Comptoir Sud Pacifique, a brand launched by a couple whose work in fragrances was heavily inspired from their travels across the globe, is currently headed byValerie Pianelli after she took over the reigns in 2010
ParfumPlus: When you took over Comptoir Sud Pacifique in 2010, the brand was struggling to maintain its identity. Please elaborate a little on how you handled the situation at that time.
Valerie Pianelli: When I took over Comptoir Sud Pacifique in the end of 2010, I was aware that the challenge would be difficult to take up. The small size French company, sold by its founders to investors operating in the world of high-end perfumery was in a delicate situation after several negative years. A series of bad strategic and marketing choices led to a loss in turnover and notoriety.
PP: Kindly elaborate a little on the evolution of the brand ever since your association with it?
VP: My interest in this brand was its strong but battered identity! My goal since I started my adventure with the brand, was to recover its initial inspiration built around the culture of travels, of quality raw materials and of original scents, to reconnect with the original spirit of Comptoir.
PP: What does a perfume mean to you?
VP: My sense of smell is incredibly important to me. It is both my passion and my business. It is a major part of how I experience the world. It colors my perception. I love making associations between smells, I want to smell everything! I pay very close attention to how particular smells make me feel physically and emotionally. I relive memorable experiences through smells. When I close my eyes and remember past events, there is almost always a scent in my memories.
PP: Please tell us something about the Voyages En Orient Collection by Comptoir Sud Pacifique and the inspiration behind it?
VP: In the luxury collection “Voyages en Orient” made up of six fragrances, the goal was to amaze consumers with beautiful raw materials. The origin of the inspiration behind this collection was a real journey through the Middle East….The Collection offers 6 stops for a mythical traveler looking for olfactory escape … 5 different countries linked by traditional and ancestral know- how in perfumery.
Each perfume in this collection reveals treasures… intense oriental flavors:
Amber, Sandalwood, Opulent Flowers and Oudh, this rare wood with rich olfactory facets, sometimes floral or smoky and even animal scents.
PP: Which amongst the five perfumes is closest to your heart and why?
VP: The imaginary journey begins on the Mediterranean Sea shores at the gates of Istanbul in Turkey, I was born in Mediterranean Sea, I’m Sicilian, so in Jardin Neroli and Epices Sulanes I feel a lot of memories of my childhood.
PP: What according to you is the essential element that defines a niche perfume?
VP: The freedom of inspiration to make a perfume !
PP: How in your opinion, have the tastes of the Middle Eastern perfume connoisseurs evolved in the last few years?
VP: Having evolved with time to reflect new trends, ideas and preferences, today they are not only focused on oriental fragrances, in particular oud scents, but also they are opening to explore Western scents.
PP: How do you envisage the future of Comptoir Sud Pacifique ?
VP: Actually the stimulus comes from exports, Since I took over with passion the reins of the company, first objective was to bring accounts back into balance, it was successfully achieved, the balance has become positive again, thanks to the good results performed by export sales where the brand achieves today two-thirds of its turnover. In terms of market we will focus in the United States market, Italy and Germany the three most important markets after France. Operations were also developed in new European countries, like the Spain, Portugal and Greece. And projects are in the next two years, of course, actually the relaunch in UAE and the Asian market. France, which accounts for one third of sales, is of course a strategic market.
Comptoir Sud Pacifique currently has 180 point of sales in France, plus department stores (Printemps, Galeries Lafayette). We want to give ourselves the means to work well with key accounts, in particular by investing in the training of counsellors and in the animation of outlets.
Because the goal to reconnect with the brand’s DNA is now achieved we are working to give it a new impetus.The brand’s revival will involve the development of many novelties, with first, the launch of a series of 4 new EDP on the historical line “Eaux de voyages” intended to bring the brand’s discourse and imagination in line with its history.
The next step will consist in giving the brand a range of skincare products worthy of its position.
The implementation of these various projects should enable the brand to enrich its offering and to dispose of a set of consistent products with, in focus, the reopening of an exclusive boutique in Paris.
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