Key takeaways
- Covent Garden strengthens its position as Europe’s leading luxury beauty hub.
- Four new high-end fragrance brands are joining the district: Byredo, Matiere Premiere, Initio Parfums Privés, and Parfums de Marly.
- The expansion reflects growing demand for experiential retail and premium scent experiences.
- Covent Garden’s new Big Beauty event will further spotlight the area’s role in beauty innovation.
According to the property investment company Shaftesbury Capital, a series of new luxury fragrance brands plan to join Covent Garden later this year. Byredo, Matiere Premiere, Initio Parfums Privés, and Parfums de Marly will all take their spot in the iconic beauty shopping destination.
Covent Garden cements status as a luxury beauty destination
Covent Garden already houses some of the world’s biggest names in luxury fragrance, such as Creed, Diptyque, Jo Malone London, Le Labo, Miller Harris and Penhaligon’s.
Director of retail and restaurant leasing at the property investors behind the beauty shopping hub, Shaftesbury Capital, William Oliver, noted how Covent Garden has become “the leading destination for luxury beauty in the UK,” adding that it is “already home to a host of world-class fragrance houses and an epicentre where brands can launch, innovate, and thrive.”
Indeed, the central London quarter has become a leading beauty destination for all beauty categories – beyond just scent. It also plays host to Aesop, Chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, D&G Beauty, Elemis, Glossier, Guerlain, MAC, NARS, Neal’s Yard Remedies and Tom Ford, to name just a few iconic brands that have set up shop in the area.
New fragrance flagships reflect demand for premium experiences
Puig-owned Byredo will open a 1,100 sq ft boutique in the iconic Market Building, which will join its existing location in Seven Dials. The offering at the new unit will feature an assortment of high-end fragrances and will also venture outside of scent to offer make-up, home, leather goods and accessories.
The high-end fragrance brand will be joined by Matiere Premiere, the perfume brand that Kering Beauty invested in, which creates luxury perfumes using natural raw materials. The brand is set to open a 50 sq ft flagship store at 31 King Street.
The brand’s co-founder and general manager, Cédric Meiffret, said that “Covent Garden has long been a location that embraces and celebrates innovation, creativity, and craftsmanship,” adding that “there is no other place more suited to host our first UK flagship.”
Meiffret said the location would offer an opportunity for clients “to experience the direct link between the most beautiful natural raw materials and Matiere Premiere fragrances, surrounded by the top labels within the luxury beauty industry.”
Meanwhile, Parfums de Marly, the luxury fragrance label inspired by the 18th-century French era, which has been present in Covent Garden for the past three years, will upsize and relocate to a 1,000 sq ft store at 31 James Street, adjacent to the likes of Charlotte Tilbury and Glossier.
Another French fragrance house, niche Parisian brand Initio Parfums Privés, is also set to launch its first UK store at Covent Garden and will move into Parfums de Marly’s former 246 sq ft unit in the Market Building.
CEO of Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés, Julien Sausset, commented that the new space at James Street “will allow us to elevate our customer experience even further and offer more services and ranges that reflect our heritage, opulence, and artistry.”
Big beauty event to spotlight innovation and wellness trends
Between 4–14 September, Covent Garden will also launch its first-ever Big Beauty event – a 10-day celebration of beauty and wellness. The central London spot will transform into “a multi-sensory playground of beauty experiences,” according to Shaftesbury Capital.
