Niche perfume "Made in Vietnam"

A "niche perfume" has unique components, a laborious production procedure, and limited quantity. Even though there are only 5 or 10 bottles worldwide, specialty lines sell 200 and 100 bottles. The specialty is popular because of appealing names, handmade bottles, personal marks, signatures, and statements.

Interesting Luxe newspaper statistic. There were 1,330 new perfume lines in 2012, 331 of which were niche. Michael Edwards, author of Fragrances of the World, says this number has tripled in 10 years.

 Vietnamese niche perfume brands have thrived. According to a survey by "Made in Vietnam" niche perfume company DANiche, more than 50% of customers know what a niche is. Many niche perfume collectors appear like Miss Thu Hoai, actor Tran Thanh...

ViinRiic Niche, a 2018 Vietnamese niche perfume brand, educates and guides the Vietnamese market. After nearly 6 years, ViinRiic Niche has 6 stores (5 in Ho Chi Minh City and 1 in Hanoi), distributing over 30 global niche brands, including 16-18 exclusive brands.

Depending on the house of incense, the rarity of the components, the use in manufacturing the incense layers, and the bottle's distinctiveness, niche bottles can cost $500.

Roja Dove's specialized limited editions, with the incense maker's signature, cost $4,000–5,000. Not everyone can afford it. Even at low prices, the niche is not for everyone. In 2020, Vietnamese incense manufacturers began heavily exploiting this land.

Copy the concept (bottle design, advertising, aroma...), order processing from foreign raw material producers, label niche, and sell for roughly 200 USD. "Made in Vietnam" niche brands follow this concept. These self-proclaimed niche businesses are on every perfume forum and e-commerce platform. Five "self-proclaimed" niche brands exist. DANiche founder Mr. Tran Phi Do note, "This invisibly reduces niche perfumes."

However, ViinRiic Niche CEO Eric Tran says niche brands "Made in Vietnam" are a good sign. Instead of causing anarchy as many fear, it diversifies and purifies the market. Each person's aroma and personality distinguish niche perfume from impersonation perfume. Mixing is hard. People still mistake real perfume for fake. After using real perfume, fakes are hard to spot. Eric noted that a perfume line's niche status depends on the scent's value and the fragrance maker's impact, not price.

Responding to the attractiveness of the market, Mr. Eric and Mr. Do shared the same opinion that the luxury goods market in general and niche perfumery in particular, although more or less affected by the economic recession, will soon recover. return. For example, if before, each niche perfume store on average brought in about 1.6-2 billion VND, equivalent to the revenue of designer perfume shops from international brands such as Chanel, Dior. ... then after the epidemic, this number decreased from 40-50%.

Before the pandemic, customers could buy 2-3 bottles of niche perfume at the same time, but now, they only buy 1. Mr. Eric also said that, of the expenses of opening a store, the most expensive is the decoration cost. , maintenance, and space rent with about 7-10 billion VND, excluding staff training costs. “Getting an employee who understands niche perfumery and can satisfy high-end customers is not easy and takes a lot of time,” said Eric.

Mr. Tran Phi Do said specialized brands "Made in Vietnam" can benefit from lower consumption costs due to reduced production expenses. DANiche, launched in early 2023, has sold over VND 500 million in the first three months of the year with 6 lines of fragrances uniquely chosen by Mr. Do from about 50 scents from a raw materials factory. perfumers worldwide. Mr. Do also stressed that incense makers with knowledge, market understanding, and consumer respect had the opportunity.

Vietnamese incense companies need more time to establish themselves in this market without a brand story or history. "In addition to scent, kind competition helps Vietnamese incense makers stand out in customers' minds," said Mr. Do.

Looking at the current Vietnamese niche market, besides the imported niche, a few domestic lines, it is easy to see that this piece of cake is also divided among famous designer perfume brands. For example, Chanel's Les Exclusifs line, LV's handcrafted bottle line, La Privée from Christian Dior or YSL's Le Vestiaire Des Parfums...
 
“Niche will eventually come to saturation. But that is the story of 10 years from now, at least in the Vietnamese market. The selection is always for the most original, unique scents. In an era where selling the customer experience becomes important, niches like Hermes Birkin bags are the aspiration of the most beautiful and artistic,” asserted Eric.

According to a survey from the niche perfume brand "Made in Vietnam" DANiche, more than 50% of customers who come to shop here know the concept of niche. Photo: TL