Firmenich, a privately-owned fragrance and taste company, announced a new strategic partnership with HARMAY, a new retail brand in China, on 18th January. Under the agreement, Firmenich and HARMAY will join forces to contribute to the development of the Fine Fragrance category in China, by leveraging their respective capabilities to support the development of new fragrance brands, concepts, experiences and models.
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“As a world leader in fine fragrance, Firmenich is focused on leading the transformation of this industry and creating trends to future-proof the business. After more than 30 years of successful operations in China, this partnership with HARMAY serves as a significant enhancement to our capabilities in China and fortifies our ambitions as the partner of choice in the Chinese market,” said Ilaria Resta, President, Global Perfumery, Firmenich.
Founded in 2008, HARMAY is a global beauty collection store in China with a strong Generation Z customer base. The brand has become synonymous with art and culture in China by offering premium beauty, skincare, fragrance and lifestyle products through its online and offline stores. All of its offline stores feature innovative designs and have gained a loyal following for their unique consumer experience.
“China is projected to be the new frontier of the global fine fragrance market, with many local brands emerging and a significant increasing usage among consumers, especially with Gen Z. We are honored to play a key role in propelling this growth with the synergies between HARMAY and Firmenich,” added Jason Ju, Co-founder, HARMAY.
“Thanks to this strategic partnership with HARMAY we are joining forces to incubate brands of tomorrow and leverage our mutual capabilities in consumers insights, digital, creativity and art of perfumery. This will pave the way for more growth in the Fine Fragrance industry both within China and globally.” said Olivier Viejo, Head of Fine Fragrance, Firmenich China.
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As part of its China expansion strategy, Firmenich is bringing additional value to customers by creating highly localized customer journeys, first-hand. In 2019, the company became the first global fragrance house to establish a Fine Fragrance Atelier in China and was the first to offer a dedicated business model that provides easy access to all fine fragrance capabilities under one roof, serving all local customers in China and global customers worldwide. The company also opened its new Studio Guangzhou in September 2021, allowing it to deliver a diverse range of benefits to an even wider base of consumers.