Middle Eastern Influence on Perfume Creation

Introduction

The global leading fragrance creation processes are taking the inspiration from Middle East. Latest perfumes are taking note of the rich history of the region and the passion people have towards fragrances. Ideally, creation and establishment of fragrance is founded on the understanding of unique specifications and tailoring towards the needs of social values, behavior, and taste. For instance, creations from Italy are reportedly to participate in the tradition perfumery, research and creativity while trying to set up the atelier perfume base. Dubai has become the most fascinating platform with more focus put on the Arabic culture. Among others things, Arabic culture is famous for its distinct fragrances growing to be synonymous with ancient heritage and fine luxury. The craft of perfumery is largely rooted to its history going back to over 5,000 years and morphing into the exotic, tradition, and huge part of the lifestyle. Historically, as pointed by (Ghazal, 2019), precious aromatic gifts like frankincense and myrrh commonly known as ‘Arabian oil’ were sent by kings or princesses to impress the others. In the Middle-East, using a scent particularly the traditional ones is considerably a sacred and hence not the market is not excited that much by modern brands. As such, luxury and big brands by market share in global perspective like Dolce and Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Tom Ford, Polo and even Yves Saint Laurent can be seen in the shelve in Dubai but they can only survive when they are bottle raw oud or either fuse it with jasmine, cinnamon, pepper, and rose among others. Based on such a background, the discussion points at creation of a new brand of the facial brand known as the Pro-Forty perfume, the competitive analysis and the market review. Other notable areas include establishment of the external and internal environment which would eventually support the performance of the product.

Product Description

The Pro-Forty Perfume is the newest fragrance in the market that focuses on women aged below the age of 40 years. The brand is a clean product that takes advantage of natural aromas and fragrances that would be collected in the natural habitat. Pro-forty does not challenge the use of traditional perfumes and scent but rather encourages the pursuit of clean products that are likely to be less harmful or not harmful to the environment and the people who live in it. Pro-forty appreciates the fact that the Dubai market do not concentrate on modern bands but rather the traditional use of the perfumes. While this has a close attachment to the culture and traditional, the product does not interfere with the trends in the market but only establishes a unique taste for the perfume users (Ahmad et al. 2017). The fragrance is supported by Pro-forty Company, which was established in the year 2017. It is one of the fresh companies to have ever joined the industry as in terms of performance and history.

Competitive Analysis

In 2017, the UAE perfume market was reported to been worth $403 million and projections indicating that the value is likely to hit $685 million by the year 2023. Over the recent years, UAE realized relatively strong growth with the completion in the market heightening after several international fragrance business entities were set up in respective bases within the country. Most of these businesses have restructured their approach and strategy within the region to accommodate the culture, norms, and love of traditional oriental notes and the subsequent fragrances while introducing the contemporary fragrances. According to Marathe (2015) and Swaroop (2009), customers in Dubai market are driven by preferences of the natural perfumes bearing the rich traditions as well as warm oriental fragrance. Historically, businesses men and women established caravan routes across the Middle East developing into a major trade hub dealing in incense, spices, and perfumes (Ghazal, 2019; Swaroop, 2019; Travel News, 2019). One can argue that this ancient tradition set precedent to the current heightening and expanding perfume trade with opening of new perfume houses as well as exploration of traditional ingredients of roses, Dihn Al Oud, and Saffron from the region combining with current synthetic materials.

In addition to setting treads on traditional perfumery causing increasing competition on ingredients such exotic flowers, amber, musk and oud among others, Dubai has saw influx of luxury brands into its fragrance market (Ahmad et al. 2017; Prideaux, 2019). As pointed by Ghazal (2019) and Loya et al. (2019), key driving factors of increasing competitiveness in the love of tradition by locals, sacredness of scent in the region, and need for personification of scent through new wave of individuality. Some of the factors that equally make the market competitive include the increased penetration of social media and ecommerce, the growing awareness on personal grooming, and the rise in disposable income (Govers, 2012; Çarkoğlu et al., 2019; Chaudhri, and Jain, 2014). Besides, premium products indicate clear dominance across the market compared to the mass products which are reported to be widely available and inexpensive. It is also worth noting that consumer-tailored products inspired by the region culture and traditions are essentially expanding consumer base across the market and are likely to threaten the most established brands. At the same time, the Abdul Samad Al Qurashi and Arabian Oud are the leading fragrances as a result of their luxury oriental scents. In the year 2018, the Brazil-based cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare brand, O Boticario made its way into the market with most of the products priced at around AED200-250 (Sousa, 2018; Middle East Beauty, 2019). Khaleej Times (2019) report high reception of the products, emphasis of quality, and innovativeness toward consumer-based products as core in growing consumer base. The first store is believed to have been launched in Mirdif City Centre while the second one was staged at Dubai Mall. Moreover, some businesses offer consumer to interact with the products as well as combining with aesthetics and technology to come up with scent/fragrance that narrate a story. This presents the massive segment that lies between the mass and premium market. Within the competitive angle, scents are regarded as a sacred part of the Arabic culture and therefore wearing perfumes indicates the “signature scent”. Other competitive Arabic fragrances include Ajmal which carries with it the traditional Arabic perfumes accompanied with concentrated perfume oils and the signature scent. The Yas Perfumes also provide the classic tastes but with a limited collection (Beautyworld Middle East 2019). On the other hand, the Swiss Arabian carries with it a strong heritage and characterized by unique fragrance mixes while Wojooh is an international fragrance hosted in the most prestigious houses such as Lancome, Burberry, Cartier and Yves St. Competitive body mists as well as sprays include L’Occitane, Crabtree & Evelyn and the Body Shop.

Market Review

Trends

As reported by Swaroop (2019) and Ghazal (2019), use of fragrance and scented-perfume is rooted into Arabic culture with both men and women showing willingness in using perfumes over the years. However, recently, the traditional has seen shifted to enhance respective personalities. Arguably, this is a good indication to the growing UAE and Dubai perfume market because of the expanding consumer base and preferences. In addition, Beautyworld, modelled as the Middle East “largest international trade fair for the beauty industry”, seemingly presents increased opportunities for the growing market. Notably, the Beautyworld Middle East 2019 was anticipated to feature around 1780 exhibitors that came from 66 countries while accommodating more than 44,2450 visitors from 138 nationalities (BeautyWorld, 2019). The trade fair reported to have covered six product groups, finished fragrances and fragrance compounds. Based on the estimates produced by Euromonitor International, the consumers realized in the Gulf alone are said to have spent $2.8 billion in the year 2018 on fragrances (BusinessWire 2018). The estimates show that this is likely to grow to around $3 billion yearly before the year 2022. Biggest names in the international arena are increasingly finding their way into the Dubai fragrance market. The brands include Cosmo International Fragrances, CPL Aromas, Iberchem, Firmenich, Givaudan, Moellhausen, Symrise, Parfex, Sensient Fragrances and MG Gulcicek have established their respective businesses and premises in the region. The increased focus on Dubai fragrance market is based on the fact that Dubai is seen to set the appropriate tone for the future trends across the global markets (Prideaux 2018). The same trend is likely to reappear in the face of an olfactive hub and the growing fine fragrances. According to Travel News (2019) and Thacker (2019), the Middle East is equally seen to negotiate the link between modernity and traditional heritage which is likely to translate into twists across the European signatures and the oriental archetypes modernized ones. Dubai market also submits to the global movement attracted to light, fresh, as well as nature-inspired fragrances that insist on fresher constructions like ozonic molecules, marine, colognes; light floral as well as the aqueous.

Market segments

With the growing young population and high levels of the disposable income, it could be realized that Dubai fragrance market is likely to realize the most impressive growth rates. According to Thacker (2019), although the falling oil prices coupled with geopolitical instability in the region have affected the consumer spending, the fragrance sales continuous to rise with estimate of $8.5 billion by 2021. Findings indicate fragrances make up 70% of the luxury beauty products in the country. Despite increasing adoption of technology and high penetration of social media, e-commerce remain elusive marketing strategy (Tracker, 2019). High levels of the purchasing powers would consistently be cited as the key avenues for the growth and increased sales on beauty products. With the growing social media and the scale of online presence for some of the brands, Dubai market can realized significant markets that are not limited to young population, expatriates, high-end or premium consumers and tourists. First, with almost half of the nationals said to be less than 25 years of age and findings showing majority using social media platforms, it opens up opportunities for selling and engaging with consumers directly via e-commerce and social platforms. The impact of such demographics for personal care and beauty sector are said to be versatile and would be attracted to behaviors and traits (Held, 2018; Inhorn, 2012). As highlighted by Chęś (2016), young consumers are fond of experimenting the cosmetics, styles and even the hair color that would make them look more attractive. This segment is easily lured through advertisements, internet and magazines among other channels. Like most youth generation globally, most of the Arab youths have preference for the best brands and are more aware of the outstanding global trends as well as styles compared to their parental generations. At the same time, the segment constitutes young people who are students and unemployed, which means they can be price sensitive. In addition, the emergence of internet and the digital space has made 71% of the young women to be involved in social networking as they learn more about personal care products and purchasing beauty. Apart from the young population, the second segment constitutes the expatriates (Global Industry Analysts Inc. 2019). Cosmetics and fragrances largely attract the upper as well as the middle class women who are also professionals. The ration of men to women non-nationals is however reported to be extremely low with an average of 320 men in a 100 women (Abbas, 2016; Worldpopulationreview, 2019). Despite the ratio, most of the expatriates stay in Dubai for economic reasons. They would also spend a third of what the nationals spend on beauty as well a personal care products. According to Euromonitor (2019), expatriates are blamed for a steep downturn in sales of premium fragrances in addition to being more attracted to brands served by global companies with some of the major brands including Hugo Boss, Pantene, Lux, Dove, Gillete and Nivea among others. The third segment includes the high-end or the premium consumers who are more willing to pay premium prices for the high quality fragrances (Euromonitor, 2019; Business Wire, 2018). This segment defines the high-spending markets with studies indicating that 10% of the consumers in UAE are likely to spend $17,000 on fragrances and cosmetics in a year. Furthermore, largely, the market segmentation in the region is determined by Islamic religion beliefs, Arabic culture and traditions, demographic segmentation, and financial income, which separate the male, women, and youth consumer base. Based on further studies conducted by Euromonitor International, the expenditure on the premium cosmetics and fragrances is likely to rise at a remarkable rate. This is supported by the fact that when the young generation enters the job market, they are likely to purchasing the premium cosmetics (Klara, 2017). This comes in the light of increased awareness which makes the market to be value driven. The last segment constitutes the tourists whose contribution cannot be ignored in the fragrance market. Over the past decade, Dubai has grown into a tourist’s dream destination receiving approximately 16million in 2018 and over $30 billion spent by overnight travelers (Fahy, 2019; Gulfnews, 2019). The tourist segment is informed by both domestic and international tourists who buy the fragrances to take home either as gifts or for self-consumption. A study conducted by Global Industry Analysts (2019) show most of the tourists are essentially attracted to the oud-based as well as the French-style fragrances associated with the musk and flower scents which make the gift more authentic. In Dubai, the Duty Free sales attracted $289 million in the year 2013 with more contributions realized from the tourists.

Target market

The Dubai fragrance market enjoys a significant sales made in the young population segment, tourist segment, the expatriate segment, and the premium segment. The common characteristic across the four segments is that women constitute the likely target when it comes to general beauty, makeups, skincare and even the fragrances based on a survey conducted by Euromonitor International (2018). However, the Western held view of the Islamic culture of being one-sided leaning towards men dominance can sometimes be misleading and misappropriation when trying to understand the female beauty as well as personal care in the region particularly by international entities (Listyani et al., 2018; Ali et al., 2016; Musa, 2014). The Arab women are believed to have traditionally made use of more beauty and cosmetic products when compared to the Western cultures. Notably, most of the Arab women would put on the abayas which attracts the modest look. In most of the ceremonial traditions, the Arab upper class women are essentially expected to display the expensive clothes, perfect grooming and the golden jewelry that need to be accompanied by a prefect makeup and most expensive perfumes. For most of the young women, makeup is regarded as a significant part of the entire outfit. The Arab women are known for being beauty conscious and would be categorized as the most demanding customers (Sadaqat, 2019; Haidraini, 2019). The most demanding scenario is when the same segment of women lives in big cities. It is also a common experience that women would like to spend much of their time with other peers, which means that most of them would be affected by collective decision. This is in line with the collective Arabic culture. However, most women would still hold on to religious views in the face of consumerism. The segment is absolutely perfect for Pro-forty brand which eyes women under the age of 40 years and who would to consume fragrances in a different scale.

External Environment

PESTEL analysis

PESTEL Analysis invests in exploring the political, economic, social-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors that can affect the business. The following sections touch on every factor and how it can influence the Dubai fragrance market.

Political factors

Political risks can cause sudden changes that appear across the political regimes, which may be attracted to particular decisions. Palmer (2009), Culpepper (2010), and Palmer (2009) held that businesses grounds largely their success whether measure in terms of market share or financial revenue on the political environment its operates on. For instance, unstable political environment such as Hong Kong and Syria has significantly affected business establishment and subsequent growth by making the business environment toxic. Some of the factors that the business has to observe are not limited to the level of political stability, the integrity of the politicians, laws, regulations and policies of a country, taxation and the impact of the military forces (Roberts, 2011; Rasmussen, 2015; Henry, and Springborg, 2010). While focusing on Dubai, political landscape touches on the entire UAE. The shape of politics begins with the local governments responsible for linking the key federal institutions (Azim 2013). The Emiratis are believed to differ in terms of the size and complication while observing the degree of development and the population of the given region but one key shared aspect is emphasis of economic development through setting up structures and policies geared conducive business environment (Moussavi, and Aghaei, 2013; Nyarko, 2010). It has established bilateral relation with major economic states such as USA, Britain, China, South Korea, and India helping enhance the countries logistics and trade. Nevertheless, the fragrance market in Dubai can still be affected by the government and the kind of politics that prevail in the region. Every Emirate is ideally independent from the UAE government, which is something that has attracted rivalry among the ruling families and the emirates themselves. However, the conflicts are reasoned along the oil reserves or the ownership of land. Despite the conflicts, UAE still maintains healthy trade relations thereby making Dubai an attractive economic hub.

Economic factors

The economic standing of every given country or region determines the rate of trade and the level of revenues that can be attained. Observable economic factors under observation include the economic system put in place, the rate of the GDP growth, the interest rates, the financial markets, rates of employment and the exchange that is affected by the government. Dubai, and the larger UAE, has an exceptional GDP of $102.67 billion in 2018 and continue to grow by 2.1% in the first half of 2019 (Gulf News, 2019; Gulf Business, 2019). However, the region still experiences low employment rates. The country still experiences highest amounts of the FDIs, which seem to challenge the local investments. Over the past decade, the entire UAE has shown some significant progress in terms of the economic development and social interaction (Gilani and Gilani, 2008). First, UAE has created the most business enabling environment through Dubai, which has attracted FDI (Gulf News, 2019). It has also tapped into security and political measures embraced by modern legislations that are in line with economic advancement. Secondly, as pointed by Shayah (2015) and Herb (2009), although initially it depended primarily on oil and gas exploration and sale as backbone to its economic, UAE has increasingly diversified its economy to include such sectors as manufacturing, tourism, commerce, service industry (finance, insurance, and hospitality), transportation, and real estate collective characterized by open economy with annual trade surplus and high per capita income. According to Al-monitor (2019) and Arabian Business (2019), such diversification has attracted business entities from other industries and market to the country. This can be convincing for the perfume and fragrance market in Dubai. With oil and gas exports, UAE became the second richest country in the Islamic world thereby indicating all signs of increased expenditures on items and commodities such as perfumes and fragrances.

Socio-Cultural factors

Within Dubai and the larger UAE, significant socio-cultural factors under review are not limited to the demographics of the entire population, the class distribution, educational background, religion, and beliefs, but incorporate traditions, values, behavior, and norms. As illustrated by Walsh (2018) and Antonopoulou et al. (2010), Dubai lifestyle and day-to-day living is deeply rooted to the Arabic culture and Quran teachings. Religion cannot be avoided by any measure or standard and almost determines the course of consumption and trends (El Omari 2008). For instance, specific fragrances are applied in some of the ceremonies by the native women. Some of the perfumes are sensitively tagged with deep meaning and would be attached to significant festivals and cultural occasions. Apart from the strict culture, Arabs are more open to other cultures and are general known for the almost relaxed and informal behavior and good manners. Moreover, most of the fragrances sold in Dubai have traditional and cultural meaning to the population shaping the perspective consumers to not whether the fragrances are modern or traditional (Travel News, 2019; Jung, 2010). However, dynamics in Dubai are changing this narrative and introducing almost fresh habits. First, globalization has attracted different cultures across the Emirates thereby leading to mixed cultures. This means that there is a high likelihood that fresh tastes of the fragrances are hitting the market with global companies taking advantage of it. In this light, business practices in Dubai are increasingly inclined towards the Western approach in the face of the modernized infrastructure and improved living standards. In the face of the mixed cultures, the approach is possible due to increased tourist activities, increased population of the expatriates and business people.

Technological factors

In the contemporary society, the technological variables are increasingly prominent and deeply rooted to daily activities. According to Statista (2019), Dubai is one countries with highest internet and social media penetration globally with 76% of the population connected to the internet in 2018 and thought to reach 80% by the end of 2019. Key to this growth in internet connectivity is government investment in infrastructure and shift to modernization of business and government operations through digitalization process (Smart Dubai, adoption of Digital innovation, and e—procurement) (Al-Ansari et al., 2013; DGO, 2019). It can be noted that Dubai and the larger UAE have noticed the significant growth of the young population, which is at the same time tech-savvy (Peter and Anandkumar 2011). This trend has given room to companies to leverage technology for the benefit of efficient production and even the scale of marketing. The country is also capable enough to purchase new equipment or even fund technological development that would enhance the industrial growth. The most notable technologies that are influencing the growth of the perfume market include the mobile and internet technologies. Some of the manufacturing firms are slowly transforming the traditional Arabian methods to the modern techniques of production process and marketing (e-commerce and social media platforms) (Gilani and Gilani 2008). The same companies are taking advantage of the online platforms in making connecting with consumer to create individualized products tailored by personal needs. Dubai, seen as a true reflection of the global market, has been attracted to the global technological trends that have seen increased use of the social media platforms. Such a trend is likely to increase the scale of perfume consumption and also suppress the local or traditional brands.

Environmental factors

Environmental factors are critical in UAE the same way they are in different countries across the world. First, Dubai and the larger UAE experience a hot and dry climate that has led to significant economic activity and social lifestyle. Due to such a climate, production is low and agriculture sector is significantly limited. Notably, the perfume industry depends on the flowers and plants as ingredients, which in turn significantly affected by climatic. Therefore, UAE has taken significant measures that touch on every industry including the perfume industry. The country is in pursuit of the Green Ecological Initiative encompassing significant programs, legislations and projects that aid development of standards directed at energy consumption both in the public and private sector (Azim, 2013). Secondly, there is an increased investment across the green economy that supports reduction of carbon emissions, effective planning of the green cities and supporting the production process that is more sustainable. Dubai perfume market is also attracted to organic brands, which seems to be a trend that is directly tapping into natural and clean brands.

Legal factors

The commercial laws, Sharia law, and the labour laws regulate Dubai and the larger UAE. Both the commercial and labour laws have enabled UAE to enter into a series of trade agreements regulated by law with domestic and international parties and other investors. One of the significant agreements is that with the World Trade Organization (WHO) that has been in the forefront in liberalizing the international trade. The agreement avails the basic framework that would give room for negotiation of trade, dispute resolution, and providing the most enabling but legal business environment (Willis et al., 2010). Other agreements are Doha Round Agreement and GCC agreement, which also defines the trade negotiations (Toledo, 2011). The legal terms under the Doha Round Agreement have attracted significant reforms as far as the international trading system is put into consideration. Importantly, Dubai is governed in accordance to the teachings established by holy Quran outlining lifestyle, dressing code, and behaviour in public space, hence, influencing significantly the beauty industry. Such legal agreements are taking the perfume market in UAE beyond the imaginable borders while attracting global dynamics that may affect the performance of the industry.

Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s Five Forces is regarded as model that takes note of the five competitive forces attributed to shaping the industry while identifying the strengths and weaknesses. Unlike PESTEL Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces narrows down to the industry outlining fundamental elements and the key players. Michael E. Porter, while focusing on the industrial structure, established the model. The five forces considered by Porter include competitive rivalry, threat of new entrants, the bargaining powers of the buyers, bargaining powers of the suppliers, and the threat of substitutes. The sections below give explicit details of each force.

Bargaining Powers of Buyers

Buyers are the key contributors to the level of competition across an industry. In a competitive business environment, most of the customers have a high tendency of gaining power against the involved company. This happens especially when the products under consideration is undifferentiated. As illustrated by Wilhelmsson (2008) and Nair et al. (2011), price-sensitive consumers have a high tendency of switching from one product to another buying brands with lowest price range. However, in beauty and perfumery industry, findings indicate new consumers tend to sample out the products but consumer loyalty to the brand is considerably high (Carey et al., 2016; Giri, and Pavan Kumar, 2015). These means customer-switching costs across the perfume industry are essentially low and consumers are likely to stick to one brand (Timothy 2014). Implication of this is that a brand is likely to realize a drop in the sales in case of health related concerns of the products. At the same time, the industry is flooded by both international and local perfume brands thereby serving the market with a wide range of alternatives. With increased rate of the mixed cultures in Dubai, there is a likelihood of increased consumer purchasing powers. This gives pro-forty an opportunity to secure a significant market share.

Bargaining Powers of Suppliers

According to Porter (2008), suppliers have the power of influencing the competitiveness felt across the perfume industry as far as provision of materials and other supplies are put into the industry. In a scenario where demand for raw materials is high, the suppliers tend deal with the business entity with better terms of doing business include pay and incentives (Dälken, 2014). As such, the supplier determines which business to supply to and when as well as setting conditions of operation resulting in a tilted spectrum against business organizations (Dälken, 2014; Safari et al., 2016). In the perfume industry defined by using both natural and aesthetic raw materials, two segments of suppliers emerge. The first type is common type of suppliers known for feeding the companies with regular ingredients including the chemicals. These suppliers are linked to the modern brands, which ignore the taste of consumers in the market. This group has the highest number of suppliers thereby exhibit low bargaining power in the industry (Chatterjee 2015). Companies have a pool of alternatives thereby limiting the choices exposed to the suppliers. The second type is the special type of suppliers that focus on quality, vertical integration, and purity of ingredients that need to be supplied to the companies. This special type has few players in the industry thereby making them exhibit high bargaining powers in the industry. Suppliers have a tendency of earning more power especially when they have a non-substitute privilege.

Threat of new entrants

Beauty and perfumery industry is a one of best performing in terms of the profit and expansion opportunities as well as low likelihood to be affected by financial crisis and depressions. Similarly, although some consumers especially in the Middle East tend to uphold traditional scent, the industry is largely a consumer-driven with preference and taste changing with personalisation of products. According to Elias et al. (2017), although consumer awareness towards aesthetic and shin care as well as environment impacts of chemicals and packaging/bottling of the products, the industry remain less regulated such that a business entity can create and distribute a product with relative easy. As such, the industry tends to be attracting to new businesses or organizations seeking to diversify its products (Stokinger, and Ozuem, 2018). Essentially, an industry that has low barriers of entry is likely to encounter increased levels of competition. However, the perfume and fragrance industry in Dubai is almost open to the local players and the global brands that are increasingly making their way in the market. With Dubai positioning itself as a global market, more brands that are global are expected to flock the industry or the market with time. This may not be a good indication to the existing companies which are trying to get hold of the little market shares. Again, the costs involved in establishing an atelier are relatively low and this has attracted more players in the industry (Timothy 2014). Most of the ingredients can be acquired locally, which is an advantage to most of the players in the industry. While some of the global brands may take advantage of the economies of scale, this may have less impact on the Dubai fragrance market.

Threat of substitute product

Most of the substitutes would put a ceiling on the ultimate price firms would charge their customers without losing sales. As inferred by Porter and Heppelmann (2014), the interconnection of products in a given market such that consumer can shift from aesthetic produced products to traditional naturally-produced one and vice versa depending on the price significantly alters the market structure. The threat is likely to be high especially where brand experiences low switching costs. The same case happens in a price-sensitive market in which the substitute product is perceived to be cheaper when compared to the industry product. It is also the same case when the quality of the substitute product is seen to be the same as that of the superior brand. However, in the Dubai perfume industry, there are rare substitutes for the fragrances, creams, and perfumes (Laeequddin and Waheed 2016). The major threat comes from the product ingredients whether aesthetic chemically or natural produced fragrance. This also provides a safe landing ground for Pro-forty, which is a unique natural perfume that is yet to land in the market.

Company Rivalry

Studies indicate that rivalry in an industry is the most powerful force driving market performance and consumer purchasing behaviour (David et al., 2013; Bonanno, and Lopez, 2009; Steiner, 2008). Notably, business rivalry can be a result of positive competition in the market or pure designed to drive competitors out of market. If the rivalry is intense then the company ccan result in drop in profit and fall in consumer base. However, it should be noted there are several factors affecting the perfume industry. The common ones include product differentiation, competitor factor and the industry growth rate. In case of limited growth, most of the companies in the industry would have to scramble for the prevailing market shares. In the perfume industry in Dubai, the competing firms are seen to pose a big danger because most of them go closer with one another and bear similarities in terms of product development and market coverage. Some of the notable players include L’Oreal, Coty, LVMH, Interparfums and Elizabeth Arden.

Press coverage

The press release by The Expresswire, through the Global Perfume & Fragrances Market, placed forth the Global Industry Analysis that reflected on the market size for perfume and fragrances, trends, business outlook and growth. In a press release, the report noted that the perfume and fragrance market continues to realize increased demand with projections indicating that the revenues would hit $64.6 billion before the year 2023. The market has equally realized significant innovations supported by research and development. Improvements in terms of the disposable income and the evolution of the buying pattern attracted a surge in terms of the sales noted from perfumes and fragrances. Besides, globalization and urbanization have emerged as key elements influencing the consumer buying behaviour affecting product consumption (Uppal and Fuchs, 2011). The urban life in Dubai market has essentially encouraged most of the consumers to segregate the non-priority and priority goods. The affluent middle class the emerging household disposable income are believed to have attracted increased sales in the economy as far as fragrance and perfume products are put into consideration. Again, the rise of consumer oriented societies accompanied with the growth of consumerism as well as consumerist attitudes in Dubai are enhanced by the dynamics noticed in the perfume industry. The press release further noted that the spread of consumerism in Dubai and the larger UAE must have been driven by both local and global factors characterized by the spread of internet and television, as well as marketing strategies (Mady et al., 2011; Kazim, 2018). The same trend seemingly covered the scale of urbanization, emulation of western culture and the proliferation of the shopping centres. Most of the niche fragrances are seen to continue dominating and gaining attention mostly from millennial population (Beraja 2016). Notably, there is evident upsurge in terms of demand for the niche aroma and scents. Nevertheless, personalization is increasingly fuelling sales across young consumers who also demand personalized shopping experience. In reporting, Dubai saw a record-breaking perfume bottle said to have covered 3500 diamonds and cost more than $1 million. The perfume bottle is known as Shumukh. The new unisex fragrance is believed to have been produced by Spirit of Dubai Perfumes.

Current Trends

Dubai perfume market has noted significant change trends over the past decades. First, it could be established that men and women are becoming more willing to make use of the perfume while boosting personality. Fundamentally, traditional ingredients and scent resonating with Arabic culture and lifestyle has been crucial drive in the industry despite the rise of new scent driven by globalization and technology. Essentially, personality representation would be regarded as part of the crucial factors that foster the growth of the UAE perfume market. The international trade fair for perfumery and cosmetics known as Beautyworld presents a range of tremendous opportunities for market growth. Another trend is that UAE has progressively realized strong growth in terms of the international perfume houses, which are being set up in the bases of the country (Laeequddin and Waheed 2016). This has seen increased introduction of the contemporary fragrances while putting some focus on the traditional oriental notes across the fragrances. Most of the consumers staying in the region set their preference on natural perfumes with rich as well as warm oriental fragrance. This would preferably be used in natural forms. Notably, some of the ingredients like exotic flowers, amber, musk, and oud are becoming popular across the region. Additional factors that encourage growth of UAE perfume market constitute the growth of social media and e-commerce, growing awareness regarding personal grooming and the rise in terms of the disposable incomes across the population.

Internal Environment

Brand History

Pro-forty Fragrance is a brand owned by Pro-forty Beauty Ltd that is under the development stage. Established Michael Bikeperch in October 2019, the company is one of the youngest brands in the industry. It strives to discover the dynamics and trends that would influence the growth of the brand in either a positive or a negative way. Bikeperch, before establishing the company, discovered that he could not find the appropriate perfume that would soothe his daughter’s allergies. At the beginning of the year, Bikeperch complained about the chemical-laden scents, which would send the kid into sneezes and sniffles. However, this is a common scenario evident by the emergence of fragrance as one of the leading causes of the skin inflammation affecting more than 2 million people in America alone. Just 10 months after the incident, Bikeperch was inspired to launch the Pro-forty brand, which is strongly devoted towards the vegan fragrances that are free of the harsh chemicals. The line of production for Pro-forty is based on the organic sugar cane and natural oils with scents coming in with seductive aromas accompanied with notes of jasmine, vanilla, and patchouli. The zesty citrus scents are directly tapped from grapefruit as well as neroli. The Pro-forty is among the many start-ups that aid the wellness of a generation with call for fewer chemicals and more natural and organic products. Fragrance is essentially among the significant things that most consumers would not pay attention to but around 60% of the perfume is absorbed into the body. Therefore, Pro-forty enters segment of the Detox market that handles more than 70 perfumes categorized as natural and clean products. With the current 20 employees, Pro-forty is set to believe that the consumers would soon appreciate its label and therefore secure a significant market share in the Dubai perfume market.

Brand mission statement

The responsibility of fostering a healthy skin through harmless clean and natural perfume ingredients drives the Pro-Forty beauty. This denotes the importance of fragrance in controlling the skin conditions while pursuing chemical-free products. The mission is accompanied by efforts to reduce harmful products in the market while trying to reverse the already tainted image or reputation of perfumes in the market.

Brand analysis

Goals

The main goal of Pro-forty is to serve women aged below 40 years with the organic ingredients and floral scents that are more feminine and carries with it the glamour of being chemical free. Based on the hopes held high by Bikeperch, the Pro-forty brand puts more focus on the locally extracted ingredients while maintaining the desirable taste throughout the customer experience. While the brand sells at $75 per bottle, it prides itself on the value towards scent, traditional, and healthy living. This implies that one get value of his/her money through the benefits gained. Bikeperch believes that young people should start making right decisions from the time they start making use of the perfumes. The right decision needs to be aligned to the healthy selection of the brands with organic brands being floated as the most prioritized items for the beauty and healthy young people.

Target markets for Pro-forty

Pro-forty fragrance and the entire Pro-forty brands largely target young women aged below 40 years. The choice of this segment can be aligned to some key factors the company had to consider while defining the market. First, the company looked into the future and the awaiting demand. Key questions defining the strategy include the future of the perfume market positioned. First, there is an increased attention given to natural and clean perfumes. Women aged below 40 years are more concerned about beauty and have increased awareness towards harmful artificial perfumes that can affect their skin and health. Based on this, most of them are turning towards the natural and clean option. This missing gap and need is offered by Pro-forty and other brands in the organic market. More women in Dubai are also sensitive towards the source of the ingredients. With religion being one of the key factors while determining the scale of demand, women in Dubai are fond of the local collection that taps into local ingredients. The second factor that defines the future of the organic products or natural and clean products include technological landscape. More and more people are increasingly attracted to mobile and internet technologies. Over 90% of the women aged 40 years and below and at least, 71% of the total number of women can access internet and at least belong to one social media platform. With such numbers found online, Pro-forty is eyeing to establish online presence that would enable most of consumers to make orders and pick their perfumes from defined pick-up points within Dubai. Finally, Dubai is experiencing high rates of immigration and the taste for perfumes is going beyond the region. With mixed cultures of aggressive young women, the local population is likely to shift tastes beyond the traditional ones but within the natural and clean product framework. This informs Pro-forty of a likelihood of serving a market beyond the local women.

Customer analysis and Personas

While doing a consumer analysis, the discussion focused on the position of the perfume consumer in the Dubai market compared to the position of the same consumer in the global market. The report noted that the global market for the perfumes and fragrances is likely to hit $56.3 billion before the year 2024. The growth depends on the sacrosanct role of the perfumes in terms of the personal toilette of women and men. The increased consumption is because of the growing awareness as well as the therapeutic impact of a range of scents that carry with them the psychological and emotional wellbeing. The same consumer is likely to benefit from the significant effervescent product after innovation of the aromas, exotic new scents as well as the fragrances (Chęś 2016). The growth of popularity in terms of the artisan and niche brands has forced most of the companies to trade for consumers who are forced to eye for mass fragrances to even move to the prestige brands. The market has also realized the growth of the natural and organic perfumes as well as fragrances given the aromatherapy effects. Based on this, consumers have enjoyed the innovative launch of the fresh perfumes aligned to the skin as well as mood enhancers. The emergence of the metrosexual male accompanied with high propensity that increases expenditure on personality and appearance enhancing products.

The industry has equally realized significant changes such as the rise in popularity across the bespoke perfumery and the custom tailored fragrance. This has been accompanied by innovations focused on delivering of scent in almost new formats that are not limited to the portable wipes, sticks, roll-on oils, and kabuki brushes. Future consumers would be more concerned about perfume longevity, which is an area that calls for the attention of research and development. A number of factors inform the position of consumer in the perfume market across Dubai as well. First, the rise in terms of the living standards changes the consumption taste (Peter and Anandkumar 2011). The UAE government has invested a lot in boosting the living standards of people in Dubai. Such a focus would equally boost consumption of perfumes, which is increasingly becoming a basic need among women. The second factor revolves around the increased young affluent population, which increases the affordable scale. Other factors include increased access to the international brands, increased expenditure on the aspirational products and changes in terms of the lifestyle.

Analysis of the organization

SWOT Analysis

The Pro-forty Company is such a young company that is making its way in the market with the Pro-forty fragrance. While it has a significant room for growth, the report is drawn towards the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats it is likely to face.

Strengths

Pro-forty enjoys factors working as its strengths. First, being founded on solid grounds, Pro-forty has a knowledgeable and a well-experience founder. The founder, Michael Bikeperch, has shared his experience regarding the weakness of the artificial perfumes and personal stories regarding fragrance. All these have been possible due to his knowledge regarding the industry and dynamics in the market (Chęś 2016). The company has also a unique selling point that can help the brand sell in the market. It could be noted in the brand mission statement and the goals attached to brand that Pro-forty improves skincare and is more concerned with what enters the market. With the new version of quality in the market, Pro-forty is eyeing for bigger market shares while trying to convince the economies regarding the value of the new brand. In addition, the brand takes advantage of the natural ingredients, which can be acquired locally. This helps in winning the local trust and standing out in the global market with unique perfume value. Finally, the business has access to experts in Dubai through the professional links associated to Michael Bikeperch.

Weaknesses

Pro-forty is not an established brand. With only a few months in the industry, the company is not yet aligned to the market dynamics that affect the performance of the perfume industry. This can limit its chances of growth. Secondly, the company is relatively small with only 20 employees. This means that it can only access small resources compared to the multinational companies that enjoy economies of scale. The idea of accessing a limited range of the resources denies Pro-forty an opportunity of competing favorably in the market. Lastly, the brand does not abide by the market orientation; the scents develop and even the push in the market. This makes it to fall off the trend.

Opportunity

The company has an opportunity of exploring online platforms to increase its online presence and reach out to a wider market. With the growing use of Facebook, twitter and Instagram, Pro-forty has an opportunity of tapping into the online segment. As noted before, around 90% of the young women less than 40 years and 71% of all women in Dubai have access to internet and social media platforms. Secondly, Pro-forty is such a young brand that has the entire future in front of it. This means that it can explore on avenues that can make it grow by investing in product differentiation, quality products and enhancing customer experience among other aspects (Filby 2007). Lastly, consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the organic ingredients and the need to pursue natural and clean products, which are almost harmless. Pro-forty has an opportunity of increasing awareness through campaigns or civic education. This will enhance publicity of the brand and attract more consumers to it with tome.

Threats

Despite enjoying some of the privileges, Pro-forty would still encounter threats in the industry. The first threat is inclined towards the low switching costs, which may encourage most of the consumers to try new perfumes. With the incoming of the international brands, this may threaten the position of Pro-forty. On the other hand, competition in the market is another source of threat. Dubai market, being a global market, is flooded by both local and international brands, which compete for the limited market shares. This is likely to ruin chances of surviving for Pro-forty. Finally, chances of economic downturn are likely to reducing expenditure levels thereby ruining the demand for luxurious products and perfumes as well as fragrances.

Competence and Resources

The pro-forty brand is a less established and unique brand. Little can be discussed about competence and resources. However, details have it that Pro-forty has 20 employees. At the top of the company is Michael Bikeperch who is competent in matters to do with fragrance and perfumes both in the Dubai and the entire global market. His knowledge has been the true definition of the brand. The workforce constitutes a collection of skills aligned to delivery of quality in the market. However, the business has plans to expand its operation and, based on the benefits of outsourcing for a wide range of skills on both the professionalism and marketing perspective, outsource the employees, distribution and marketing teams. The company has set up an office and the equipment that automates the production of perfumes. This means that it has an opportunity of facilitating mass production in the near future (Peter and Anandkumar 2011). Michael Bikeperch also hinted at establishing the company’s website that would help it market most of the products to the online segment that is growing with time. This is likely to give the company the competitive edge of enjoying almost same privileges that are enjoyed by some of the established brands.

Traditional and social media platforms

In the course of adopting marketing platforms, Pro-forty has to weigh the influence traditional and digital methods. Most of the social networks are believed to support the colour-cosmetics category. This means that it can be advantageous for the business to harness social media for the purposes of marketing fragrances. Despite the assertion, most of the fragrance brands are not just focusing on the growth of mobile and internet technologies, but they are also keeping an eye on the visuals as well as content that revolves around the scent and bottle stories. The emergence of Tribe Dynamics has equally made it hard to make social media as the most reliable visual medium. Therefore, a number of platforms have been forwarded. First, Pro-forty should create the theatre of scent through the Perfume bar that would bridge sensory and emotional experiences. Such a move is more traditional and taps into the immersive pop-up experiences that are more significant in connecting with the perfume consumers. Sometimes, cocktail bars are more convenient in attracting the bespoke cocktail menu known for inspiring some of the best-selling scents provided by the market (Chęś 2016). Other considerations have narrowed down to the digital discoveries that are converting the consumer into a celebrity. This can be aligned to the rise of social media platforms that include Instagram, Facebook and twitter among others. There is also a growing trend of a class of consumers that portray greater affinity for the beauty bloggers who are increasingly testing a well as sharing the latest fashions, scents and looks. In addition, there is growing trend of marketing to the emerging Generation Me. This is aligned to the features of the traditional festive box that embrace personalization thereby reassuring consumers of quality products.

Branding

Building a brand for perfume products is regarded as a formidable task that calls for collection of the professional skills. According to studies, every year, such companies as Alpha Aromatics launch several fresh scents (Cosmetics Business, 2019; BusinessofFashion, 2019). For Pro-forty brand, the main areas of focus include brand positioning, brand awareness and brand personality. First, brand positioning displays the details of the product. This would not be limited to the product features, the quality, price, and class, use of the product, the brand symbols, and comparison with the rivals. Based on the features of Pro-forty brand, the company can position itself as healthy, natural, and addictive free (Antonopoulou et al. 2010). The product is also not cheap thereby implying that it carries with it the highest level of quality. Due to the features, the company is aware of the conscious consumer who would want to lead a healthy lifestyle. While prestigious positioning is seen to be profitable for the established brands, it may not work for such young brands like Pro-forty. The second scope of branding that Pro-forty can pursue include brand awareness, which constitutes brand acquaintance that carries with the potential of being memorized or being remembered. Pro-forty has to take the most effective place at the centre of the consumer’s mind while trying to compare with what is being offered by the competitor. The significant scope that needs to be observed by the company is brand association, which is a subsection of the larger framework of brand awareness. Brand association would help consumers to take note of the good quality of the brand while trying to rate its relevance and importance as against the consumer needs, desires or expectations. Apart from brand awareness and brand positioning, Pro-forty has to pay attention to brand personality. The latter is necessary for Michael Bikeperch in developing the unique brand image for Pro-forty fragrance. Such a move would attract the brand promise or beliefs that are aligned to provision of quality. While scaling the branding process, Pro-forty has to also consider awareness of the features and the brand proposition, which are necessary in enhancing the relationship between the customers and the brands.

Competitive Analysis

As mentioned before, the perfume industry in Dubai, UAE, and the larger Middle East is increasingly becoming competitive. This is because the region is increasingly positioning itself as a global market that has seen international brands streaming in the region. Literature has it that the most leading fragrance creation houses are said to be taking the inspiration from the ever-growing Middle East as far as latest perfumes are put into consideration. The region is believed to have had a rich history as well as a great passion for the fine fragrances. Based on this, most of the international brands have seen a great potential and a brighter future in Dubai (Beautyworld Middle East. 2019). The Creasens, which comes from Italy, has joined the perfumery tradition, creativity and research. The move has prompted it to establish the Creasens Atelier Parfums in UAE as one way of moving closer to the potential customers. Since the year 2013, Creasens has increasingly grown into a global innovation hub as well as a creative centre. Eurofragance equally made its way in Dubai Science Park in the year 2015. The company went ahead investing $2.7 million in creating the perfume samples aligned to the regional preferences. More competition has been influenced by the oncoming of the Beautyworld Middle East, which is regarded as the largest international trade fair that focuses on the beauty products, fragrances, hair, and wellbeing. The event that happed in 2018 is said to have attracted approximately 1600 exhibitors that emanate from the 60 countries (Beautyworld Middle East. 2019). The fragrance compounds as well as the finished fragrance are part of the competitive six product groups, which also appears in the top 18 fragrance creation houses around the globe. The houses include Robertet, Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances, Firmenich, Cosmo International Fragrances and Iberchem among others. Apart from the houses, there are dominant players in the industry that may ruin the chances of surviving for the Pro-forty brand. Among the notable players is Ajmal Perfumes, which is a family owned business. It operates around $10 million with a factory space of 150000 square feet and makes over 50000 bottles of both the French and the Arabic fragrances in the Dubai market. The CEO of Ajmal further hinted at the trend in which most of the local manufacturers carry with them the international ambitions as one way of complying with the international standards linked to the ingredients as well as quality control. There is also immense foreign completion. One of such foreign companies that are tapping into fortunes noted across the Dubai market is L’Oreal Middle East. The French based giant is said to account for approximately 9.2%. This has challenged the position of Designer Shaik, Ajmal and Rasasi. Generally, the market is competitive with high profile scope dominated by multinationals. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage to the local players. It is an advantage because local players are given room to reach international or other global markets. It is again a disadvantage because it strains local players in terms of investing in high end products, which may not sell in a price sensitive market.

Retail environment

Dubai is characterized by local and international brands that have scaled the competitive landscape. Most of the producers are retailers at the same time and this dismisses the role of intermediaries. The new developments have seen expansion of the malls such as the Dubai Mall positioned, as a hub for the beauty sales. The Western department stores such as House of Fraser, Galeries Lafayette, and Harvey Nichols have enhanced their presence via local partners thereby challenging the position of traditional leaders (Govers 2011). Most of the retailers in the perfume market have adopted the self-service model that is increasingly becoming popular among the young consumers. The trend has supported the entire concept of retail-tainment while putting more focus on the scale of services. The departmental stores are increasingly introducing fresh brands that attract the retail price. Most of retailers that are not producers are essentially forced to rebrand, change names and focus on local positioning while insisting on the private label products that are largely tailored towards local tastes. One of the retailers that pursued this path includes the Chalhoub-owned Faces, which rebranded to Wojooh. The brand, despite being a retailer, was compelled in picking the distribution partners who would still prioritize their own brands. Apart from the experience of Wojooh, the industry has continued to experience a double-digit growth. This indicates the aggressive retail expansion with the retail environment moving fast and enhanced by the government initiatives (Ismail 2018). Perhaps, the market has realized changing times. Some few years ago, local players are said to have dominated across the market and even transformed the concepts. However, the trend is shifting towards the luxurious environment characterized by a significant range of the unique brands bearing the luscious design and high levels of service. In addition, the retail environment is more aligned to the dynamic forces, innovation and increasingly renovating. For instance, Sephora Dubai Mall has a very limited space characterized by a wide range of experiences which go beyond brand display, loyalty programs, merchandising reminiscent and the sampling bars.

In the face of these changes, there has been a persistent likelihood of polarization among the retailers with some of them making attempts of squeezing out the traditional ones. This means that almost every traditional player in the industry is compelled to change or reposition in the market. One of the players that have been met with such a brute force is Paris gallery known for having luxurious accessories and beauty as well as showrooms (Gilani and Gilani 2008). While some of the retailers seem to have complained upon the arrival of the new global entrants as a result of the lost market share, some of them have cited the essence of the top environments and the influence of the luxury brand expression. From this competitive environment, one would note the reduced retail space which is increasingly becoming more congested as a result of the mega mall openings. Therefore, Pro-forty awaits a competitive perfume market that has seen players struggling to stay at the top. Concerns are directed to whether the company would plan to change its strategy from time to time for the purposes of addressing the dynamics in the market.

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