One thing that has changed is the perfume industry itself, which [Le Labo co-founder Eddie] Roschi says has become crowded and oversaturated. As such he is considering reducing the amount of fragrances Le Labo offers...
“I used to smell everything that came out, especially when I walked through duty-free [stores]. Now I just walk through without even looking up. That being said, the fact that the market is saturated doesn’t mean there’s no space for new ideas,” he says.
— Read more at Cult perfume brand Le Labo and the chemistry – personal and actual – behind its success at South China Morning Post.
I better pony up and buy a full bottle of Patchouli24 then! I’m sure that’s the slowest. 🙁
Yeah, now you have to wonder which sells the least.
I like how he leaves a caveat at the end so he doesn’t get criticized for making more perfumes.
It feels a little manipulative to me.
I think he has to have that caveat. Or he’s out of biz.
Presumably, they all think they have the best new idea, and since there is too much stuff now to stay on top of smelling it all, they have no way of knowing if they are right or wrong.
The market is oversaturated, but Le Labo had no role in that, right?
Forget the ever expanding range, the hand soap, the lotions, the scented notebook and laundry detergents, the shower gels, travel sets, body creams, hand pomades, camphor balms, lip balms, candles, room sprays, shaving creams, face bronzer, styling concretes, home diffusers, amulets, tote bags, and of course the ever expanding range of overpriced banal city exclusives that smell about 1 notch more exciting than Molecule 01, all that in addition to the already plain Jane range that has all the creativity of beige hospital wall.
Le Labo is the last brand on the planet who should be lamenting over saturation. Reducing the amount of Le Labo fragrances eh? How noble. The SAs I talk to say the stuff doesn’t sell at all like it used to. Can’t imagine why……
Plume, I am very interested in what you said. I have been in the Le Labo shop in Devonshire Street a couple of times, & of course am aware of them at Liberty & the like, but I must say that although the sales people were lovely, & I sniffed away for some time, there really was nothing that jumped out at me which I found surprising, as at the time the brand’s availability was nowhere near as wide-ranging as it is now & given all the publicity/hype surrounding it, I really had expected to find something special.