Pour le Monde is pioneering a path for the mainstreaming of natural perfumes by launching on macys.com.
In a sea of fragrances full of dazzling designer and celebrity names, the brand’s three offerings certified by the Natural Products Association — Envision, Empower and Together — provide alternatives for wellness-minded shoppers. Priced at $82 each, they avoid petrochemicals, phthalates, artificial dyes and artificial fragrance compounds in favor of pure essential oils and isolates, grain alcohol and distilled water.
“We’re one in every of the one clean fragrance brands doing what we’re doing, but we want retail partners to quote-unquote get it, and that’s what Macy’s did. They honestly understand what Pour le Monde is all about, and the way it might bring unique customers to their website online,” said Wendi Berger, founder and president of Pour le Monde. “What it means for us is tremendous visibility. I believe aligning ourselves with Macy’s is admittedly going to make consumers more aware that an authorized 100% natural fragrance can exist.”
The doorway of Pour le Monde into Macy’s online fragrance selection doesn’t suggest a deep strategic shift within the green direction for the department store retailer, but does indicate it’s responding to rising health consciousness on the a part of its customers. It’s already sprinkled its beauty repertoire with brands positioned as natural or nontoxic comparable to Lavanila Laboratories, Tarte and Burt’s Bees.
“Now we have an initiative at Macy’s focused on wellness. You’ll be able to see juice bars and yoga outfits in a lot of our stores, and there is certainly a consumer trend that Macy’s has identified, so I believe the timing of it is rather good,” said Linda Levy, group vp and divisional merchandise manager of fragrances at Macy’s. “It could possibly be the start of a small category for us. I never think it will be the dominant category.”
Above simply a natural play, Pour le Monde’s arrival demonstrates Macy’s intension to infuse its fragrance assortment with newness. “Going forward with our overall fragrance portfolio, I feel we’re going to succeed in more men and ladies with the introductions of brands going after the Millennial customer and a customer that has an excellent interest in wellness. It adds to our portfolio in a singular way,” said Levy. “We’re a dominant force within the fragrance world with the most important variety, but we’re all the time eager about adjusting our portfolio based on how the population and consumers are changing.”
Although natural products have penetrated all beauty categories, department store and mass-market retailers and consumers have been slower to embrace fragrances sans synthetics than eco-chic substitutes in several other areas of beauty departments. Natural scents are likely to veer far from the everyday fragrance fare and don’t appear to have provoked shifts in purchasing behavior to the extent of synthetic-free skincare and makeup.
Recognizing the uphill battle natural perfume purveyors have waged, Berger, who formerly worked in magazine publishing with stints at Latest York, InStyle, Elle, Fitness, Child and Vanity Fair, designed Pour le Monde’s eau de parfum sprays for broad appeal. Sales are evenly distributed across the brand’s three scents. Purchases of the vegan perfumes profit the organizations Cancer Support Community, Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“We don’t smell like an earthy and grassy natural fragrance. We smell like a standard fragrance, and the buyer doesn’t should sacrifice,” said Berger. “Now we have seen the market grow exponentially for green beauty, and consumers are way more aware of ingredients. I do imagine Macy’s has that audience because they’re the world’s largest department store, and so they have something for everybody.”
Pour le Monde’s fragrances were created to evoke different moods. Berger described Envision as a daring and seductive statement-making selection, Empower as a sporty and refreshing pick-me-up and Together as a classic daytime scent. Empower and Envision are unisex options.
“I based them on moods because I never wore only one fragrance. I had a fragrance for all the pieces and each occasion,” said Berger. “Millennials also don’t wear one fragrance. They prefer to mix it up.”
Macy’s might be embarking on a promotional push to lift awareness of Pour le Monde amongst its customers, and Levy identified the retailer might be scouring e-commerce data on sales of its fragrances to find out how you can help properly market the brand. “We are going to find a way to discover who the buyer is when it comes to geography, age and what else she is buying at Macy’s. By studying this information, we’ll know who is admittedly going for this after which we are able to send them emails or go into the suitable stores with special events,” she said. “You’ll be able to know where, how, when and why this might be successful.”
Prior to macys.com, three-year-old Pour le Monde has largely concentrated its retail distribution on stores and spas with strong ties to shoppers inclined to natural merchandise. It’s available at roughly 25 outlets, including Credo, BeautyKind, Vert and EcoDiva. Berger said, “We had a stellar summer with sales, and we continue to grow year-over-year. I can only imagine the passion for the fourth quarter goes to be even that much greater.”
