Thinking Seriously About Salon de Parfum, the Festival of Fragrance

In this article, against the backdrop of the rush of fragrance festivals that began last year, I would like to think seriously about how Salon de Parfum can grow further and contribute to the expansion of perfume culture in Japan. Many of you may be thinking, “Who do you think you are, talking down to everyone?” I apologize, but this site is itself a hobby, and it began with the rather presumptuous thought that my hobby might be useful to someone else. Still, I want to offer criticism rather than condemnation, and to put forward ideas that will help the perfume industry improve constructively.

Note: This is a discussion aimed at the industry, so I recommend skipping it if you simply want to enjoy perfume without thinking about such matters. (You may find the article below more enjoyable instead.)

The Parade of Fragrance Festivals Beginning in 2023

Hankyu Umeda Fragrance Festival

In 2023, Hankyu Umeda, a giant of the department-store industry in western Japan, held the Fragrance Beauty Festival, its first perfume event since Galerie de Parfum in 2015. Featuring a NOSE SHOP pop-up and promising to “introduce a variety of fragrances that offer new scent experiences and ways to enjoy them,” the event stirred the interest of perfume enthusiasts in Kansai and attracted some attention. Judging by the Instagram hashtags, however, it does not seem to have been a success.
In 2024, Hankyu Umeda tried again with another Fragrance Beauty Festival, presumably hoping for a better result this time. Moving from the second-floor space to the ninth-floor Festival Plaza, it held “a new kind of fragrance festival.” What was interesting was the decision to put La Nuit (in Japanese), a brand that sets out to turn classical music into fragrance, at the center and create a program where visitors could also enjoy music. In contrast to Isetan Shinjuku, which focuses on the trends of the moment and perfume connoisseurs, with brands such as Guerlain, Jo Malone, and Francis Kurkdjian, and hosts talks by fragrance companies and brand founders, this western powerhouse chose a recently founded Japanese brand. I see that as an adventurous approach and a good opportunity for people interested in music to become interested in fragrance.

Unfortunately, the 2024 Fragrance Beauty Festival also attracted less attention than Isetan’s Salon de Parfum, and it seems that more often than not the crowds were sparse. With only 18 brands to experience, it is also debatable whether “festival” is the right word: that is only about 30% of Isetan’s 59 brands. Given the promise of a “new kind” of experience, I expected brands doing something new rather than established famous names. But when the lineup was revealed, there were the Korean cosmetics brand RboW; AHRES, whose concept is to enjoy fragrances together with sounds created alongside them; Santa Maria Novella, which I had only seen at the Salon de Parfum in Isetan’s Men’s Building; and Dr. Vranjes. Only around these four brands differed from the Salon de Parfum lineup.
Henri Jacques appeared in the Men’s building, and there seem to have been events such as consultations with the president of Yamamoto Perfumery and perfume director Shiraishi. But this still seems a weak program if the aim is to beat Isetan. What puzzles me overall is how little excitement the official website conveys despite calling this a fragrance festival, and how difficult it is to identify anything new apart from music, despite the talk of a “new kind of experience” and “enjoying it with all five senses.” The website does not make clear what there is to enjoy beyond scent and sound, making it hard to imagine how the promised experience for customers will actually be achieved. In other words, I suspect that the organizers began with the idea of holding a perfume event, but without settling on a concept, and arrived at this format to make it look more appealing. And with no sales forecast, after being turned down by various brands, might combining fragrance with music have been the best they could do with the brands that remained?

Why do I speculate in this way? If music had been the established concept, why not invite NOSE SHOP’s L’Orchestre Parfum or a brand such as Art Meets Art? A Google search turns up even more. And even if they could not invite those brands, the question remains: did they do anything inventive with the venue around the theme of music? Playing music and staging events are obvious enough. But selecting perfumes across brand boundaries based on the images music evokes, or displaying fragrances loved by musicians from history? They probably did nothing of that kind.

Speculating from all this, I wonder whether they revived the event because fragrance-industry sales have been rising by a few percent each year and scent attracts attention on social media, only for the people in charge to find themselves at a loss.

Daimaru Tokyo’s Carré de Parfum

Daimaru Matsuzakaya has finally entered the perfume-event arena too. For some reason scheduled to miss Golden Week, the event began on May 8, 2024, on the first floor of Daimaru Tokyo. It is held under the name Carré de Parfum, meaning “perfume square” in French, as a counter to Salon de Parfum. Rather than a catchphrase like Hankyu’s or Isetan’s, the official introduction reads: “Niche fragrance brands from Asia, including Japan, and around the world will come together. Every participating brand has its own distinct character and appeal, supported by people who love fragrance. A range of items filled with creativity and passion will open up new worlds of scent.”

Well, once again, the reality makes me want to call this an event that fails to live up to its billing: astonishingly, there were only five companies exhibiting. Where had the niche fragrance brands from Asia and around the world gone? The selection consisted of Parfum Satori (in Japanese), a treasure born in Japan; çanoma, the brand by perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez and Japanese creator Watanabe; No Brainer, which is spreading by word of mouth; Thousand Colours, born from the rebranding of a brand rooted in Japan’s kōdō tradition; and the perfume startup that provokes both praise and criticism, “Coloria’s fragrance subscription service.” It looked to me like a selection made up entirely of Japanese brands.
Perhaps what Daimaru means is that Coloria covers various brands, including the “niche brands from Asia and around the world,” much as Isetan presents the perfumes distributed by Bluebell and Kawabe under their individual brand names. But if so, I wish they had highlighted those brands more.

Still, the most remarkable thing about this event was probably that it was held with Coloria, which sells decanted fragrances by subscription, treated almost as the main attraction. My impression is that many perfume connoisseurs and perfume salespeople criticize the service. Was the decision to include it nevertheless an attempt to do something Isetan cannot, and bring in a new customer base? What is interesting is the phenomenon of Coloria, which rose through decant sales without the considerable expense of in-person customer service, now providing that service. Personally, I see this as a crossroads: mishandled, it could simply become a loss-making venture for Coloria; handled well, it could produce something unprecedented.

To be honest, I suspect that this event too was held before the concept had fully taken shape, without a sales forecast, and before the people in charge had been able to prepare properly. Why were La Nuit and EDIT(h) (in Japanese) not participating? There are other Japanese brands in cosmetics, surely, and Coloria is not the only company handling niche fragrances from around the world: there are also LE SILLAGE and NOSE SHOP. And what explains the thin content on the official website? I understand that staffing is short, but can this not be outsourced? Or was this the result of outsourcing it? It is deeply disappointing that the “perfume square” conveys so little excitement.

If it is held again next year, I would like to hope for better.

The First Kaoriten by LE SILLAGE

An event called Kaoriten was held over three days starting on December 1, 2023. It was organized by LE SILLAGE, the up-and-coming fragrance shop in Higashiyama, Kyoto, that is challenging the way perfume is currently sold. Rather than planning an event on its own territory like a department store, it rented a venue in Omotesando and brought together 23 brands and around 300 fragrances, a project that would have surprised even Isetan. What distinguished it from the two events above and Isetan’s Salon de Parfum was a clear concept and a plan offering benefits to all three parties: customers, exhibitors, and the organizer’s own sales. In other words, it was not just for the general public: it also had an expo-like aspect, introducing brands to businesses interested in dealing with them. Surely it deserves extra credit for not deliberately choosing an obscure foreign-sounding name written in katakana.

Here is Kaoriten’s concept.

The concept has the sharp, almost ironic edge one would expect from LE SILLAGE, as if to make us recognize how little we know. What is more, the official website is so well realized that even Salon de Parfum’s looks inferior beside it. Surely this is a program that builds excitement before you even arrive, as though it contains everything an annual Salon de Parfum visitor might say they wanted the next edition to achieve.

It is not so much that I cannot criticize LE SILLAGE because we know each other. After looking at the previous two events, anyone can understand why it becomes hard to criticize this one. Why can department stores not organize this, when LE SILLAGE, a shop run by one person, can? Surely it comes down entirely to a passion for perfume, and to constantly asking how to spread perfume culture rather than simply pursuing money. When manufacturers hear a department store’s proposal, what concerns them is always the benefit of exhibiting and the staffing and other costs they will have to commit. Ultimately, selling becomes the objective. Charging admission, as Kaoriten does, can provide a minimum safeguard. And once you charge admission, you need to deliver more than visitors expect. But if you work hard on that together with the manufacturers, surely you will gain customers who become fans. In other words, Kaoriten has the potential to increase sales over the medium and long term, whereas department stores’ existing programs seem to generate only temporary sales and look like stopgaps, such as releasing limited editions.

Incidentally, its Instagram hashtag had 161 posts on its very first outing. It achieved at the first attempt what Isetan only managed in 2020, so by any reasonable view it seems to have been a success.

Sendai Mitsukoshi Fragrance Party

Sendai Mitsukoshi’s perfume event, Fragrance Party, is running for about a week from June 12, 2024. Since this Isetan-group store also held Salon de Parfum 2023, were sales exceptionally strong? Or did it predict that fragrances would sell precisely because this is the humid season? Either way, it is trying something interesting.

According to the official website, which follows the Salon de Parfum format,

nine brands appear to be taking part under the concept, “A quick spritz of fragrance makes outings fun and refreshing in the sparkling summer sun.” It pales beside Salon de Parfum, but the concept suits an event of this size, and the selected brands, including Parfum Satori, çanoma, and Le Couvent des Minimes, are ones it is easy to imagine wearing lightly in summer. To put it mildly, the person who planned this may have good taste. Sales may be a challenge, but it could be interesting to hold a small seasonal event like this once every three months, with a different lineup each time. The word “party” does not seem particularly suited to the event, but a seasonal name might help perfume gradually take root in Sendai. I sincerely hope this succeeds and becomes a model for events at regional department stores.

Thinking Seriously About Salon de Parfum at Isetan Shinjuku

Simply Pointing Out the Faults

If Salon de Parfum is held this year, it will be the twelfth edition. Based on previous years, there are already fewer than four months to go, so negotiations with exhibitors may be underway and the program may already be around 70% settled.

Leaving the details of Salon de Parfum to the article above, my assessment is that sales have risen year by year over its eleven editions to date, while the number of exhibitors has more or less reached its ceiling at around 60 brands. Neither Hankyu nor Daimaru has achieved this scale, and it is an event unique to Isetan Shinjuku that LE SILLAGE or NOSE SHOP alone could never pull off. Above all, what deserves praise is that, since 2020, it has become an annual fixture at Mitsukoshi Isetan department stores nationwide rather than remaining confined to Isetan Shinjuku. Seeing that the pandemic would prevent people from coming to Shinjuku, the organizers expanded nationwide, a move that paid off. I suspect that total sales across all locations may be incomparable with what came before.

On the other hand, this is also where criticism is warranted. The nationwide expansion was all well and good, but the scale and programs of these events make me wonder whether they receive almost no support from headquarters. They may indeed be larger than events at other department stores, but they do not feel particularly successful. It is clear to me that responsibility has simply been dumped on the regional stores; in Kyoto, Salon de Parfum seems to have been organized around LE SILLAGE for the past few years. Isetan Shinjuku’s ego peeks through here. The attitude toward both brands and regional stores seems to be, “We are doing you a favor by letting you hold Salon de Parfum.”

This may sound like a cynical reading, but a close look at Salon de Parfum reveals that its content changes little each year, while only the theme changes. And as if no one even remembers that theme, brands simply set up and sell. There is almost nothing genuinely new for either customers or sales staff. Even though it is an annual event, I cannot feel any enthusiasm. Despite the existence of Salon du Chocolat, into which so much effort is poured, the official website is thin on content, merely listing brands and programs. There is no love here. Anyone who has seen Kaoriten’s website will know what I mean.

Charitably, one could call it a rut; less charitably, complacency. Having brands produce limited editions and advance releases every year, bringing in influencers, and holding special events certainly deserve recognition. But as the leading company in perfume events, I want to see more effort. For a start, having to go up to the sixth-floor exhibition hall every year is a hassle. If they have data showing that even a sixth-floor event attracts new customers and people who did not know about it, that is fine. But I suspect the reasons are that no other space is available, using the exhibition hall is cheaper than renting elsewhere, brand counters are easier to set up, and accounting is straightforward. Yet that space is already too small for Salon de Parfum. Should they not immediately secure a venue on the scale of their private-client sales events and put on something bigger than ever before?

Proposals for a New Kind of Event

Budget may be an issue. But securing a venue comparable to those used for private-client sales events would also create an environment in which luxury brands could more easily participate. Why are Dior and Chanel absent from a festival held only once a year? Why can visitors not smell Louis Vuitton or Hermès? These are natural questions for perfume beginners. Some people will go and try a lineup of brands they do not know, but precisely because this is a festival, I think it should bring together everything: fashion fragrances, niche fragrances, and new fragrance brands energizing Japan. Luxury brands probably focus heavily on sales, so they might turn down the invitation. But make the first two days, Friday and Saturday, a special event for private clients. Secure sales of high-priced products such as Maison Dior, Chanel’s Les Exclusifs, and Henri Jacques, while also having the brands sell fashion. Then make the three days from the third day onward, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, a public event centered on perfume. Would that not offer something for everyone?

It would not be that simple. The problem is that today’s Salon de Parfum is not compelling enough content to make influencers want to talk about it, so it probably would not spread widely. If the proposal above were implemented just as it stands, visitor numbers might remain the same as in previous years, raising the possibility of a loss. In that case, why not create a program that all kinds of people would want to talk about: influencers, people with no interest in perfume, and people who love it obsessively? In other words, think beyond perfume to the broader framework of scent, generating collaborations and synergies unlike anything seen before.

Below, I will put down as many ideas as I can. I hope they might be useful.

①Use Isetan’s account to invite consumers to contribute program and event ideas for Salon de Parfum.
Done well, this kind of participation makes people feel that everyone is building the event together, and could break Salon de Parfum out of its current rut. Once people have taken part, they may also want to go and see whether their ideas were adopted. For example, below is the result of a call I put out through this site’s account. If an account of this scale can gather that much, the possibilities for Isetan hardly need spelling out.

Calling everyone from the perfume-curious to the hardcore enthusiasts!
If there were a perfume festival once a year, what kind of event would you want it to be?
Tell me what you wish could happen. Funny, off-the-wall suggestions are welcome too!

For me, it would be trying Chanel, Hermès, and Dior side by side, or comparing 30 kinds of citrus scents😊

— Fragrance Learning Space★Le Chercheur de Parfum (@per_fume_as) June 11, 2024

②Think much more seriously about the theme: make it concrete and capable of developing over several years.
For example:
・“Enjoy fragrance together with the stories behind it” (Programs, exhibitions, and sales focused on the background to fragrance creation, such as perfumers, the themes of their works, and fragrance companies.)
・“Discover the origins of fragrance” (Encourage visitors to buy perfume while learning about ingredients, the composition process, and the route a perfume takes before it reaches the market. Inviting essential-oil businesses and florists could also work.)
・“Discover the diversity of scent” (Show that the world contains many kinds of scent beyond perfume, through partnerships with major companies involving not only fabric softeners but also ambient scent and food aromas.)
・“Explore the science of scent” (Just as we often hear about the connections between taste, sight, and smell, turn the science of olfaction into hands-on experiences. Create separate taste, sight, hearing, and touch areas where visitors can try related scents and perfumes.)
These are some possibilities. An approach like this would build anticipation about what might happen the following year. Word of mouth could draw more people in, and the event might even become an international fixture.

③Expand the area for international visitors.
An event on this scale would surely increase sales to inbound tourists as well. Once their attendance is predictable, it might be possible to create an area, or even a day, for international visitors, held entirely in English. These days, even if you cannot speak the language, AI can solve everything.

④Stage more provocative events.
One opinion often heard in Japan is, “I use fabric softener because perfume smells too strong.” In reality, though, fabric softeners undoubtedly have quite powerful scents too. What about having certified odor assessors smell and analyze several fragrances? Or, since both ultimately use materials from fragrance manufacturers, why not stage a debate, even a scripted one: perfume brands versus fabric-softener manufacturers versus volunteer customers, with a fragrance manufacturer as moderator? Alternatively, representatives could collaborate by sampling and explaining scents together, or compete in a buzzer quiz to find out who knows more about fragrance. How about something like that?
So many events consist merely of listening to someone talk or watching pleasant exchanges. I think one program with a little more drama would get people talking. A five-round contest between a perfume influencer, a salesperson with 20 years at Bluebell Japan, and a fragrance-decanting company could be interesting too.

⑤Include lower-priced brands and character-inspired perfumes.
In recent years, only niche brands seem to receive attention, while the nostalgic brands everyone once wore have been forgotten. Why not also stock perfumes such as Angel Heart and Samourai, found at Don Quijote and major electronics stores? Perfume is, by nature, a matter of personal pleasure, so price is not the point. For someone who knows only niche fragrances, these perfumes might be surprisingly good, while others may buy them out of sheer nostalgia. And how would they react on learning that the person who created Samourai now composes perfumes exclusively for Hermès? Just thinking about it is exciting.
In a different category, with fragrances inspired by people’s favorite characters now popular, I think there should be an area introducing character perfumes. This is not just about following a trend; it is also about making perfume enthusiasts who sneer at “character perfumes” eat their words. Here is a real opportunity for new encounters. You cannot condemn something without trying it.

⑥An area of historical classics to make perfume enthusiasts salivate.
If visitors could try rare masterpieces, or even simply see them, perhaps nothing could make perfume lovers happier. Just as old perfume bottles are sometimes displayed at Dior or Chanel exhibitions, why not use Isetan’s influence to create one such area? Selling collectors’ pieces could also generate sales through the private-client business.

⑦Create the areas perfume lovers obviously want.
Areas organized by ingredient, perfumer, or season; an explanatory area for those just beginning to love perfume; an engaging area for longtime enthusiasts. In short, a place to sample freely across brand boundaries would be enough on its own to make that year’s program perfect.

⑧Install perfume vending machines and an easy-purchase area, or develop an app.
A problem at events like this is that a long consultation can prevent other people from trying or buying fragrances. To avoid that, the only real option is to separate the spaces and develop an easier way to purchase. An area for people who want to smell for themselves and buy; an area for those who want a thorough consultation; and an area for those who simply want to try all kinds of things. Separating these alone should make sales vastly more efficient, and satisfaction should rise too. What about linking with meeco, making purchases easy through an app, and then delivering everything afterward, or letting visitors collect all their purchases at the exit on the way home?

This is not just about Salon de Parfum. Perfume events surely have the potential to become much better. I will end this article in the hope that people will put their heads together to bring them closer to the ideal and create programs that are more exciting.