An extra post today to convey some news which many of you will no doubt be sorry to read. L’Artisan Parfumeur have announced that they are to close their sole UK boutique, located in London’s Covent Garden; the last day of trading will be this Sunday, 26th May. Their office has informed me that this “strategic decision” will enable “the brand to focus on exciting new projects such as the re-design of its flagship boutique in Paris: La Grande Boutique, opposite Le Louvre.” L’Artisan products will still be available at various department stores in the country, including Harrods, Selfridges and Liberty. However, as many of you are aware, these do not carry the brand’s whole range; it seems the only way UK-based customers will now be able to purchase relatively more obscure products will be through www.artisanparfumeur.com.
This news comes at almost exactly the same time as the announcement that L’Artisan Parfumeur are about to launch a new trio of scents they’ve dubbed Explosions D’Émotions. Created by Bertrand Duchaufour and housed in slightly different versions of the familiar bottles, this sub-range has been designed to celebrate “the emotional power of fragrances”. I’d argue that every perfume worth its salt should seek to celebrate the emotional power of fragrances, but there we are: that’s the official marketing line. The three perfumes are Amour Nocturne, Déliria and Skin On Skin. They’re set to be released in September; they may be reviewed here on Persolaise.com in the weeks to come.
I’ve also been informed by various sources that the Covent Garden shop will undergo a refurbishment and re-open after a few weeks as a Penhaligon’s boutique. As this brand already has a store a few metres away, literally around the corner, the logic behind this decision is hard to detect at the moment, but no doubt, the motivation will become clearer in time.
Personally, I find the prospect of London without a L’Artisan shop very sad indeed. I’ve always been fond of the Covent Garden outlet; my attachment to it grew last October when I held the launch party for my book there. It was always an extremely welcoming, warm space and I never walked past it without popping in, saying Hello and spending some time in the company of the exemplary staff. I, for one, hope that a fully-fledged L’Artisan Parfumeur boutique will return to these shores before too long.
Persolaise
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That is sad,less choice etc. I love Penhaligons but hope they won't go beserk and launch perfumes too often or change the bottles .I've never got over the change to a spray .angie Cox
Angie, I think it's a real shame too. It wasn't that long ago that they moved to Covent Garden (2/3 years?) but I guess they feel that a stand-alone outlet in the UK market is not for them.
I've heard that quite a few of their fragrances are for the chop. When I contacted them to ask, they said they would be discontinuing some but wouldn't give out any names. I was told if I asked which perfume I was concerned about, they'd let me know if it was being discontinued.
Not terribly useful for me as I have still to try out most of their range. I was asking to try and find out which ones I should hurry up and test in case they were gone in the future.
I wrote back saying that it would be a good idea if they could announce any discontinuations well in advance, so fans could have the chance to stock up. No reply.
Gimmegreen, thanks very much for writing. It's been clear for a while that L'Artisan are rethinking their overall branding strategy. I know they're also playing around with the idea of getting rid of the unisex tag of their scents and marketing some of them as definite 'masculines' and others as 'feminines'.
As for discontinuations, yes, I'm sure plenty more are on the horizon. Their portfolio is pretty large and it would probably benefit from some judicious editing.
Time will tell where all this takes the brand…
I'm really sad to see the boutique go because I was really fond of the staff, who were excellent… I have many fond memories being in the basement of the boutique spritzing myself silly with their scents. And like you, I do not see the logic of having another Penhaligon's at this location.
Smelly Vagabond, I couldn't agree more about the team: they're absolutely superb. But I think we may be seeing them again soon…
Just read this – how disappointing! I only discovered the shop a few months ago – really lovely staff and a gorgeous shop! No hard sell, I went back the next day, bought a bottle of Traverse du Bosphore. It was a different assistant on the second day but she had obviously been told which ones I'd liked as she gave me a sample of Seville a l'Aube (which absolutely sings on my skin) without my asking. You don't get that in a department store!
Jo
Jo, I couldn't agree more. The staff there are really great. And I'm glad you're a fan of Traversée
Ouch..at least they could have announced it more in advance? I've been visiting the store for the past few years and know the staff there well. A sad loss indeed. I could have gone and said goodbye to those wonderful people there but they've already ceased trading
Wil, I have a feeling the decision was made quite quickly. I didn't have a chance to say Goodbye to the staff either, but I hope to see them again soon after the shop re-open in its new Penhaligon's guise.
Late on this news, and haven't been in London for nearly 2 years, but wasn't there a flagship store in Marylebone High Street, too?
Alex, thanks for stopping by. Unless I'm mistaken, the Marylebone shop closed about two and a half years ago.
the best service I got from any shop was this l'artisan boutique they really cared about their customers. I hope there will be another lartisan boutique in the future. going into department stores like harrods or Selfridges does nothing since they sell many brands and have very little knowledge on the actual brand unless you are lucky to find someone who only works for l'artisan.
Anon, I know it's not quite the same thing, but the L'Artisan team has been re-employed in its entirety as the Penhaligon's team for the very same shop… so at least you can still experience their excellent customer service, albeit in relation to different perfumes.