Navitus Parfums, an upcoming niche global luxury perfumery brand launched in Dubai last month, is gearing up for an aggressive expansion in the Middle East, with plans to launch in 25 cities in the region, envisaging an initial investment outlay of AED60 million, its chief executive said.
The company, which created some of the sought after perfume brands by the rich and famous such as Baklava Royale, Ambrosia Imperiale, Chocolate Queen and Venom of Love, also plans to foray into personal care and grooming products based on its perfume as part of its game plan to be among the top ten niche ultra-luxe perfume brands in the region by 2027.
“Recent reports show that the MENA region will be the sole global region to have double-digit growth till 2027 across all beauty segments, including fragrance, skincare, cosmetics, and haircare.
“Herein lies the opportunity for new brands to provide an elevated fragrance experience to customers in the region, and we definitely want to be part of this,” Hayan Merchant, Founder and CEO of Navitus Parfums, told Arabian Business.
He said Navitus, which debuted in New York with its inaugural collection featuring seven unique fragrances in 2019, aims to capitalize on this market growth and economic activity and carve out a niche for itself in the luxury fragrance space in the region.
“The plan is to be considered in the top ten niche ultra-luxe perfume brands in the region by 2027,” said Merchant, who transitioned into perfumery from a successful career in a family business conglomerate to pursue a childhood dream.
With prices starting at AED630, Navitus Parfums are currently available at some of the high-end shopping hotspots such as Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah, Atelier Perfumery at Galleria Mall and Mirdiff City Center in Dubai, and Deerfields Mall and Forsan Central Mall in Abu Dhabi.
Expanding footprint to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and more
Merchant said the company’s ambitious growth plans in the region will see it foraying into 25 cities in the next five years.
“Some of the cities in the expansion plan include Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain, Muscat, Dammam, Abha and Dhahran,” he revealed.
After its launch in Dubai in February, the company has quickly expanded into seven cities across the UAE.
The Navitus Parfums top executive said in the initial phase, the company will continue to follow the ‘shop-in-shop’ concept in the UAE, as it wants new customers to experience the Navitus fragrances and lifestyle.
“We also want customers to understand our brand ethos, clean perfumery approach and green chemistry principles before we go whole hog [on launching exclusive stores],” he said.
Regarding the company’s target customer segments in the UAE and the region, Merchant said the company doesn’t target customers based on price, but instead, “we create luxury fragrances that evoke emotions”.
“But, more specifically, we are targeting UAE nationals and customers from the international community that are affluent, such as the businessmen, professionals such as doctors, engineers, bankers, lawyers, and a multitude of individuals who value their lifestyle and personal well-being,” he said.
Merchant said when targeting these customers, they note that such discerning customers give priority to those brands that provide a more personalized fragrance experience and an emotional journey as the fragrance evolves over the course of one’s day.
“This journey is what connects Navitus customers to the Navitus brand as they create memories with the fragrances and establish a stronger connection with the brand.”
Company works with master perfumers, top fine fragrance influencers
While ruling out any immediate plans to rope in a brand ambassador for popularising the brand in the UAE and the region, Merchant, however, said Navitus currently works with 12 globally famous master perfumers who create Navitus fragrances.
“These are the perfumers who have also created fragrances for brands such as Creed, Tom Ford, Frederic Malle, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Amouage, Kilian Paris, to name a few,” he said, adding that these perfumers lending their creativity and expertise to Navitus speak volumes about the brand’s promise to work with only the best ingredients in the industry.
Merchant said Navitus also works closely with eight of the top 20 global fine fragrance social media influencers in the world who have contributed their ideas on upcoming Navitus creations.
“They are also instrumental in creating brand awareness at a global level across 60 countries, including the UAE,” he said.
Navitus also held a fashion collaboration with a famous couture designer in New York during the New York Fashion Week in September 2023.
“The plan is to replicate this with local collaborations in the future in the UAE and the wider region in the coming years to further strengthen the connection with regional customers,” Merchant said.
Navitus’ aggressive growth plans in the Middle East come amidst projections of the MENA fragrance market reaching $5.4 billion by 2027, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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