Clear the Air

Jo Malone, a British perfumer and skincare products purveyor, is openings her first U.S. flagship store today, in New York. The store, in the historic Flatiron Building on Broadway between 22nd and 23rd streets, will encourage shopper interaction with what it calls “state-of-the-art fragrance-sampling technology.” Customers will be able to test the skincare products and experiment with combined fragrances. A Scent Booth allows the sampling of as many as 11 scents, alone or in any combination of two (a total of 121 possible scent impressions) within an environment guaranteed to be pure enough to clear the air completely between each trial. A 42-in. plasma touchscreen provides the scent menu. The chosen fragrance is released, along with pure air, through a special nozzle, while an accompanying themed video plays on the screen.

The Jo Malone worldwide flagship store, opened last month, is on Sloane Street in London, just off trendy Sloane Square. The company is owned by The EstŽe Lauder Companies, Inc. (New York). The Jo Malone collection includes some 200 skincare and fragrance products, including fragrances for the home. The line is carried by such North American retailers as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Holt Renfrew.

Trained as a “facialist,” Jo Malone developed a technique for facial massage using no electronics or machines. She started her line of skincare products in 1983, at first selling them to only the 20 or so clients she was treating. The client list grew to 2000 in just a few years. Her company was purchased by EstŽe Lauder in October 1999.