Re: Competitive Shopping Report from LA

[Guest guest]

Libby wrote:

> Happy Competitive Shopping To You all.......

>

> This is always a fun time of year to stop in to see what stores are

> getting right and what they have challenges with...and on my trip

> this last weekend, I stopped in to a store I will just say is very

> famous in LA and it was filled with sales people who think you can

> call something all natural that has a bit of support from a synthetic.

>

> We truly need some education...and quickly too methinks.

>

> I will just start this thread by saying that I challenged the staff

> member to show me one perfume in the store that had no synthetic, and

> though he tried, he could not.

>

Hi Libby:

Savvy natural perfumers know that the key to having a presence in a

store is educated personnel.

> Beyond that, I could tell he really believed what the companies have

> brainwashed him with.

>

> So, even if you have YOUR product in a store, the staff is very hard

> to retrain....to get them to KNOW that YOUR product is the ONE that

> is all natural.

>

I can name many perfumers out there who tout that their perfumes are

all-natural, yet a trained nose *knows* they're loaded with synths. One

sells oil-based perfumes at around $140/5ml. They're just quickly mixed

FOs. This type of trickery can really hurt NP in the long run.

> *sigh*

>

Yes, double *sigh*.

> Let's start a dialogue on how best to train people who are in the

> position of selling without making them wrong about what they already

> have been MISINFORMed about....this is a big challenge...so I think

> we need some key words to use in training that set us apart...

Mandy was courted by many department stores until she accepted Bendel's

offer. In true recognition of NP, and being educated by Mandy themselves

as to the different type of salespeople needed, they agreed to hire a

salesperson just for her line, flew the person to Berkeley to be trained

by Mandy, just so they would be able to properly present her perfumes.

I'll be in consultation with someone from an organization that trains

salespeople next week, and I'm going to address this issue. The process

will probably take months, but I'm very optimistic. Small stores -- not

much luck there. Big stores that hire graduates -- better chance. It's

all about education, and the members of the Guild need to step up in

their respective cities and towns and make an effort to reach the local

magazine and newspaper writers, not just to get coverage for themselves,

but for NP in general.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com - rare and exotic

aromatics and artisan perfumes,

perfumery classes and consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.com