Why niche? The focus on covering niche fragrances.

Given that our readers have most likely noticed that a high percentage of our content focuses on niche fragrances that aren’t common or don’t receive wide coverage in the mainstream, I wanted to examine the topic and attempt to answer the question: Why niche?

Let’s start from the background. If you’re reading this site, you fall into one of a few categories:

1. You’re a personal friend or acquaintance and I’ve goaded you into your present addiction to our content.
2. You happened upon us based on something else posted on the Web, or you Google’d a search on a specific fragrance or set of parameters (which tells me that Google really does work).
3. You’re an aficionado of rare, unusual or very specific fragrances and you don’t always follow the crowd.

If you fall into the second or third categories, you clearly enjoy more niche oriented fragrances, and there’s some specific reasons behind that.

Quality. Let’s start from the very beginning. Niche fragrances will generally be crafted of higher quality ingredients (natural versus synthetic elements, unusual notes in the composition), a more exacting view of craftsmanship, or an approach that runs counter to high-volume production.

Volume. Chanel will probably bottle and distribute several hundred thousand bottles of “Bleu de Chanel” for the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season. Bond No. 9, Creed, or Parfum d’Empire (to name a few) won’t bottle or ship that many copies of their entire collection combined because their marketing and distribution is more precise and focused.

Marketing. Instead of targeting the mass-market retail outlets (Macys, Dillards, Marks & Spencer), niche houses will focus on where their specific market tends to shop and buy: boutiques, luxury retail, and outlets where their product doesn’t simply disappear into the shelves (Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus, etc.).

Cachet. And here is where I’ll introduce the word “luxury” into the equation. Picture a fashion house such as Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger, both of whom have done very well in reaching the masses with their fragrances and fashions. Now picture yourself walking through Target and seeing fragrances carrying both their names marketed at a price point under $50. If that seems to present an odd characteristic of a “top-designer”, you’re correct because they really cater to much different markets and their production is often relegated to a distributor (Estee Lauder, for instance) who can get their product on as many shelves and in front of as many eyes as possible. Now compare that to a fragrance by L’Artisan Parfumeur, where the distribution is far more restricted and the fragrance will carry a higher degree of cachet. Fundamentally, the scents of both could be quite similar; how they are marketed is a differentiator.

Composition. A key differentiator is the ‘type’ of scent both crafted and marketed. Where a mass-market fragrance may typically have a production life of only a few years, a niche fragrance can endure for generations because it becomes a signature scent. This is something few fragrance labels can achieve (Chanel being a very good example of a mass-market line that both carries some cachet and longevity without sacrificing composition). For most manufacturers, current trends define composition more than any other factor; if the market desires a lighter, fresher scent, that is the target they will chase. Niche lines, on the other hand, have the luxury of being more experimental and creating an enduring composition regardless of whether it follows that year’s fashion trends. Houses such as Creed and Guerlain know this well, and both have created classics that have changed little over the course of decades — not because of a lack of desire to consider fashion trends, but out of consideration for their clientele who will repeatedly purchase their fragrance as part of their signature or “classic” scents.

I name only a few characteristics here that act as key decision points for us to provide greater coverage to the niche range of the market. However, there are a few other reasons that this site focuses a majority of its attention on the niche side of the industry.

1. This side of the industry doesn’t receive the same broad coverage or “hype” that is generally found within the mass retail market.
2. We were to focus solely (or even as a majority of our time) on mass-market perfumes, we’d be in very crowded reviewing company. Our voice simply wouldn’t rise above the amount of marketing chatter to provide a meaningful opinion. That doesn’t mean we won’t review such a fragrance periodically, but we’d rather restrict that coverage to products that are meaningful and that we feel have a chance for some endurance.
3. If we only focused on the mass-market, we’d have an incredeibly dull site. Let’s face facts: If you wanted to find out about Snooki’s or Mariah Carey’s latest celebrity scent, you wouldn’t be looking for our opinion on it. You’d probably go to Macys or Target and judge for yourself by sampling. We provide focus on those fragrances that are worthwhile and may not get that attention.

The end result is that the site probably seems a bit more swayed toward a niche focus, but on the other hand there are far more niche fragrances that are lesser known, high quality and worthy of review than you might imagine. Of the hundreds to thousands of fragrances released to the market each year, most consumers will see barely a fraction of those.

We exist to provide insight to the remainder.