For Douglas perfumeries, services are fundamental

In December, it will open its 370th shop in the MaxiMall in Pompei: over 300 square metres dedicated to beauty and wellbeing with a make-up hub, nail and brow bar, wedding beauty programme, make-up school and a beauty room for presenting products and new launches: the expansion in Italy continues for Douglas, the €4.1 billion (in fiscal year 2022/23) perfumery chain founded in 1821 in Düsseldorf and listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since March 2024, with a presence in 22 countries and a network of 1,800 stores and 20,000 employees. The Italian division - with a 2023 turnover of almost 452.8 million euro and about 2 thousand employees - is led by Fabio Pampani, CEO of Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Croatia), who comments: "The opening of Pompei is one of the most significant this year for us and is part of our programme of expansion and capillary affirmation on the peninsula. Here we wanted to focus our ability to expand our assortments to new emerging brands, including exclusive agreements together with the improvement of beauty services, which continue to be an important component of our commercial strategies throughout our network".

The opening comes right in the middle of the most important period for perfumery sales, between Black Friday and the Christmas festivities: "We are staking 35-40% of the year's turnover on it," says Pampani. "I hope that perfumery in general will continue to go as it did last year, growing, as well as Christmas. Beauty is a sector that is bucking the trend because everyone is taking care of themselves and the market is continually enriched by new products supported also by the digital world of celebrities and influencers". E-commerce, from which Douglas Italia derives 12% of its revenues, also plays an important role: "It must complement the offer of the physical shop," says the CEO. "The two channels are not antagonistic. Covid has changed the rules by pushing towards online purchases and we are working to make the customer understand that we offer a multi-channel experience: they can, for example, book a massage online and then do it in the perfumery, or buy a product on the web, where the assortment is wider, and then pick it up in shop". Another focus of the brand is service: "We try to introduce as many services as possible in every shop we open," continues Pampani, "We have more than 50 beauty lounges, make-up schools and now also a skincare school, and in all shops we offer nail polish change: it is an element of distinctiveness and makes the customer happy. And having satisfied customers is a retailer's job".

The company's commitment also goes in the direction of social and environmental issues, as evidenced by the recent award for women's empowerment: in fact, the group was ranked first among Forbes' "World's top companies for women" in the retail and wholesale sector and third in the global ranking. Support for women and female entrepreneurship is fundamental to the identity of the Douglas Group, which was born and grew out of the vision of two sisters. Since then, many courageous, passionate and entrepreneurial women have led the company's continuous growth: around 97% of staff in shops and around 70% in head offices are women, as well as 89% in managerial positions. A recognition that, Pampani concludes, 'makes me proud as a boss, as a man and as a father'.