Bijan is bringing fragrance back.
As it commemorates its 50th anniversary, the Beverly Hills fashion house is launching its first new fragrances in more than a decade, which will be available at Bijan’s three West Coast boutiques and direct-to-consumer.
Priced at $600 each, the fragrances are called Just Bijan for Men and Just Bijan for Women, respectively, and are “younger, happier, sexier versions,” of the classic Bijan for Men and Women scents that debuted in the ’80s, as cofounder and chief executive officer Dar Mahboubi put it.
“We’re thinking of these fragrances as a gift to our customers, and a way to say ‘thank you’ for all their years of loyalty,” he continued.
Developed with Givaudan’s Stephen Nilsen, the fragrances sought to combine globally sourced raw materials of the highest quality, while both being rooted in Texas cedarwood as an ode to the brand’s American roots.
“This is the most money I’ve really had to make a fragrance, and it opened up the world; [we used] olibanum from Somalia; patchouli from Indonesia; cypriol from India — we brought all of these notes together,” said Nilsen.
The men’s scent also taps papyrus, violet leaf and incense, while Just Bijan for Women features a blend of bergamot, jasmine sambac, coconut and amber.
Bijan Just for Women and Just for Men.
Courtesy
“The concept is the same as [that of] Bijan clothing and accessories — quality over quantity, and the highest degree of exclusivity,” said Mahboubi.
Bijan was the first company basketball star Michael Jordan partnered with on a fragrance in 1996. At the time Bijan sold via department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue — where its Classic for Women scent was once the number-one fragrance — and was doing more than $100 million annually in fragrance sales alone.
Today, clothing and accessories are firmly the core of the business, which now operates strictly via its owned stores and website, and does roughly $60 million in annual sales. The brand is particularly known known for its men’s ties, which start at $980, as well as its alligator leather wallets and handbags.
“During the last 15 years, we’ve focused on developing products that are more suitable for a younger generation. The average age of our customer used to be around 55, and now it’s just under 40,” said Mahboubi, adding that the tech wave has contributed to this shift. “We get a lot of young billionaires who are running around with a great deal of money, and they are looking for the best of everything.”
These fragrances, Mahboubi said, aim to align with that strategy.
