Fragrance sales are booming and Boots is following suit. The retailer is set to launch its first scent-specific boutique this Autumn
This morning, highstreet retailer Boots announced it will be opening the first Boots Fragrance in London. Designed to ‘offer customers a reimagined, sensory-led retail experience’, the store will put prestige fragrance front and centre.
With data from Circana showing an 8% growth in sales of perfumes in department stores and a 12% rise in other retail channels, the launch is set to bolster an already thriving category.
Boots Fragrance is one part of the retailer’s expansion plans which has seen the opening of its Battersea beauty store and the revamp of the store environment across the UK. The strategy is one that puts beauty front and centre, with people spending £32.4 billion on goods and services in 2024 according to the Value of Beauty report.
On the news, Chelsey Saunders, Director of Fragrance at Boots, said: ‘Boots Fragrance boutique represents a bold step forward in how we bring fragrance to our customers… we’re proud to be creating a space that not only showcases the very best in luxury and niche perfumery, but also makes it more accessible, inviting and inspiring for all.’
The new concept store will house over 400 luxury and niche scents, including UK exclusives and over 20 brands new to Boots.
People are willing to invest in their spritzing more than ever – according to Mintel UK the fragrance market is on track to surpass £2 billion by 2029 – so, Boots’ move will allow them to tap into a lucrative market, when other categories are seeing a shift to mass.
Jacqui Burchell, CCO of the British Beauty Council, says: ‘This is a big move for Boots, which is a cornerstone of the British highstreet. By specialising customer experiences, the brand is showing its commitment to curated experiences – something that today’s consumer yearns for in an increasingly saturated market.’
The opening of Boots Fragrance reinforces the importance of beauty-specific environments on the highstreet, something that continues to thrive despite tricky headwinds. In fact, outside of retailers, hairdressing, health, and beauty salons have consistently had the highest number of retail businesses across UK high streets for the last decade.
Boots Fragrance will be opening in Broadgate Central, London this Autumn.
