First look: The Perfume Shop’s debut luxury boutique store

Retail Week visited the new luxury-inspired store located at Brent Cross Shopping Centre in North West London, which showcases some exclusive brands as well as other high-end brands.

The boutique store connects to a standard Perfume Shop. One offers all the brands found in many of its other stores, while the boutique is more exclusive, premium, niche, and much more focused on individuality.

Some brands featured in the boutique include Maison Margiela, Prada Infusions, and Moncler Les Sommets Collection.

Japanese brand MCM is also exclusive to the Brent Cross boutique, while brand Atkinsons, previously only found in Fortnum & Mason, is now also in this store.

To elevate the experience, its standard store has a tablet for customers to search specific perfumes or certain scents, which directs them to the closest match. It also has a “discovery zone” for customers to find out more about specific products, and a trending section to highlight current popular fragrances.

In the boutique, customers can also receive personalised perfume charms with their initials engraved.

Following the Brent Cross opening on July 25, another boutique store will open at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, in the coming days.

The Perfume Shop said the new concepts aim to make luxury perfumes more accessible, while offering customers high-quality perfumes with a more personalised shopping experience.

The retailer added that the boutiques represent customer interest in niche perfumes, as studies show the global luxury niche perfume market is expected to grow from $1.77bn in 2025 to $3.03bn in 2033.

Speaking at the opening event, managing director Gill Smith said: “We were founded 33 years ago to disrupt the market and make perfume accessible to everyone. We’ve had people who have copied us, there’s more accessibility online, and we wanted to move to the next stage. That’s about making more niche, more luxury brands accessible to everyone.

“Our vision to make sure people have an expert service and an unbiased service from our teams that know everything about all the different brands, is still at the heart of what we do.”