Dallas boutique will make you a signature perfume for $60K

A signature scent can be a subtle hint at luxury.

Krigler, a luxury perfumery, is offering a $60,000 experience in Dallas where shoppers can create their custom perfume with raw materials. It takes up to a year and a half to test the fragrance throughout the seasons and to let it age in wine barrels, the traditional way Krigler has made perfumes for over a century.

Putting one of its 14 boutiques in The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas’ Uptown district is an indication of how Krigler views the perfume potential in North Texas.

“Texas has created huge markets for Krigler,” owner Ben Krigler said. Dallas is only its second Texas location, debuting in Houston in 2021.

Krigler said he thinks Dallas is an ideal market for testing custom perfume demand. The city is the company’s third-largest online market and the sixth-largest fragrance market in the U.S.

Krigler is known globally for producing some of the most coveted fragrances. Its roots trace to 1879, when founder Albert Krigler fell in love with the daughter of a French perfumer. For their engagement, Krigler made the scent that started it all — Pleasure Gardenia 79.

Since 1904, Krigler has made luxury fragrances for an elite clientele. Some of the brand’s famous customers include Jackie Kennedy, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Audrey Hepburn.

Krigler sells 45 different fragrances starting at $455 for 50 milliliters. It also sells candles and soaps in signature scents.

The fragrance market is one of the retail world’s biggest beauty stars, growing to nearly $11.5 billion in size in 2022, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. In a five-year period ending in 2021, the industry grew at an 8.4% annual rate.

With the personal care trend emerging during the pandemic, scent expert Tracy Wan said a fragrance can transport consumers to another reality, which is why people were seeking out new scents.

“Scent plays a hugely important role in our lives that we rarely stop to think about,” Wan said, noting that the sense of smell can be a powerful reminder of a memory, help someone relax or support overall wellness.

From 2020 to 2021 alone, the number of items retailers stocked with mood-enhancing attributes rose by triple digits, according to Euromonitor International.

Dallas-based luxury retailer Neiman Marcus is also seeing an increase in fragrance demand in its stores.

Tatiana Birkelund, the company’s vice president and general business manager of beauty and jewelry, said Neiman Marcus has seen outsized growth in fragrance sales since even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Established brands are elevating their offerings, while new and emerging brands demonstrate their fresh take on creativity in the category,” Birkelund said. “For many, fragrance is luxury in a bottle.”*