Perfumes y Diseño Group is one of Spain’s most highly regarded and innovative companies. Since it was founded in 1998, it has transformed into a world-leading fragrance and cosmetics development and distribution firm. Director Santiago Letamendia spoke to The Moodie Davitt Report about the company’s ambitious growth strategy as it embarks on a new era of family leadership.
Perfumes y Diseño (PyD) Group celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, a special milestone for the company.
Established by Pedro Trolez in 1998, PyD has grown from 32 employees to more than 230, whom it calls its family.
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Trolez has steered the family business to greater heights – it is now among the leading names in Spain’s perfumery and cosmetics sector.
In 2022, it registered a +42% year-on-year rise in revenues to an all-time high of €92 million (US$101.3 million). This year, its target is €110 million (US$120.6 million) or €115 million (US$126 million) in sales.
The Madrid-based luxury fragrance company has seen growth across all its brands in both domestic and international markets, including its key markets, the Americas and Caribbean.
From Jesús del Pozo as its first and only brand, the group has seen its portfolio expand to include its own Tous Perfumes, Halloween Perfumes, El Ganso Perfumes, Scalpers Perfumes, Starck Paris and Nightology.
It also distributes an array of international perfume brands including Versace, Moschino, Missoni, Goutal Paris, Juliette Has a Gun, Cartier and Ahava, among others.
It acquired the Caribbean distribution rights for the Perry Ellis fragrance brand last year.
Today, a new generation of Trolezes are stepping up to lead the family business. It recently named Pedro Trolez Cortina as its new CEO, succeeding his father, who will continue to serve as President of the company.
Trolez Cortina started getting involved in the family business in 2015 when he returned to Madrid and took the role of Deputy to the International Director.
Before joining the company, he served as International Trade Advisor for a year in the International Trade and Development office of the Spanish Embassy in Panama.
As the third-generation to take on company leadership, Trolez Cortina is expected to build on the success of his father and secure the family legacy.
“As a family company, one of its main goals is precisely the succession. Being capable of making a successful transition must be one of the top priorities for Pedro and, of course, his siblings, who are also involved in the business,” Letamendia says.
“We won’t see dramatic changes in the way that PyD will be led, as the purpose is maintaining a continuity in terms of internal management, but of course we will get to see changes to ensure the continuity and the growth of the business.
“His priorities include consolidating the growth achieved over the last few years, searching for new brands that are eager to explore the fragrance universe, or continuing the strategy to develop and open new markets, all of this under sustainable principles that are becoming more and more important.”
The company has introduced structural changes this year with key appointments including that of Ana Trolez, daughter of Pedro Trolez, as its new Director of Global Trade Marketing. Her focus is on the strategic functions of trade marketing, media and digital in all markets where the company operates, including travel retail.
With this change, the company has separated the Trade Marketing department from the National Commercial team – led by PyD Commercial Director Alejandra Suárez since 2021.
Amid the transition to new leadership, the company continues to strengthen its global presence, with travel retail singled out as a key channel for growth in line with the return of outbound travel.
Letamendia says: “We are consolidating our travel retail business constantly and right now is the best moment to expand our presence. Currently, we are still small in travel retail, but we are pursuing a strong strategy to grow by dedicating more efforts and opening new points of sale. The results that we are seeing are amazing and we plan on making them even better.”
PyD Group has benefitted from its deepened partnerships with brands and retailers. It continued to make its brands visible during the height of pandemic lockdowns and, when markets reopened, it did not miss an opportunity to launch several remarkable campaigns across different markets.
Asked how it maintains strong relationships with brands and retailers, Letamendia says: “A good partnership for us is a flexible one, as we have to adapt the offer to the market constantly while being very fast when making decisions.
“A successful partnership will involve looking for retailers that understand the unique needs of travellers and offer a seamless shopping experience. Our category can be enhanced by offering innovative marketing and promotions, recommendations from the retailers, good visibility in the POS and great customer support among other things.”
While Gen Z and millennial consumers in Asia are now influencing the rising demand for fragrances, PyD continues to diversify its key consumer audience.
Letamendia adds: “One of our strengths is that we have a wide variety of brands in our portfolio targeting men, women and children, so each perfume caters to the different needs of each consumer. Each brand has its own type of target in terms of ideal consumer but honestly, they all perform outstandingly.
“The good thing about perfumes is that they are very polyvalent and can be used by any person. What we focus on is on adapting to market needs as Eastern countries might not have the same taste as Western or Asian. In that way, we try to have a diverse portfolio to cover all markets.”
While the market has seen a continued boom of niche brands, the company makes sure to stay on course by innovating and expanding its product offerings. Letamendia says: “Our main unique selling point is quality, a characteristic that is part of our DNA. We consider ourselves to be experts in selective perfumery and we are able to transmit that in every single product we put into the market.
“We try to be innovative and creative in terms of design and, since we are in charge of the entire creative process, our team does an incredible job in surprising the consumer, which is our end goal in order to stand out in such a crowded scene.
“Another differentiating point will be the fact that we adapt to the markets by offering unique and personalised solutions to their needs. We have even created products for a specific market.”
Letamendia continues: “A niche in the market is just an existing demand that needs to be covered. It is not necessarily a small and very exclusive market. Today this demand is growing and will be more and more important. Consumers are looking for differentiation and exclusivity.
“But the concept of niche will change as it is becoming already too popular. We are consolidating our travel retail business constantly and right now it is the best moment to expand our presence.” ✈
