The Interview: Marc Chaya, Co-founder & CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Maison Francis Kurkdjian was founded in 2009, following an encounter between renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and Marc Chaya, Co-founder and CEO of the fragrance house.

Today, Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a major player in the luxury fragrance market. With innovation at its heart, the fragrance house champions creativity, high-quality craftsmanship and seamless customer experiences.

In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Marc Chaya speaks about Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s journey since launching, its world-famous Baccarat Rouge 540 fragrance line and why he is selective about where the fragrance is distributed.

How did Maison Francis Kurkdjian come about?

Well, it was unexpected. I met Francis at a dinner party and discovered that he was a perfumer. At the time, I had no idea what that was. I learnt that perfumers were creative talents that were totally hidden behind the curtains.

I was shocked because I'm very moved by beauty and the ability of a few people to create things that resonate with our emotions. We became friends and I started passionately advocating for perfumers to become more visible and respected. Francis and I then decided to join forces to create a beautiful fragrance house.

How did you go about starting the Maison?

We had a vision that we believed in and worked hard to make it happen. We are a fragrance house, so we launched with a universe of fragrances. We had candles, detergents, scented bubbles – a full collection of scents.

It was hard in the beginning because people didn't really understand. We were dealing with an industry that has grown with the belief that perfumers had no place other than behind the curtain. So, we came in as a luxury fragrance house with the name of one of the greatest living perfumers of our time.

Our vision is to bring joy to our customers by creating an uplifting journey through fragrance. We relentlessly stick to this vision, whether it's through the genius and creativity of the perfumer, the beauty of the product or in the customer experience provided. This wasn’t done overnight; it was done with a lot of work and passion.

Can you tell me about how the scents are developed?

We start with emotion. Francis comes up with a beautiful story, something that inspires him. We then find a name and the development process for the scent begins. The scent gives the story, the story influences the packaging, then the name influences the campaign and so on and so forth. It's a full process that can last up to 24 months.

Marc Chaya (left) and Francis Kurkdjian (right)

You speak of Francis’s role, can you tell me more about what your role as Co-founder and CEO involves?

My role is to put together an extremely talented team, making sure that they’re working harmoniously to create beautiful things that will eventually please our customers. I’m involved in many creative fields including product design, store design and marketing campaigns, alongside Francis. I am also extremely business driven and develop our sales strategy with our team.

What I love about my job is that you never get bored. You're always reinventing yourself, reinventing the company and taking it to the next level.

Can you tell me more about your fragrances? Particularly Baccarat Rouge 540, which I understand to be a very popular scent.

Baccarat Rouge 540 is an encounter between Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Maison Baccarat, which is a crystal making house. It is a scent that was inspired by the alchemy of making crystals. To make crystal you need four elements, water, fire, minerals and air – and it’s these elements coming together that inspired Francis.

It’s a scent family that had not existed before Francis came up with it. Initially, the fragrance was only supposed to be released with 250 limited-edition, numbered Baccarat bottles. However, the scent was so extraordinary that we decided back in 2016 to release it under our own Maison in partnership with Baccarat.

In terms of other fragrances, Grand Soir is an intoxicating scent that I love to wear. I also love the À la rose scent. This is young, modern, fresh and appreciated by our customers. Then Francis came up with the idea for l’Homme À la rose because we wanted to give men the power of a rose scent and move away from the cliché that rose is just for women.

I see our collection as a beautiful balance of things that complement my personality. I think this is what our customers enjoy the most about the Maison, that you can pick up a scent based on your mood and feel beautiful in it.

Baccarat Rouge 540 70ml

Is there a particular category of fragrance that tends to be more popular?

Historically, women make up a big proportion of the market. However, we are now seeing men becoming freer in their choices and with this, the men’s category is evolving. I feel that men are now expressing their personalities more, whether that’s with fashion or fragrance.

With us, we offer a sense of unisex fragrance. It’s important to remember that a men’s scent or women’s scent is to do with culture. We only label them because in our society there are certain scent categories that are seen as more feminine, masculine or gender neutral.

Where is Maison Francis Kurkdjian available in the UK and how does it perform here?

We are available in beautiful department stores like Harrods and Selfridges. We have about 23 locations in the UK and the brand is growing fast. We are very selective and limited in the brand’s distribution, but it usually boasts a very strong performance wherever it is stocked.

I’m a true believer in an omnichannel shopping experience. As a consumer, I can shop online or in-store.

Why did you decide to limit its distribution?

There’s a limited number of places where you can provide your customer with a beautiful experience. So, the distribution is limited because we want to be able to provide our customer with a genuine, beautiful and uplifting experience – something you cannot provide everywhere. We tend to go in stores that allow us to express our identity and champion our values of sophistication, quality and craftsmanship.

Can you see Maison Francis Kurkdjian expanding in the UK?

Yes, we will expand selectively and gradually. In the UK, I see a couple of boutiques to offer a more in-depth experience. We already have boutiques in locations such as Paris, Miami, Singapore, Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. These offer a much more immersive experience and I think that’s important because some customers want to go through a more personal shopping experience when choosing fragrance.

I also see us continuing to expand with our partners. For example, Harrods is developing its H Beauty concept and we will be a part of that as there are cities where we are not yet present.

How have you tried to establish Maison Francis Kurkdjian as a leading global player in the luxury fragrance industry?

We are a brand that carries the name of one of the greatest living perfumers of our time. Our ambition is to be able to showcase his talents freely. It is also our ambition to be one of the most desirable fragrance houses, where extraordinary lies within our creativity, craftsmanship and customer experience. 

As long as we are passionately giving our best to come up with genuine, authentic and beautiful stories, I believe that our customers will continue to embrace that and the Maison will continue to grow.

Do you have any future ambitions for the Maison?

My ambitions for the Maison are immense. I think it will be around for a very long time and will continue to grow beautifully. My biggest ambition is for us to remain at the top of our game, giving our customers the best in terms of passion, craftsmanship and quality but also bring joy to our customers by giving them an uplifting journey through fragrance.