Black Owned, Woman Owned Fragrance Brand/House, Chemin, Teams Up with Department Store for Affordable Luxury Collection of Fragrances, Body Oils, and Body Butter; In Stores Nationwide and Online.
CHEMIN, owned by Atlanta-based perfumer, November Nichols has teamed up with department store giant, JC Penney to launch an affordable luxury collection in stores nationwide and online, effective January 10th, 2024. The collaboration offers an exquisite array of gender-neutral perfumes and body products that celebrate your unique essence.
The rollout will include 50 store locations across Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Utah.
Chemin x JC Penney
With the collaboration (which will have the same scent and impact as CHEMIN Luxury’s collection), both CHEMIN and JC Penney want the fragrance brand “in the hands of everyone.” Fragrances (Eau De Toilette) include: Parfum 1 (Lemongrass, White Tea, Sandalwood), Parfum 17 (Bamboo, Citrus, Vetiver), Parfum 37 (Jasmine, Pomelo, Oud), Parfum 77 (Santal et Vanille), and Parfum 87 (Leather, Oud, Tobacco). In addition to fragrances, customers can also get body butters, crystal-infused body oils, Vitamin E sugar scrubs, charcoal scrubs, and lotions.
“I am very proud of our new partnership with JC Penney,” says Nichols. “As an indie fragrance house founded, owned, and operated by a black woman, this is a huge deal — as this is the first time a major retailer has gotten behind a black-owned fragrance brand in this way.”
More about the luxury collection
CHEMIN has already made a name for itself as a luxury collection of intentional fine fragrances, body products, hand-poured soy candles, and artisan handcrafted teas. CHEMIN also provides custom fragrances and sensory experiences for individuals, groups, and organizations.
With CHEMIN (launched in 2017), Nichols is one of the only black women/brands in the fragrance industry. To date, CHEMIN is the only black brand with its own fragrance house (in the entire world!).
Nichols also trains artisans, as many need more education (not knowing the regulations, guidelines, rules, and more in the fragrance industry). Another one of these ways that Nichols has made strides in that direction is by creating activations where people craft their fragrance by consulting with master artisans and creating scents inspired by themselves.
“Our demand for perfume is strong, but those who want to go from consumer to creator face a challenging path due to a lack of access to education (traditional perfumers typically study in France), capital, and mentorship,” says Nichols. “Although nearly 74 percent of all perfumers are white, I’m looking to change that.”
Fragrances is a lucrative industry that is expected to generate $61.79 billion in 2023 and upwards of $84.02 billion by 2028.
· In 2018, black people were 23% of the customers buying fragrances, but very few were looking at entering the industry.
· Also, 85% of Hispanics and blacks are fragrance customers, while other populations come in at 78%.
Nichols is also looking for more minorities and women to break into the fragrance industry – with a WHITE LABEL program that focuses on helping other people create their fragrances.
For more information, please visit https://maisonchemin.com.