CANDLELIGHTS, red roses and musical notes on a harp heralded the new scent from the House of Amouage. This theme was apt as was the name chosen by Amouage, owned by the Omani royal family.
The new scent, Lyric, was launched at the Hotel Chedi Muscat on Tuesday night. In keeping with the great Arabian tradition of storytelling, Lyric is the second chapter of the collection of narratives created for the House of Amouage — which began with the launch of Jubilation late last year upon their 25th anniversary.
“Amouage is already recognized internationally. During the first quarter of this year, we reached our objective and we’re already launching a new fragrance. We have high hopes and aspirations for the message of Lyric to be distributed around the world,” Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Amouage chairman, said.
This recognition, he attributes, to the brand’s makeover that was done in 2007. “We were very pleased with the leap the company achieved in sales after the brand’s makeover, initiated by our CEO David (Crickmore),” he added.
In an interview with Arab News, Crickmore said that he was worried when the repositioning and the re-launch of Amouage was initially done that the market had been so long their friends would perhaps not like what they had done or not buy into it.
“People loved the new development and they certainly bought into the messages we put out about Amouage. Perhaps the greatest success for us is that we’ve expanded our international business outside the Gulf dramatically over the last year. We’ve made the right move and now we have a springboard to take Amouage to an international market,” said Crickmore.
Originally, its presence in the global market was only 10 percent but it increased to 40 percent during the past year.
Yet despite international success, Crickmore said that they have had a difficult year in Saudi Arabia. They decided to change the distributor and to rationalize the retail point of sale in the Saudi market. “We were selling in shops where we shouldn’t be selling. We’re a luxury brand and we need to be in a luxury environment. We don’t want to be only a bottle on a shelf without a brand,” said Crickmore.
Amouage reduced its sales dramatically this year in the Saudi market in order to grow in the future “in a much more high quality way and environment.” Crickmore added, “Saudi will come back and it will be our No. 1 Gulf country as it used to be.” Amouage is available in Saudi Arabia’s Paris Gallery, Gazzaz, Herrera, SAKS and Harvey Nichols.
I
N light of the inflation in the Gulf, Crickmore said that Amouage had not been affected at the moment and that there would be no dramatic increase of prices. But if inflation continued, he said, it would affect sales.
“We’re subject to inflation in terms of raw material, yet we’re keeping our prices as stable as we can. We can’t reduce our prices, but we hope that inflation will eventually calm down. I don’t think it will affect those with lots of money who can afford to buy the brand. We will only have problems with consumers who are spending that little money to buy Amouage,” added Crickmore.
On the way to Muscat to attend the launch of Lyric, Arab News stopped by the Duty Free shop in Bahrain and asked the salesperson if there was a demand from customers to buy Amouage fragrances. “Mostly Omanis and Emaratis buy Amouage. Westerners buy it only if they know about it,” was the answer.
There is a good presence of Amouage in London and Italy, said Crickmore. Interestingly, their No. 1 market in the world is Russia. International consumers like the message of Amouage because it is real heritage.
“People buy into Amouage because they think it has credibility. The point of Amouage is that it has a point of difference. We don’t try to be like all the other fragrances in the world. We want to have fragrances that have a point of view. We want to encapsulate the wonderful heritage of Oman, the silver frankincense,” he said.
With an increasing demand for the products of Amouage, Crickmore said that he approved plans for building a new manufacturing facility that he hopes to break ground for by the end of the year or early next year.
“We’re reached full capacity in the current factory. Our business has grown so much and our sales have increased, so yes we are building a new factory to cater to future demand,” he added.
Celebrating the launch of Lyric, Amouage’s creative director Christopher Chong said he drew inspiration from his musical background and the interpretation of the rose. He believes that the scents of Amouage have a sense of ‘strangeness’ and that it is what separates them from other brands.
“We are a niche brand and we are a niche luxury,” he said.
Prior to leaving Muscat and returning to Jeddah, Arab News visited the renovated Amouage store at the Sabaco Center in Qurum. Sayed Javed, senior sales and marketing manager of Amouage, introduced the hand-sculpted crystal Zadora Amouage bottles. The woman’s cap is in rose quartz with diamond details and the men’s in blue chalcedonya; both are with guilloche and translucent enamel cabochon studs. All metal fittings are solid 18-carat gold. Designed to be both beautiful and functional, all pieces actually work and the bottles are fitted with refillable chambers to contain the Amouage perfume of the owner’s choice. The Zadora bottles cost $150,000 — an estimated SR500,000.
Clearly, Amouage will continue to be a highly prized brand, sought after by only the most sophisticated and discerning international consumer.
For more information, contact [email protected]
