer H’s China effort is being launched in partnership with a local distributor, who will also assist with local press, marketing and communications, which should relieve staffing pressure on the company and reduce the likelihood of it getting lost in translation. Much of the flagship space will be dedicated to Shanghai-based artisans, like a ceramist selling hand-crafted objets or a bakery offering preserves and oils.

Still, it’s a premium brand: in addition to its core range of perfumes, Perfumer H also offers refillable candles and fine fragrances in hand-blown glass bottles, which sell for over $700. Harris is a seasoned perfumer who previously created scents for niche brands like Vyrao and Cire Trudon (Perfumer H is her sophomore brand; she previously launched the premium line Miller Harris in 2000 and exited in 2013).

Harris believes her pedigree, on top of the brand’s unique assortment including candles, teas and incense, will help win over local consumers. “They like my style of perfumery,” Harris said — especially her emphasis on quality.

Channel Mixing

China is just one part of Perfumer H’s global ambitions. By early 2025, the brand will launch in top Australian beauty retailer Mecca, unveil a new store in Tokyo, and open another under franchise in Seoul.

Currently, the label operates three stores in London, including a new Mayfair flagship, and it has a presence in multi-brand retailers like Arts + Science and Tomorrowland in Japan, Sans in South Africa, as well as its own stores in Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei through a mixture of wholesale and franchising,

While many niche perfume brands prefer to lean on solely on wholesale to grow their customer base, Harris and Michel opened dedicated stores as soon as possible because “it builds up your community instantly,” said Harris.

The brand is backed by Fable Investments, the venture firm spun out of Brazilian conglomerate Natura by former Aesop executives. (The firm took a stake in 2022, and increased it in May 2023.)

Harris is well aware that the Chinese customers, like their international contemporaries, are looking for value. Where do fragrances with hand-blown glass bottles that cost as much as a mid-range smartphone fit into that?

“They’re not just going to buy for the sake of it anymore,” said Harris. “And that’s great. That’s the customer we want.”

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