Page 61 - EM - EXPORT MAGAZINE PERFUMERY EDITION

INTERVIEW
EM: What early experience ignited your
passion for perfumery?
SA: Perfumery has been part of my family since
the 1970s. As a child I spent my afternoons in
my father’s shop in Dubai, learning the trade
day after day. Very early I saw how perfumes
react differently on various skins, and how
every culture has its own preferences.
Those lessons convinced me that perfume
is not simply a product but an art — and
that finding the true ‘wow,’ the creation that
resonates everywhere, is one in a thousand.

EM: How did Sospiro’s story begin?
SA: In the early 2000s the mass market
collapsed under price wars. I chose a different
path: niche perfumery. My vision was to give

THIERRY FLEURICHAMP, perfumers full freedom, no budget limits,
and access to the best raw materials. In 2010
AREA MANAGING I opened a boutique in Dubai Mall dedicated
DIRECTOR - SAMEA solely to artistic fragrances. At first, people
thought I was crazy: prices were high, sales
were slow, and the idea was unfamiliar.
EM: When did you start managing the Dubai But step by step, clients experienced the
office and overseeing the SAMEA region? difference. Once they tried, they never
TF: I have been in charge of Dubai since 2006 looked back. Out of this conviction Sospiro
and opened our first office in the region in was born — a house defined by creativity,
2015. Since then, our business here has grown exclusivity and uncompromising quality.
fivefold, reaching €60 million in turnover. This
exceptional growth is the result of building EM: What inspired Diva and Cavatina?
strong, lasting relationships with key clients, to SA: Diva was imagined as a tribute to opera,
whom we provide high-quality service, maximum with its power, elegance and emotion. I
flexibility, and unique fragrance creations. wanted a fragrance that carried the richness yet refined. We worked around rose, jasmine
of a stage performance, floral and powdery and carnation, and when the first sample
EM: In ten years, you have achieved arrived I immediately said: ‘This is it.’ The
double-digit growth. What is the secret to harmony was perfect. For me, Diva remains
this success, and what is your role in it? a benchmark — luxurious, sophisticated, a
TF: Our success comes primarily from our close fragrance that wears like a statement gown.
relationship with customers and our ability to Cavatina had a very different spirit. I was
offer tailor-made solutions. My role is to bring looking for brightness, something modern
strategic vision, implement ambitious action and playful that would speak to a new
plans, and provide the team with the tools generation of fragrance lovers. My idea was
needed to meet — and exceed — our objectives! to build it around pomegranate, a sparkling
red fruit full of energy. The result is luminous,
EM: I have been told you have a highly joyful and elegant at the same time — a
dedicated team, with salespeople attuned fragrance that feels fresh and contemporary
to market needs and creators attentive to but still carries our DNA. Together, Diva and
each brand’s uniqueness. Cavatina show two sides of Sospiro: timeless
TF: That’s correct. My team is made up of sophistication and bold modernity.
passionate professionals who are deeply
connected to the market, able to understand EM: How do you work with perfumers?
each client’s specificities and to build long- SA: Creation is never a solo act. I bring the
term relationships of trust. This synergy MR.SALAH ALZAROONI, daily voice of the market, while the perfumer
between our commercial and creative forces PLETHORA CHAIRMAN translates it into fragrance. With Elodie
is a key driver of our performance. Bernard from Expressions Parfumées, the

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