Vinrambo09
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- Jan 14, 2010
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M is for Montale. Exclusive Interview with Pierre Montale
04/19/16 14:03:51
by: Juliett Ptoyan
Our meeting with Pierre Montale at the Montale & Mancera booth during Esxence happened almost out of the blue; until then, the man behind the two most debated contemporary brands wouldn't allow to be photographed and never gave an interview. But that day he agreed to talk, because, as he said, "Nothing's impossible for Fragrantica".
Three Montale novelties at Esxence 2016: Tropical Wood, Oudmazing and Aoud Lagoon
How did you start your career in perfumery?
My family and I founded Comptoir Sud Pacifique, but after 15 years my sister decided to sell this business, and I headed to Saudi: I worked there, in Qatar, and Dubai with different perfumeries. After 5 years, I came back to Europe and presented Montale, a brand focused on oud fragrances, which put the European public in touch with this oriental ingredient. We started with a boutique at the parisian Place Vendôme, where our first sales began. Mancera was born later, when some of our customers mentioned a discomfort with using aluminum bottles (they wanted to know how much juice was still inside) – but just when we launched Mancera, everyone began to love Montale! (laughing) Anyway, Mancera gathered its customers too – so everyone is happy.
Let's talk a bit about your "eastern" period.
Over there, I worked not only with perfumeries, but also created bespoke fragrances for regals, like for example the Qatar royal family. Also it was a time of blending juices for weddings...
Do the arab people have special requirements for bridal scents?
No, but they love oud in any form. Bridal scents, just like bespoke fragrances, I produced in bottles similar to Montale, but without a logo — instead, they were engraved with the name of the consignee. A bit later, Roses Musk became a best seller in Saudi – it's good for both men and women.
How, and why, did you decide to introduce oud to the European public?
When I worked in Saudi, the main ingredient of all fragrances was oud. Number one – oud, number two – oud... And when I tried it for the first time, I was like, "Oh my God, what is it?!". It was very intens, strong for me. But later, we forged a bond, and I took my wife to try a mix of oud and rose. She immediately loved it – so that's how the first five Montale fragrances I've created had agarwood in the base.
There is a gossip among your fans that Montale is focused on the oriental markets, and Mancera on the European ones. What do you think about that?
No, both brands have success in the European as well as the Arabian market. It's a 50/50 story. Though for the last three years I've created more perfumes for Montale – just because Mancera customers love more fresh fragrances, light, you know.
Ok, what about the story about the fake Montales? This hurt both you and your customers; when did this story begin and how it is now?
The producer of the fake Montales was only one person, a very dangerous man, who had a factory in Dubai. But this story is over, because in 2013 we prevailed and his business was bankrupted. Anyway, the traces of his deals still can be found on the market. The main distinctive characteristic of an original Montale is the address on the box: if you see 68, rue Pierre Charron or 26, place Vendome everything is ok; if there's Dubai address – it's fake. Also, you need to check the cellophane: on the base there should always be a country code.
So, let's get back to the rumors: for the longest time we heard Montale was a shared business, one part located in Paris, and another in Egypt. How can you comment it?
It's interesting, I've never heard it before (laughing). In fact, all the management of company is the same as in the beginning: there's me, the perfumer, and two of my brands, Montale and Mancera. There's only one team for both of them, and we have never shared the company with anyone. But there's nothing strange about such gossip, because there are many designers who work with different brands, and the same counts for noses.
Many of us are interested in your phenomenal productivity...
Oh, this is my dream! In fact, I produce 9 new products each year. This is not our plan, but the market requirement – because, you know, women visit a perfumery boutique, and their first question is: "What's new?". If you have news, customer will come back – this rule works the same in France, Russia or Saudi. If you have novelties, you'll have interest from clients. And not only with clients it works this way, also my distributor calls me: "Hello, Mr. Montale! What's new?" (laughing). So these are just marketing requirements, we cannot ignore them.
Have you launched some exclusive scents for different countries?
Yes, we are already working on something interesting for Russia. I cannot unveil the details, but it will have an equal beauty both inside and out. As for other countries – no, there weren't any exclusives yet, but only because we didn't see a necessity in them. The Arab countries speak highly of us... Russia does too, of course, but Russian clients love limited, exclusive editions. The situation in the east is different.
04/19/16 14:03:51
by: Juliett Ptoyan
Our meeting with Pierre Montale at the Montale & Mancera booth during Esxence happened almost out of the blue; until then, the man behind the two most debated contemporary brands wouldn't allow to be photographed and never gave an interview. But that day he agreed to talk, because, as he said, "Nothing's impossible for Fragrantica".
Three Montale novelties at Esxence 2016: Tropical Wood, Oudmazing and Aoud Lagoon
How did you start your career in perfumery?
My family and I founded Comptoir Sud Pacifique, but after 15 years my sister decided to sell this business, and I headed to Saudi: I worked there, in Qatar, and Dubai with different perfumeries. After 5 years, I came back to Europe and presented Montale, a brand focused on oud fragrances, which put the European public in touch with this oriental ingredient. We started with a boutique at the parisian Place Vendôme, where our first sales began. Mancera was born later, when some of our customers mentioned a discomfort with using aluminum bottles (they wanted to know how much juice was still inside) – but just when we launched Mancera, everyone began to love Montale! (laughing) Anyway, Mancera gathered its customers too – so everyone is happy.
Let's talk a bit about your "eastern" period.
Over there, I worked not only with perfumeries, but also created bespoke fragrances for regals, like for example the Qatar royal family. Also it was a time of blending juices for weddings...
Do the arab people have special requirements for bridal scents?
No, but they love oud in any form. Bridal scents, just like bespoke fragrances, I produced in bottles similar to Montale, but without a logo — instead, they were engraved with the name of the consignee. A bit later, Roses Musk became a best seller in Saudi – it's good for both men and women.
How, and why, did you decide to introduce oud to the European public?
When I worked in Saudi, the main ingredient of all fragrances was oud. Number one – oud, number two – oud... And when I tried it for the first time, I was like, "Oh my God, what is it?!". It was very intens, strong for me. But later, we forged a bond, and I took my wife to try a mix of oud and rose. She immediately loved it – so that's how the first five Montale fragrances I've created had agarwood in the base.
There is a gossip among your fans that Montale is focused on the oriental markets, and Mancera on the European ones. What do you think about that?
No, both brands have success in the European as well as the Arabian market. It's a 50/50 story. Though for the last three years I've created more perfumes for Montale – just because Mancera customers love more fresh fragrances, light, you know.
Ok, what about the story about the fake Montales? This hurt both you and your customers; when did this story begin and how it is now?
The producer of the fake Montales was only one person, a very dangerous man, who had a factory in Dubai. But this story is over, because in 2013 we prevailed and his business was bankrupted. Anyway, the traces of his deals still can be found on the market. The main distinctive characteristic of an original Montale is the address on the box: if you see 68, rue Pierre Charron or 26, place Vendome everything is ok; if there's Dubai address – it's fake. Also, you need to check the cellophane: on the base there should always be a country code.
So, let's get back to the rumors: for the longest time we heard Montale was a shared business, one part located in Paris, and another in Egypt. How can you comment it?
It's interesting, I've never heard it before (laughing). In fact, all the management of company is the same as in the beginning: there's me, the perfumer, and two of my brands, Montale and Mancera. There's only one team for both of them, and we have never shared the company with anyone. But there's nothing strange about such gossip, because there are many designers who work with different brands, and the same counts for noses.
Many of us are interested in your phenomenal productivity...
Oh, this is my dream! In fact, I produce 9 new products each year. This is not our plan, but the market requirement – because, you know, women visit a perfumery boutique, and their first question is: "What's new?". If you have news, customer will come back – this rule works the same in France, Russia or Saudi. If you have novelties, you'll have interest from clients. And not only with clients it works this way, also my distributor calls me: "Hello, Mr. Montale! What's new?" (laughing). So these are just marketing requirements, we cannot ignore them.
Have you launched some exclusive scents for different countries?
Yes, we are already working on something interesting for Russia. I cannot unveil the details, but it will have an equal beauty both inside and out. As for other countries – no, there weren't any exclusives yet, but only because we didn't see a necessity in them. The Arab countries speak highly of us... Russia does too, of course, but Russian clients love limited, exclusive editions. The situation in the east is different.
