Sweet smell of success
You don’t have to be a Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Puff Daddy or Jenifer Lopez to put up your own perfume line. This was what Joe Mari Quibilan had proven everyone when he put up Scents and Blends almost 10 years ago.
“Very few thought I would last this long, considering how little I know about running a business. What pushed me to move on, however, is my belief in myself, the unwavering support of my family and a lot of help from God,” Quibilan narrates.
“I don’t consider myself as a born entrepreneur. It is something I want to be but something I really have to work really hard. In the beginning, I had to reengineer myself. I really had to adjust how I think, how I should react, and how to take risks. I know nothing about marketing and branding. Fewer still when it comes to sales. So I really had to learn and learn fast. Good thing I have great mentors to help me out and cheer me on. My dad, mom and my uncle,” Quibilan said.
Understanding his target market, this young entrepreneur knew exactly what the sweet smell of success was like, turning his solitary kiosk of perfume into a huge success .
Quibilan launched his business at a time when the entire fragrance business here and abroad was getting heavily saturated with famous names, big brands and numerous new retailers launching their own brands.
But Quibilan really mean business. Despite the odds, he pushed through with his plans and opened his first kiosk at Festival Mall in Alabang in October 1999. He remembered some of his friends drawing lots as to how long his business would last.
“Nobody thought that I would last this long, they even laughed off the idea, kaya nagpustahan mga kaibigan ko kung gaano ang itatagal ko,” Quibilan recalls .
Being a chemist by profession, Quibilan took advantage of his knowledge by doing numerous research on his perfumes and product lines, market demands and customers’ varied tastes and changing needs.
“We wanted to give everyone comparably cheap perfumes that are highly affordable without sacrificing the quality,” Quibilan says. .
So in November of the same year, he opened his other stalls in SM,
Owing to the patronage of his broad market, he makes sure that he is involved in every aspect of the business from ingredient selection to compounding and even to the delivery of finished products. Quibilan vouches that his ingredients come from the finest European oils which he personally compounds into the finest scents.
“I am basically hands-on as far as Scents and Blends is concerned. Because we don’t want to risk the quality of our perfumes and at the same time do everything in order,” he says. .
Just like any other business endeavor, Scents and Blends has its own ups and downs. The decline in sales of perfumes and fragrances across the globe did not discourage Quibilan, instead he decided to make his perfumes more affordable and better.
Right now, the company has a vast array of product lines with over 120 variants sold in at least 30 branches located at malls all over Metro Manila and several nearby provinces. His products cater to consumers of all ages from all walks of life.
“We want to become a total fragrance and personal care store in the country and I can see that we are close to achieving that very soon.”
Aside from having the best quality perfumes, the soft-spoken owner assured that all his products are safe and even environment friendly. The company encourages recycling by offering certain discount to those who would surrender or trade their empty or old bottles.
Quibilan has always believed in self-sustainability and entrepreneurship and it is for that reason that he is opening his company to franchisers.
Scents and Blends has very affordable franchise and distributorship packages. For more information about franchising and distributorship, call 09178001226 or 7721477 or send an email to [email protected].
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