Retail Week sits down with Jo Malone London’s senior vice president and global general manager Jo Dancey to talk about all things perfume and signing British actor Tom Hardy as the face of its new advertising campaign
Jo Malone London has always been a unisex fragrance and lifestyle brand. It still is. But men’s fragrance is having a moment and the British brand, which is part of Estée Lauder Companies, is looking to grow its share in the segment with its new brand campaign.
The brand’s senior vice president and global general manager, Jo Dancey, has high hopes as the brand announces British actor Tom Hardy as the face of its already famous fragrance Cypress and Grapevine.
With more than two decades in various roles, Dancey has been with the brand since the launch of its very first website in the UK. But the new campaign is bigger and different from anything the brand has done before, she tells Retail Week.
What is the new campaign, and what do you hope to achieve with it?
“We have a clear opportunity. We’re having a fantastic time and are successful growing year on year but our fair share of men’s is probably not there. We’ve got the right fragrances and we have many male consumers, but they’re typically purchasing for female loved ones, friends and family. The ambition is to convert them into self-purchasers as well as attract a lot more male consumers and people buying for males as well, that we are a brand for them.
“So the intent with this was just to shift how we do things a little bit. We’ve never had an ambassador of this scale and we’ve never associated an ambassador with just one fragrance. This ‘one fragrance, one name, one campaign’ [approach], it’s very different. And you could argue it’s very similar to others but we’ve done it in our way.”
Why do you think now is the right time to enter the men’s fragrance sector in a big way?
“It’s a big part of the industry. We don’t consider [the new campaign] as entering the space because we’ve always been particularly unisex. I think we’re just getting louder and telling more people about it. ‘
“Why now? It’s a great building block opportunity for the brand. The segment is growing faster. It varies a little bit market by market but if I look at the UK, in particular, male fragrance is growing a couple of percentage points higher than female fragrance, particularly in the luxury space. So, I guess all of the stars are aligned. And we have a scent in Cypress and Grapevine that is resonating and performing well without a huge amount of push behind it. Imagine what it’s going to do now.”
What are some trends you’ve been noticing in the business?
“We have strong growth in Asia, in Japan and Korea in particular. North America is a growing market for us. We have been in North America for some time but our distribution strategy is working there and we’re reaching more consumers. Within the UK, our freestanding stores offer the ultimate service and assortment and they perform very well.
“Obviously, over the years since Covid, we’ve seen a balance between bricks and mortar and ecommerce. But without doubt, we are seeing a return to bricks and that craving for experience, connection and conversation, which is so important within the fragrance world. The team does an amazing job of selling something online that you can’t smell and our online business is fantastic. But the experience you get in stores cannot be replaced.”
What is your strategy for growth in the UK?
“Even though this is our home market and we are established here, we still have untapped opportunities like market towns. This links very much to the fact that bricks are back and consumers are looking for that. What you get with expanding into market towns is a community and you get to see the same consumers. So there is an opportunity for small doors and neighbourhood doors. It’s unlike Regent Street where it’s very transient and lots of tourists. So, you’ll see a lot of that coming from us over the next 18 months or so.”
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