Atelier Rebul reaches new milestones with Indonesia debut, China flagship

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia​, Co-CEO Nuket Filiba revealed that the brand will debut in Indonesia by the end of this year with two standalone stores.

It has also secured deals with major department stores in the country, including Galerie Lafayette, SOGO, and Seibu.

“Indonesia is a very big market that really loves fragrances. Fragrance is about 25% of the cosmetics business there and luxury is growing,”​ said Filiba.

From here, the company is interested in expanding more in SEA with markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand on its radar.

“We want to invest in the travel corridors. That has been very good for us in the Middle East, in places like Dubai. Our presence there has an effect in Asia Pacific. We plan to open in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia but all that takes time,”​ said Filiba.

Shanghai heritage store

Atelier Rebul traces its roots back to Istanbul, where French pharmacist Jean Cesar Rebul established a Parisian-styled pharmacy in 1895. According to the brand, Rebul is credited for introducing cologne to Turkey.

Despite its history, Atelier Rebul is a relatively new brand in Asia with limited distribution in Japan and availability in China through cross-border e-commerce.

Previously, Filiba told us​ that its sales in China have grown around 50% every year since it launched around four years ago.

Next year, the brand will be available in the Chinese domestic market with the opening of its heritage store.

Unlike a regular standalone store, Atelier Rebul’s heritage store will offer its signature personalisation services.

Located in Shanghai in the fashionable Xin Tian Di area, the upcoming heritage store will be the brand’s second globally, with the first being its original in Istanbul.

The opening of the heritage store in Shanghai will coincide with the brand’s 130^th​ anniversary.

“This is really a big moment for us. We are so excited to launch our heritage store in China so perfume lovers can experience our personalised fragrance services in our pharmacy area,”​ said Filiba.

She added that opening a store in an important market like China will be crucial for the brand’s growth globally.

“The experience is super important for us because it's in our DNA. Atelier Rebul was born from a pharmacy and used to offer personalised cosmetics. That’s what we know how to do.”​

The master collection

Atelier Rebul recently introduced its artisanal fragrance series to showcase the brand’s craftsmanship, which will be available in limited quantities as it takes quite a long time to produce compared to other perfumes.

“It’s a very special process to create this. We do double maceration and use triple distilled alcohol and we do the filtration three times. The result is high quality, long-lasting, subtle perfumes.”​

The company worked with master perfumes such as Alberto Morillas, who has crafted a string of iconic fine fragrances from CK One, Bvlgari Omnia, and Giorgio Armani Aqua di Giò.

Filiba concluded: “He is a legend and it was an honour for him to give his perfume to a 130-year-old brand. It’s all very exciting for us.”​