Nata Dvir's Acceptance Speech for the 2024 Circle of Champions Award by The Fragrance Foundation🌟

Thank you for the kind words, everyone. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was just so humbling to be able to hear yourself be celebrated. And I think Linda, you shared that with me earlier: we don't always take the time to celebrate ourselves. So I'm so grateful for having that opportunity. Thank you, Tony, for your kind words, your incredible support, and for letting me still spend so much time in beauty, because I love the category so much. Charlotte, thank you for wearing Macy's red. I really appreciate how amazing you look. You're really an ambassador and partner that pushes Macy's and myself to think bigger and bolder, so continue to help us raise the bar. Julie, I'm just so grateful for your leadership, but more than that, your friendship. I remember offering you that role when you stepped into beauty, but working with you in many different categories, I just love the impact that you've been able to make. I'm just so excited to see you continue to drive so many categories, and your leadership is felt across the entire company. So thank you. Before I get into a couple of my comments, there was a debate we were having earlier around my dress. There are many floral experts here. There's a couple questions around: is it a sunflower? The Cody team believes it's a daisy. We believe that it's a marigold. But if anybody really has certainty, I would love to hear that later. So please come see me at table three. I'm just really honored to be able to receive this award after 20 years, almost 20 years at Macy's. When I look back on my career, the through line has been this blending of art and science. The podcast is only available for internal listeners, but if you'd like, we can do something about that. And it's really been this blending of being a successful merchant: balancing the financial objectives and the assortment planning with the storytelling through product and presentation. It's this duality that I've always really loved and appreciated. So it's no surprise that I have such a strong connection to the fragrance category. Fragrance is all about the blending of art and science. There's the chemistry, the formulations, the top and bottom notes, all of which distinguish one fragrance from another. And then there are the feelings and emotions that fragrances inspire. I fell in love with fragrance when I came to understand the craftsmanship of it, which did require me to go to Grasse. Thank you. It's the ingredients, the places they grow, and the talented people who cultivate them. It's the time, the care, the tradition, all of which I learned by interacting with our customers, perfumers, and spending time with so many of you. I have a tremendous passion for the Macy's brand. I believe our customers have made so many memories with us, whether it's at the Thanksgiving Day Parade or buying a dress for a special occasion. So it's only natural that we are the fragrance destination, since smell is the strongest of the senses and the sense most closely linked to memory. So let me tell you about my first scent memory that I really remember. When I was in middle school, I did a class rotation of four different languages to decide which one we would eventually study. I don't speak any of those languages now. I ended up taking nine years of Latin. And standing here in this room, I wish I chose French. But what I remember about my Japanese rotation is what the teacher did: he sprayed all of our notebooks with Freesia, and he said, "Whenever you smell Freesia, you're going to remember this moment in this class." I don't often smell Freesia, but it really did teach me about that connection between scent and memory. Scent is part of how you want to feel. It's so emotional and so meaningful. If you have a big day or a special evening, maybe it's an important presentation or a date you've been looking forward to, maybe accepting an award on a stage, fragrance can be a boost of confidence. If you're feeling a little down, fragrance can be a mood lifter. And one tip that came from my mother: if you put a little fragrance under your nose right before you take a flight, you're only going to smell that, which sometimes is a win. The industry is about emotion, magic, experience, and that is exactly what Macy's is about. I don't have to tell anyone in this room that Macy's holds the leading market share in the category and is the fragrance powerhouse. But I will tell you one of the reasons I believe why: if you walk the selling floor of any Macy's in any market on any day of the week, there is something going on. It's fun. It's what retail is at its best. It could be Valentine's Day in Chicago, Mexican Mother's Day in California, or Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico. It could be the days leading up to Christmas. 64 days, 63? Julie, 63. Thank you. In every one of our stores, especially in South Florida, I've taken many of you to Westland to see the container making. But it could be the star power of a face at Herald Square. Any or all of those bring us crowds. We are not a force in fragrance; we are the force in fragrance. And of course, our Macy's beauty advisors bring it to life and bring the energy to the selling floor every single day. Being part of an industry that sparks imagination, evokes emotion, and truly connects people is a gift. I recognize that not only on a personal level but also on a collaborative one, because it has also been a gift to work with all of the creative minds, the passionate and invested partners, and the visionary leaders that all of you are. So while I have you in the room, here's my ask of you: help us at Macy's raise the bar. Bring us your boldest innovation, your biggest ideas, your freshest thinking. Not only can we deliver reach and scale, but we have the most diverse customer base, and they all want fragrance. If you want to win, you'll win with Macy's. Thank you to each and every one of our partners here tonight. Thank you for trusting us with your brands and letting us put the power of Macy's to work for you. Thank you to the Fragrance Foundation for honoring me and honoring Macy's with the Circle of Champions Award. I'm so proud to join such an esteemed group of past honorees. I admire you all and share your passion for fragrances. Thank you to the greatest champion this category could possibly have, Linda. Your dedication and forward-thinking approach have modernized the foundation in such important ways. And as you all know, we spent a lot of time working together at Macy's as well, and it's really your friendship and our lunches that also mean so much to me. And to my favorite partner in the room, Graham, thank you for your support and always smelling so good. And thank you to the amazing fragrance and beauty team: Jen, Nicolette, Gelle. I'm so proud of you and the work you've put in to keep growing this business. You have embraced the Macy's bold new chapter strategy and continue to go beyond what I could imagine we could accomplish. You've evolved our marketing, elevated our in-store experience, modernized the shopping journey, and worked with new partners to bring the best to our customers. You are the best and are part of my circle of champions. And finally, thank you to the incredible Macy's merchandising leadership team for raising the bar across every one of our categories. You are the driving force behind our evolution as a department store, and I'm so energized by working with each of you every day. Thank you.