MILAN — La vita is indeed dolce at Mazzolari, one of Italy’s leading perfumeries. “Our clients aren’t feeling the crisis,” said owner Augusto Mazzolari. “Saturdays here are like Christmas,” he continued, gesturing around at the product-packed shelves in his storied Milan emporium. Sources estimate that store alone had sales of 50,000 euros, or $66,404, on the first Saturday of March.
Despite the wondrous array of products for sale, Mazzolari said his clients continue to clamor for more, in terms of both products and services. “We have to keep moving ahead,” he said. “Our clients have even more needs.”
To that end, Mazzolari recently purchased a 1,292-square-foot empty store next to his, where he’s opening a three-level space that will be reserved for pop-up stores promoting a different brand every two weeks.
Meantime, Mazzolari will convert its current pop-up store, adjacent to the perfumery, into a hair spa in early May.
In early April, Mazzolari hosted Christian Dior in its temporary store, which was designed to look like the backstage area of a fashion show, complete with a lit runway outlined on the black carpet and a flat-screen TV showing the most recent fashion show.
Makeup artists manned four makeover stations and aestheticians offered services in a treatment cabine on an upper floor. The concept worked. Sources report the space was expected to pull in over 100,000 euros, or $132,929 at current exchange, in two weeks, with an average client spend of 148 euros, or about $192.