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Published on October 25, 2007

 The first impression when stepping into a Bel Perfume parfumerie is surprise at the number of choices: as many as 1,000 perfumes, from the highest of the high end to those that are, let's say, more affordable.

How different from the designer-intensive cosmetics departments of mirrors and marble, hovering sales girls and portraits of the impeccably chic. And given that Thais habitually buy their perfumes in such lavish parlours, how will something like this survive?

But first impressions are fleeting, for Bel Perfume managing director Frederick Besson - who is, of course, French - is undeterred.

"Thais actually have a high demand for perfume, but the point is the offering is low," he says. "In many countries, the perfume section represents as much as 25 per cent of the overall cosmetics department in any shopping mall. But here, it is different. I think perfume sections represent only 10 per cent."

Then he tells of what he has learned in two years of studying the Thai market.

"It's not easy for Thai consumers to get their desired perfume. They have to go to the selling counters of specific brands and linger close to the sellers and keep listening to them. This is not comfortable for general consumers," he says.

Many consumers turn to the grey market, where they can comfortably walk around and choose the perfume they want from among a greater variety of products and prices.

Besson calculates that in 2003, local sales of perfumes totalled Bt800 million, or 2.67 per cent of the Bt30 billion cosmetics market. At the same time, the parallel trade in the grey market was worth Bt200 million and expected to grow 15-25 per cent per year over five years.

So Besson decided to launch a parfumerie in the best French style under the concept "Mist 1,000 Parfums". Key features are a comfortable shopping mood, a pleasant atmosphere and staff who are genuinely knowledgeable and offer only real products, so that customers don't risk their skins with possible imitations.

Bel Perfume's first shop opened in May in The Esplanade shopping complex. The main target groups are middle-class Thais with a yearly income of about Bt200,000, expats and tourists.

Within a short time, Bel Perfume has expanded to five shops, and Besson expects to open another seven this year. He is aiming at 15 shops total next year and 30 by 2010.

My introduction to a Bel Perfume parfumerie was in Central Department Store's Bang Na branch. Within the bright red-and-white square-shaped outlet, there were about 1,000 fragrances categorised into three sections: Prestige, Selective and Focus.

Prestige features luxury brands like Lancome and Hermes. Selective has perfumes created by specific people, such as celebrities, and there were three subsections within the category: fragrances for men, women and children. The Focus section featured perfumes for youngsters, with more affordable prices.

Ninety per cent of the perfumes were imported from France. Prices ranged from Bt1,000 to Bt5,000. There were also a few "mother care" products, also imported from France.

While chatting with Besson, I was shown around the parfumerie and given numerous strips of paper bearing the fragrances of the entire range, from cool guy smells to sweet and sexy. I soon felt at ease with the casual sniff and ponder. Customers can spend as much time and test as many fragrances as they wish and ask the staff for suggestions. Besson says the average customer will stay for about an hour.

However, testing smells can easily be overdone, leaving a person light-headed and beyond the capacity to judge. So there's coffee if you need it, and fragrances have been grouped into different "families" with similar ingredients, so a search can be limited to the capacity of one's nose.

Having fragrances from the luxury brands, with prices up to Bt5,000, available in the same place as the more affordable brands does not create a problem.

"The luxury brands know the concept of the parfumerie very well. What they want are well-decorated displays and shops that guarantee their perfumes will not be imitated," Besson says. "Many customers start by buying medium-priced fragrances and gradually upgrade themselves to the very high-end ones."

At present, Bel Perfume's parfumerie concept has limited consumer awareness, and Besson accepts he still has a long way to go before Thais are familiar with it.

"The parfumerie is still a very new concept in Thailand, unlike in many countries, such as France, where perfumeries are very common. Our strategy is to keep attracting new members to our Mistic Club, and at the same time we will also have special marketing events, such as exclusive launch parties, in-store promotions and activities, public relations and exhibitions," he says.

He expects to have 25,000 members this year.

The country's current economic slowdown worries him only to a certain point, but he believes businessmen should be thinking of moving ahead rather than being constantly perturbed about the same issue.

Besides, he says, people like perfume at all times.

"In times of economic slowdown, perfume will give them a psychological boost," he says. "Perfume is a mood lifter. It's something very intimate."

Nitida Asawanipont

 The Nation