Perfume maker Joel Cruz sets sights on international markets

MANILA, Philippines - Entrepreneur Joel S. Cruz is looking at taking the world stage one whiff, one perfume bottle and one nation at a time.

Known in the business and showbiz circles as the “Lord of Scents,” Cruz has charted the growth path of Signatures by Joel Cruz Inc. here and abroad through competitively-priced but quality perfumes.

“My dream now is for Aficionado and Signatures by Joel Cruz to be known not just in the Philippines but also in other countries. Not just being patronized by the Filipinos abroad but also by the international market,” said company president and CEO Cruz.

Cruz said the perfume maker is focusing on gaining a foothold in the international markets.

Signatures by Joel Cruz has already registered its brand names in the Middle East, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States. To fast track the expansion, the company set up overseas distribution arm that now supplies several institutional stores like 7-Eleven and Watsons.

Cruz said international sales are growing fast, especially since last year’s move to expand overseas.

“Early this year, we have orders already from Thailand and UAE. We would like to target also Africa because it’s a good country for perfumes,” Cruz said. Filipino-owned stores in Abu Dhabi have also started carrying Aficionado and Signatures by Joel Cruz brands.

Closer to home, the company is taking advantage of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Integration in 2015.

“One thing with Asean is we have this harmonization wherein we can bring all our products in these Asean countries. We’re quite aggressive now in exporting our products in other countries,” Cruz said. The economic integration would facilitate the free flow of goods, services, labor, investments as well as capital in the economic bloc.

Under the foreign expansion plan, Signatures by Joel Cruz focuses on introducing its products to other nationalities.

For instance, the company changed its concoction for the UAE market to cater to the local perfume market, Cruz said.

Signatures by Joel Cruz will spend P8 million this year to support its international expansion, which includes the registration of products and brands overseas.

“It’s the same (quality) as signature brands but their cost is $30-40 per bottle, ours is only $5,” Cruz said, adding that its most expensive perfume is sold at $7 while the cheapest is just $1 apiece.

“You can get the same scent and the scent of Aficionado lasts longer, as long as eight hours,” Cruz said.

To ensure quality, Signatures by Joel Cruz continues to source its raw materials from European countries Germany, France and the United Kingdom, shunning away from cheaper materials from China and Taiwan.

Aside from quality products, Signatures by Joel Cruz is also a beneficiary of overseas Filipinos’ word of mouth advertising.

“Whenever I see them abroad, they are proud to say they bring 24 bottles of perfume, they’re the ones introducing the product (abroad),” Cruz said.

Before venturing into perfumes, Cruz imported apparel from Hong Kong and Bangkok in 1986 through Joel Cruz Enterprises Inc., which expanded to manufacturing and selling to local department stores in 1987.

However, the entry of cheaper apparel from China and Thailand dampened the business, prompting Cruz to pursue perfume retailing.

Locally, Cruz said the perfume maker is already one of the top players in the market. The perfume enterprise that started in 1999 has grown to become a P700-million business as of 2011.

“Business is doing very well for Aficionado and Joel Cruz Signatures. Somehow, we captured the Philippine market already because we have so many stores nationwide,” Cruz said.

So far, the firm has 317 franchised stores and 214 company-owned branches. The network can easily reach 600 by the end of the year, the entrepreneur said.