How to enter the perfume industry and become a perfumer, perfume connoisseur, manager, consultant or front-line person?

Perfumer

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In the perfume industry, we have a soul - the perfumer. Generally speaking, the annual salary of perfumers of international brands is about US$120,000 to US$150,000 (i.e., HK$1 million to 1.2 million), and the annual salary of more senior perfumers can be more than US$150,000 (i.e., more than HK$1.2 million). It should be noted that the salary of a perfumer can be very low when you first enter the industry as a trainee, but after entering a big brand and becoming famous, the salary will increase to more than one level, and there are many development opportunities.

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Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian established his personal brand Maison Francis Kurkdjian after working as a perfumer at an international fragrance company for ten years. In 2016, the sales of the brand's perfume reached HK$200 million. It is reported that artist Carina Lau also asked him to blend perfume.

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Although local perfumers in Hong Kong may not be as well paid as those in foreign countries, the top perfumers in the industry can earn HK$80,000 to HK$100,000 a month and have also established personal perfume brands.

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Laboratory chemist and assistant

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In addition to perfumers who work for perfume companies, there are also many laboratory chemists and assistants who are dedicated to developing new aroma molecules for use by perfumers. Their work is mainly to develop new ingredients. For example, Calone is made from chemicals. Developed by a professional, this position often requires studying how to replicate natural aromas, or analyzing the ingredients of popular perfumes on the market for reference by perfumers.

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Because it does not involve the work of creating perfumes, laboratory chemists have less labor than perfumers. However, the advantage is that they do not need to be responsible for the unpopularity of the perfumes they launch, so the labor is very stable. The labor of assistants is about HK$20,000 to HK$40,000. A month, and senior ones have about HK$40,000 to HK$80,000.

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Frontline sales

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There are about 5,000 employees in Hong Kong's perfume retail industry. Newcomers are generally called perfume consultants. They only need to have good facial features and speak some Mandarin or English. Working for a relatively high-end international perfume brand requires employees to have professional knowledge of perfume before joining the company, so they are called Fragrance Stylist or Perfume Specialist. As international brands have been actively entering the Hong Kong market in recent years, the perfume industry is competing for talents everywhere. Even if it is just front-line sales, Career Path and labor are still very good. For example, many companies will encourage colleagues to further their studies and join management. Louis Vuitton will even send Hong Kong employees to the Hong Kong Perfume School and the French perfume capital Grasse for training. There are also French perfume brands that need front-line sales to learn how to instantly produce perfume according to the perfumer’s formula. Perfume is mixed in front of customers. Therefore, the conditions for working in an international brand are relatively good. A newcomer can earn a monthly salary of HKD 20,000 to HKD 30,000. With two years of experience, one can become a Senior and earn a monthly salary of about HKD 30,000 to HKD 40,000. Once you become a store manager or regional manager, the labor force can jump to 60,000 to 80,000.

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Brand promotion and management

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Since 2010, an average of 2,000 new perfumes have been launched on the market every year, of which about 1/4 will enter the Hong Kong market. Therefore, new perfumes are launched almost every day, but whether they can attract consumers to buy depends largely on the brand's reputation and planned marketing activities. Perfume brands usually hire publicists to plan launch conferences for new perfumes and invite stars and celebrities as guests. The hiring will depend on their experience and network, and the monthly salary is about HKD 60,000 to HKD 100,000. Marketing personnel responsible for Marketing will earn a monthly salary of about 20,000 to 30,000. After accumulating relevant experience, they will generally become brand managers, and their monthly salary can be doubled. If they can manage more than 2 brands at the same time, their monthly salary can reach 80,000 - 100,000.

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In fact, in addition to the above positions, perfume companies or Hong Kong agents will also hire professionals in human resources, logistics management, etc. in Hong Kong. There are at least 5,000 non-retail related positions in Hong Kong. Due to space limitations, we have not mentioned that the perfume industry also has a lot of demand for talents responsible for store window design and advertising art. The main reason is that perfumes also change seasons: the perfumes for Valentine's Day and Christmas are very different, and the ones used in summer and autumn are also different. Brands need to constantly introduce new products and designs. Benefiting from the high profits of perfumes, perfumes that cost HK$2,000 a bottle are often manufactured at a cost less than HK$200. Coupled with the stimulation of independent travel in the Mainland, the monthly salary of these types of workers in the perfume industry is about 20% to 30% higher than that of other industries. .