Guerlain
| Guerlain SA
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1828 |
| Seat |
Levallois-Perret , France
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| management | Patrick Thomas |
| Branch | Perfume , cosmetics |
| Website | www.guerlain.com |
Guerlain is a French high-end cosmetics group and one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. From 1828 to 1994 the company was run by the family of the same name until it was sold to LVMH . His perfumes were often characterized by notes of vanilla and ambergris . Today Guerlain runs an international network of Guerlain boutiques and cosmetic institutes ('spas').
founding
The first Guerlain House was opened in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain at 42 rue de Rivoli in Paris .
Pierre-François Guerlain created perfumes there with his two sons Aimé and Gabriel. Even back then, Guerlain made special demands on its products and coined the following motto: "Make good products, never neglect the quality. Have simple ideas and implement them conscientiously." With increasing recognition in high society circles, the house expanded in 1840 in the Rue de la Paix . The success of Guerlains culminated in 1853 with the creation of the perfume Eau de Cologne Impériale , which he gave Empress Eugénie on her marriage to Napoleon III. and brought him the title of royal court perfumer in France. Queen Victoria and Queen Isabella II of Spain were also among his customers.
Succession
When Pierre-François Guerlains died in 1864, his two sons took over the company. Gabriel took over the management and Aimé became head perfumer . Aimé created various well-known perfumes: Fleur d'Italie (1884), Rococo (1887) and Eau de cologne du coq (1894). Probably his best-known perfume was Jicky (1889).
The third generation
Gabriel's sons Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain took over management in the third generation. Jacques became head perfumer and Pierre took over the management of the business. Some of Jacques Parfums are still popular today: Eau du Coq (1894), Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), Après L'Ondée (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), and Guerlain's flagship product that is still in production today Shalimar (1925). Other creations are: Vol de Nuit (1933) in homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Air France . Ode (1955), Joy by Jean Patou , was Jacques Guerlain's last creation. The Ode fragrance was created with the help of his then 18-year-old grandson Jean-Paul Guerlain.
The fourth generation
Jean-Paul Guerlain, the great-great-grandson of the company's founder, Pierre François Pascal Guerlain, was the last owner and head perfumer of the family. His nickname in the industry is Le Nez , the nose. Jean-Paul created fragrances such as Vétiver (1959), Habit Rouge (1965), Nahéma (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), Samsara (1989), as well as Héritage and Coriolan . After the company was sold to the luxury group LVMH in 1994, he still worked as a consultant for the company. With Jean-Paul's retirement in 2002 at the age of 65 and the lack of heirs within the family, the era of a family-run perfume house ended.
Guerlain / LVMH
After Guerlains was taken over by LVMH in 1994, perfumers from outside the family were hired: Mathilde Laurent , Maurice Roucel , Thierry Wasser and others.
Since Guerlain was founded, over 300 successful perfumes have been produced:
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Individual evidence
literature
- R. Stamelman: Perfume - Joy, Obsession, Scandal, Sin. Rizzoli, New York 2006, ISBN 0-8478-2832-8 . (A cultural history of fragance from 1750 to the present day)
Web links
- Perfume Brands and Fragrances ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- History of the House of Guerlain ( Memento of August 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Company website www.guerlain.com
- Company website of the parent company LVMH www.lvmh.com