Not just skin deep (part 3): Multi-label beauty store escentials gets a revamp

It’s not enough for local multi-label beauty retailer escentials to simply stock some of the world’s favourite cult names such as Le Labo fragrances or Radical skincare. Its five-year-old Paragon store is currently undergoing an expansion (as the escentials office previously located at the back of the store has moved out) and getting some nip tuck to evolve with the times. In fact, the store will be fully closed from Oct 30 to Nov 11.

“It’s a whole revamp. Even though the increase in floor area is less than 10 percent, we’re making it much more spacious through a redesign,” shared escentials brand manager Michelle Liu, Business Manager and Head of escentials. The currently store which is decked out in mostly white gets an injection of soothing shades of greys and neutrals when it reopens in mid November to create an intimate environment to customers to linger in; products will be placed in a more visually arresting manner to encourage browsing and experimenting. There would be a dedicated make-up area and fragrance library where customers can sit around to play with the colours and scents. The revamped store will also see designated corners for Diptyque, Le Labo and Maison Francis Kurkdjian on top of new exclusive brands ByRedo and Verso introduced.

The revamp is part of escentials’ continual effort to elevate the brand experience. It’s looking into improving its service standards as well by “empowering” its beauty advisors through more training, putting them into their specialties—be it fragrances, skincare or makeup—and possibly even getting them new uniforms.

“We recognise that there’s a bigger younger crowd in the market and we want them to feel that escentials is approachable in our products and service,” said Liu. “Moreover, we get a lot of tourists being located in Paragon. These are two segments of consumers who see a lot and are the lookout for the latest and trendiest. We need to be able to keep up.”