Co-Founder, Vice Chairman & President, INTERPARFUMS INC
Interview with CEO and founder of Interparfums, Philippe Benacin.
Interparfums represents brands like Coach, Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Moncler, Kate Spade, Van Cleef & Arpels and many more.
About Philippe Benacin
Philippe Benacin, co-founder and president of Interparfums, has discussed the company's financial performance and strategic outlook in several interviews in 2023. He reported a 43% increase in net profit for the first half of 2023 and raised the company's annual revenue forecast to around 800 million euros, driven by strong growth in the United States and Europe. Benacin noted that the company is aiming to approach one billion euros in revenue within three to four yearskus. He described the current period as "very difficult" due to supply-chain problems, raw-material shortages, and inflation, but stated that the company has not significantly raised prices, with only a 5% increase in February 2023. Benacin has commented on the company's brand portfolio and market trends. He stated that Interparfums is not heavily dependent on China, which represents about 3% of revenue, and that growth in that market has been flat. He expressed confidence in the company's licensing agreements, noting the renewal of the Mont Blanc license until 2030 and the upcoming launch of a Lacoste license in 2024. Benacin also observed a growing demand for niche, high-end perfumes priced between 200 and 300 euros, a segment he previously doubted. He attributed the unexpected success of the Jimmy Choo "Legend" launch to the product's quality and immediate consumer appeal, noting it exceeded initial sales projections.
Transcript (22 segments)
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Philippe Benacin0:00
Yes, my name is Philippe Benacin and I am the CEO of Interparfums Paris.
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Interviewer0:13
Can you please tell me how you started this company?
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Philippe Benacin0:17
So we started the company in 1983. It happens that we had the markets of the company and we had the chance to meet someone in the fashion industry that wanted to launch his fragrance. So we started working on the fragrance and step by step we found that the business was really interesting and we continued our way over the last 40 years.
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Interviewer0:40
Wow, and that was right after you came out of school?
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Philippe Benacin0:43
Absolutely, right after out of school. It was 1993 and we all graduated in July 1993, so really at the very beginning of our career.
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Interviewer0:54
Another thing I learned, it was his actual first official job, right?
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Philippe Benacin0:58
It was my first official job and I've never been employed by any company before or after. Purely after, it will be the same for after. So yeah, this is all he's done.
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Interviewer1:09
Oh, his left, and you've done a great job. Okay. What fragrance does the owner of the company wear?
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Philippe Benacin1:20
So we developed many, many fragrances over the last 30 years in the selective market. So I wear many different fragrances. I have one Pulse Miss Extreme, when we level up Pizza, I have one Explorer from Blow, and we started... No, I wear 15 minutes from one Castle Yamaha, and I also wear the new Moclar.
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Interviewer1:46
What fragrance launch are you most proud of?
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Philippe Benacin1:57
To have such a success, what we anticipated was a few million euros or dollars of sales, and actually first year we've done the plan of year five in the business plan. Only Channel first one. So really it was these were great launches because the products were great and they found their public immediately. And unexpected because in general, when it is unexpected, it is even bigger.
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Interviewer2:26
With all the success that you had, is there anything you would do differently if you could do it all over again?
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Philippe Benacin2:32
There was one thing we missed. I think it was in 2003 exactly, when we had the opportunity to purchase Versace fragrance. And at that time we were in the middle of the renewal of the Burberry license without recording nickel, and we were acquiring a lava. So it was a very, very busy year and we could not go ahead with Versace. But when I think about this, when we have this question, I always said the mistake was not to have considered Versace at that time. Even though it was too much for us at that time, it was important to do it. And when I see my competitor that I know well, really what they are doing with us and share, I feel they are really very successful.
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Interviewer3:21
What's the best advice you received?
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Philippe Benacin3:25
If I don't know if it's an advice, but very surprisingly, I think that to be a little superficial is a good quality. Because you don't go too much into details, you know how to do things so that they are well but not excellent, not exceptional. In general, it's better to do fast and well than slowly and exceptional.
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Interviewer3:53
Quality that is totally unexpected is superficiality. Because superficiality you would find that it's absolutely not what should be done, but actually when you're in my role, superficiality is essential unless you finish at midnight every day. And you need to concentrate on what has ground, what has no. There are many things that don't change the course of the business and the future of the company, and there are things that will change. And you have really to make the difference between this. It's very important for the future, and this is not so much important.
Thank you. I'm sorry, I love it. Okay. If you had the opportunity to have dinner with any person, who would it be and why?
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Philippe Benacin4:44
To wait... and uh... Philosophy from the 19th century. When I talked to Columbus, we use actually what he called the system of the objects. And the system of the object is very close to perfumery and to luxury because there is a link between the object and the brand. So it was the mythology. The name of the book is Mythology. And the mythology is using different objects that were important in the life of everybody in France in the 80s or the 90s, and the link with the, what's he called, the significant. It's a little complicated but it's very interesting.
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Interviewer5:34
So the process is quite simple. The key point is what does the brand mean and what is the storytelling around the brand. The brand sometimes there is no storytelling really, and in this case the brand has no use to have a fragrance. If you have a strong storytelling and if you feel that this storytelling could be linked to a fragrance, it's important to go ahead. And the second point is the awareness of the brand internationally. Because as you know, we have 90% of our business outside of France. So we are not a French company, we are really a worldwide company. And the fact that this awareness is important in a sufficient number of countries, then you can go ahead. And after that, you have to feel the brand and feel what the sign of the brand is. This is why I told you about significance of the century, because everything has a link. And what the brand should suggest is important to be used to create the fragrance. So I'm going to see the fragrance as a whole: the bottle, the fragrance, the packaging, and the advertising. Because the advertising has to be in line with the meaning of the brand, the DNA of the brand exactly.
Anything that you want to tell us?
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Philippe Benacin6:57
What is important is to like what you do, because when you like what you do, you do it well. So this is the key point. And what is important in your job, I think, is to understand the customer really well and to adjust the way you're going to handle them. Because sometimes the customers want to be quick, sometimes they want to have many explanations, sometimes they want to smell different fragrances before doing. And the intelligence, I think, of the lady at the store level is to feel immediately how she should behave according to the people she has in front of her.
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Interviewer7:34
Thank you. We will follow that. And this is it. Hopefully in the future we'll have more interviews to get to know him better. But today is enough. Thank you so much. My name is... and it was a pleasure.