Luxury fragrance brand Miller Harris opened its Shanghai flagship store in Xintiandi area last September.

With rising purchasing power and growing attention to personal grooming and style, Chinese consumers, particularly millennials, are increasingly willing to pay for premium, high-end fragrances.

Annual fragrance sales in China are estimated at between 30 and 50 billion yuan (4.4-7.3 billion U.S. dollars). The further market potential is still enormous, as China accounts for 20 percent of the world’s population but only 1 percent of the global perfume market. In the United Kingdom, fragrance represents almost 50 percent of the beauty industry.

As other cosmetics categories become saturated, the fragrance market still retains annual growth of more than 80 percent in China. 

Overseas perfumers such as Miller Harris and Byredo set up Shanghai stores last year to strengthen their China presence, and Jo Malone London opened its online Tmall store in 2018 to broaden its e-commerce channel in the country.

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle and By Killian made their debut at the 2019 China International Import Expo, while Diptyque staged its first fragrance exhibition and pop-up boutique in China last year in Shanghai to celebrate more than 50 years of fragrance creation.

“The China market’s potential is huge,” said Chief Executive Officer Sarah Rotheram of Miller Harris. “China is just waking up to perfume. If we came five years ago, it would be too early, when costumers in China used to buy mass brands or big designer brands. Ten years ago, fragrance was a very tiny part of beauty and personal care.”

Luxury fragrance brand Miller Harris opened its Shanghai flagship store in the downtown Xintiandi area last September and the London-based perfumer’s plan is to open six more stores in major cities, such as Beijing, Chengdu and Hangzhou.

The Shanghai store takes “The Fashionista” as its muse, featuring floral displays by McQueen’s, pink leather and brass details that create a stylish space.

Miller Harris is among an early batch of pioneering overseas niche perfumers who are carving out a fragrant foothold in China, where consumers are jumping from big-brand and celebrity scents straight to the artisanal.

“If you think about how Chinese consumers are shopping for other luxury products, they trust quality, craftsmanship and the artisan, not just the label anymore. Today they focus more on the story behind the brand, and their need to show personality,” the CEO said.

Instead of simply marketing, niche perfumers are also educating Chinese customers, who are still unaccustomed to using fragrances on a daily basis.

“We help find the fragrance that will work for everyone, understand how they might wear them, and chat personally about ingredients, the construction of a perfume, the difference between an old parfum and l'eau de toilette, so that people can understand the level of craftsmanship behind it,” Rotheram said.

The conversation goes both ways, as perfumers are also listening to feedback for Chinese customers, who prefer long-lasting scents as well as fresh, floral smelling fragrance, and like to buy large sizes.

“But the most interesting thing we’ve seen so far is that they buy lots of different types of fragrances, because they’re not influenced by the marketing and choose the fragrances they truly like,” Rotheram said. “Chinese customers are super savvy and they pick up on things very quickly.”