The House of Creed, a British – French luxury perfume house, has collaborated with Chinese collectable toy brand Robbi to launch the world’s first scented art toy in the lead-up to Lunar New Year. The toy was inspired by a rabbit-and-peony illustration from Creed’s recent work with Lala Curio, a home goods store in Hong Kong, which has been used throughout the brand’s Lunar New Year collection. It is available in two sizes, 400 per cent (28cm) and 1000 per cent (70cm), and each one i
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e is fitted with a unique NFC chip, making it a desirable collectable item.
The aim of the collaboration is to bring Creed’s hero scent, Silver Mountain Water, to life in a metaverse-style experience that will enable the brand to reach new audiences and spark new discussions.
Going after Gen Z
“From a sales perspective […] we’ve started off incredibly well this year,” Creed CEO Sarah Rotheram told Inside Retail.
The brand launched in China via Tmall in late 2020, and instantly recognised that there was a huge demand for its products.
Since opening its first store in Shanghai in 2021, the brand has opened 10 stand-alone stores across mainland China, three points of sale in Macau and another stand-alone store in Hong Kong.
“We have stores in fantastic locations, and the stand-alone boutique was the right direction for us. It’s been quite unusual for us to launch the brand amidst the pandemic and the social movement restrictions, so it’s been quite challenging as well,” Rotheram said.
Nonetheless, she has been pleased with the sales numbers that have been achieved thus far in the Chinese market, and hopes for the good times to continue.
“The Chinese are incredibly savvy shoppers. They know what they want. I’ve been retailing in China for many years; the Chinese consumer is often on a journey of self-discovery and won’t necessarily follow trends elsewhere,” she said.
Creed CEO Sarah Rotheram
Rotheram said Creed worked exclusively with Lala Curio to design its Lunar New Year collection. It also had conversations with ROBBi. The fusion of Lala Curio’s sketches and ROBBi resulted in the art toy range.
“We wanted something traditional mixed with a sense of modernity and innovation. These art toys really speak to the Gen Z consumer. We love this combination of seeing something physical that can play in the digital world, too,” she added.
The brand’s products have mass appeal, as Rotheram puts it, “from the club right up to the boardroom”. Gen Z is a massive customer base for the brand, and a very interesting facet for the brand in the Chinese marketplace.
Rotheram said the art toy marketplace is valued at close to US$1 billion ($1.43 billion) and is growing by around 30 per cent, year on year.
From England to China
The House of Creed has always been synonymous with innovation. Founded by James Henry Creed in 1760, the same year as King George III’s accession, the brand started as an exquisite tailor based in Mayfair, London.
Since then, the House of Creed has gone on to create some of the finest garments and fragrances for discerning and discriminating customers for over 260 years, shifting from its tailoring heritage to become one of the world’s leading niche perfume houses.
With a presence in over 77 countries, 1750 points of sales, and close to a million followers across social media, Creed is not resting on its laurels. Rotheram revealed that the brand will be exploring new markets in 2023.
“The only market in Asia that we are not in currently is Japan, and we will be opening a presence in March of this year. So that’s another territory for us. I think we can get deeper into the rest of Asia. There are huge opportunities for us in the APAC marketplace,” she concluded.
