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Guerlain brings regenerative farming to fragrances

The Aqua Allegoria collection by Guerlain, France

France – Beauty company Guerlain is working to overhaul the fragrance sector’s environmentally taxing supply chain through regenerative farming. The company’s latest scent, Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver, is crafted using organic alcohol made from beetroot that has been harvested sustainably.

With most perfumes composed of 70–80% alcohol, the use of an organic alternative is designed to protect biodiversity and safeguard the natural world. In turn, the beetroot alcohol alternative will be introduced across the Aqua Allegoria range, ensuring that all of Guerlain's products meet these new sustainability standards. The company's adoption of regenerative agriculture signals an important shift in the sector at large at a time when many natural ingredients used in fragrances – including sandalwood – face extinction due to industry over-harvesting.

Although beauty brands have taken strides to implement sustainable strategies, many industry juggernauts have yet to reform their supply chains, preventing significant change from being achieved. By introducing regenerative agriculture to the cosmetics industry, Guerlain is ushering the Fragrance Market into a new age of Bio-positive Beauty, targeting the sector’s unsustainable practices from the ground up.

Strategic opportunity

Beyond offering recycled packaging and refill services, beauty companies must address the impact of their supply chains. Explore how regenerative agriculture techniques can be positive for both brand and planet

Dior’s experiential universe redefines retail

Dior 30 Avenue Montaigne, France

France – Turning luxury retail into an immersive experience, Dior has unveiled the ambitious renovation of its 30 Montaigne flagship store in Paris, revealing activities and spaces ranging from a gallery to gardens.

In addition to retail zones dedicated to ready-to-wear and accessories, the store houses a gallery, restaurant, pastry café, three gardens, haute couture ateliers, a jeweller and an events space that can be used for private dinners and events. Pushing beyond retail expectations, it's also home to La Suite Dior – a private apartment that comes with a master key to the building, making it accessible to guests 24/7, with staff on hand to assist them, from chefs to personal shoppers.

Pietro Beccari, chairman and CEO of Dior, tells WWD: 'In reality, we should find a new name for it, because it’s a complex such as does not exist in the world, so it’s a clear point that will mark the difference between us and our competitors.'

Indeed, 30 Montaigne beckons a new era for cross-category luxury retail at a time when shoppers are keen and curious to return to stores. For more, book our Retail Futures 2022 online event for sector-wide analysis and future sector trends.

Strategic opportunity

Stores are no longer restricted to selling, which demands cross-category retail design. How might your retail spaces incorporate elements of hospitality, art, dining and relaxation?

A book scheme for children’s financial literacy

UK – #Merky Books, the publishing imprint started by British musician Stormzy, is teaming up with UK bank HSBC to educate children about financial wellbeing and entrepreneurialism. The collaboration will consist of in-person and live-streamed workshops to help children begin building their financial literacy at a young age.

With events planned across the country, including in London, Leeds and Birmingham, the talks will cover topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, boosting financial confidence and overcoming personal challenges. They will be led by financial wellbeing expert Bola Sol, whose recent book, How to Save It, explores these topics in depth, and creative strategists Niran Vinod and Damola Timeyin. As part of the initiative, HSBC will also be donating 1,500 finance-related books to school libraries, as well as publishing helpful resources across its social media channels.

Already attuned to concepts of financial wellbeing, the Zalpha Generation, which includes kids born between 2010 and 2020, is defying stereotypes about money being a taboo subject for children. By integrating this programme into schools, #Merky Books is advocating the inclusion of financial learning in public education.

Photography by Anna Pou

Strategic opportunity

With a lack of public education, most people are compelled to learn about money on their own. Banks should consider launching their own financial wellness initiatives, to help build financial confidence among consumers

Stat: US pet owners report separation anxiety

Jacqui Kennedy Google Street View (@streetview.portraits), Global

US – For many people, pets in lockdown were a source of love and support. As we emerge back into new routines, however, research by US insurance firm Nationwide reveals that four in 10 Americans believe they will suffer anxiety as a result of the ensuing separation.

After a prolonged period of close companionship, pet owners feel that both their pets and they will suffer from being parted as lifestyles and working routines resume. While three in 10 owners believe separation will negatively affect their pet, four in 10 believe they themselves will experience anxiety as a result. The study also reports a generational difference between people's connections to pets: while 87% of total respondents say goodbye to their pets when leaving the house, Gen Z do so at a rate of 97%.

Pet mental health has been gaining increasing attention, as shown by Petco’s campaign on the wellbeing of pets post-lockdown. And as pet ownership increases around the world, health-conscious consumers will increasingly link their own wellbeing and that of their pets, seeking products and routines to facilitate quality time and happiness.