▲REClassified Peng Chuo

Hi everyone, I would like to share a perfume brand that originated in China called REClassified (or RE for short). In China, when faced with competition from France’s Chanel, Italy’s Versace and other international brands, RE expanded rapidly from 1 store to almost 100 stores within 4 years. On Aug 31 2017, the RE fragrance brand was even awarded Wanda Enterprises’ Best Newcomer Brand 2017.

Faced with competition from big brands, how RE develop so rapidly? The story starts from RE founder Sun Sen. After returning from his studies in New Zealand in 2013, Sun Sen came to Shanghai to start on her “Big Plan”. This “Big Plan” was to start RE.

As we unpack Sun Sen’s “Big Plan”, we see an interesting story emerge that leads to a series of stories. Sun Sen then used stories to create a line of fragrances which depicted a picture. In the end, Sun Sen won over every customer of RE through this imagery.

This differed greatly from other fragrance brands on the market. Many brands on the market relied on packaging and advertisements to attract customers. What set RE apart was that she had given every fragrance a unique point, a story and an imagery. These factors attracted clientele and helped customers to understand and find a fragrance that truly suited them.

For example, RE has a fragrance called “Immortal Love”, which depicts a story about an Egyptian Pharaoh whose body never decomposed because of love. This perfume’s unique point was a holy and long-lasting fragrance made from the Egyptian lotus, jasmine and amber.

In another example, RE has a perfume called “Modern Obsession”. Its background story is about how some people want to insist on controlling minute details and the ultimate pursuit of life despite living in a fast-paced modern world. The perfume’s unique point was in a clean fragrance without impurities.

Other than that, RE also counts unique products such as the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon”, “Asura” and “The Nightingale and the Rose” as part of its line.

In building the foundation of these products, RE is a brand full of experiences. RE also offers DIY perfume mixing services in its RE-Salons within its close to 100 stores. Through the guidance of RE fragrance experts, customers can mix their favourite and unique scent.

Because of its good products and service, RE expanded quickly in China. RE’s vision is to become a global brand. Under this vision, RE decided to promote its products and brand to other countries in Asia. After the successful promotion in Asia, RE will also share its concept and culture to Europe and the Americas.

However, in 2016 when RE decided to go to the international market, it met with a big problem. The conditions for export/import of cosmetics were strict, required many laboratory test reports, complicated procedures and tariffs were high. RE needed a reputable OEM factory to solve these problems.

After understanding these requirements, 86Links Asia Pacific Director Kim Honghwa gave her views. If RE’s OEM factory was in South Korea, they could leverage on its technical expertise in the cosmetics manufacturing and overseas channels to save RE from many procedures while reducing costs, thus maximizing the success rate of overseas expansion.

After detailed study and analysis, Kim Honghwa quickly contacted a biopharmaceutical enterprise in South Korea. The enterprise had two cosmetics factories, one of which was exclusively doing OEM production for high end brands. The factory was a proxy for about 150 South Korean bands, its overseas distribution channels were spread throughout Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia.

In December 2016, under the connection of Kim Honghwa, the representative from the South Korean factory met with RE founder Sun Sen for the first round of talks. This round was held in the RE Expo outlet. The representative from the factory undertook detailed study of the Expo outlet and listened to Sun Sen’s philosophy, go-to-market strategies and international expansion plans for RE.

After the conclusion of the first round of talks, the factory invited Sun Sen to South Korea again to study the premises of the factory. The second round of talks were also very smooth, and concluded with RE resolving issues around the production of the perfumes.

Thereafter, RE met with a second problem: the location of its first store in Singapore. RE needed guidance from an insider knowledgeable with Singapore’s retail environment in order to find a location for RE quickly, resolve legal issues, marketing and other operational matters.

86Links Southeast Asia Client Service Director Lin Zhikang connected RE to Changi Jewel after understanding RE’s requirements based on his understanding of the Singapore retail environment.

Jointly developed by Capitaland Mall Trust and Changi Airport Group, Changi Jewel is an integrated-use facility that brings together airline facilities, shopping and entertainment, accommodations and a scenic garden. Changi Jewel is positioned as a middle- to high-end mall with high traffic, which was suitable for the positioning of RE. Conversely, RE’s characteristic RE-Salon could fulfil the entertainment needs for travelers.

After studying Changi Jewel, with the assistance of Lin Zhikang, Sun Sen also studied varied malls around Singapore to prepare for the opening of an outlet.

Of course, for RE to enter the Singapore market, location choice was just one of many concerns. Other concerns included marketing for exposure, legal procedures and other issues that were solved one by one with Lin Zhikang’s help.

RE brand representative Peng Chuo had this to say during an interview with 86Links:

“Our RE-Salon’s positioning in this world is very precise, our vision is to become a global brand. Hence, under this vision, we took our first step out of China into South Korea. Through our collaboration with 86Links, we understood that the Southeast Asian market was more likely to accept products from South Korea. Therefore, our first overseas production line was established in South Korea. We are very thankful to 86Links for introducing this resource to us.

Based on this foundation, we can now expand into Singapore, Vietnam, some countries in Southeast Asia and even Malaysia. We will get there step by step, to enter their mails, to open the first RE outlet locally to promote the RE-Salon to the locale.

Thereafter, we will advance towards Europe and slowly towards even further places, to America and such countries, to promote the culture of the RE-Salon and share our concept. Of course, there might be some gaps to be covered when we go to every country, we will incorporate each country’s essence into RE. We will make adjustments to production lines and stores in every country, so that we can better service each country’s customers.

Above is my sharing on the process in which a Chinese perfume brand went through in its creation, to expansion of close to 100 stores in China, then overseas expansion to build its global brand. Of course, there are more details in the story that I could not cover in length. If you would like to understand more, please leave a comment on 86Insights for a chance to interact with one of the people featured in this article (for real, as we know them haha).

Much thanks to the representatives of RE brand for acceptance 86Links’ interview and adding rich insights into this article.

Chinese：

      大家好~今天我想分享一个原创于中国的香水品牌：REClassified（下简称：RE）。在中国，面对法国香奈儿、意大利范思哲等国际大牌的竞争，RE品牌在短短4年内，从第一家店迅速发展到现在的近百家门店。2017年8月31日，RE香水品牌更是荣获“万达商业2017最佳新锐品牌奖”。

       在大牌的竞争之下，RE品牌是如何取得如此快速发展的呢？这得从RE品牌的创始人孙淼说起。2013年，从新西兰留学回国后，孙淼便来到上海开展了他的“大计划”。这个“大计划”就是创建RE。

      打开孙淼的“大计划”，我们看到一个非常有趣的故事，这个故事后面跟着一连串的故事。然后孙淼用故事来做成一款香水，描绘一幅画面。最终，孙淼通过这些画面去说服RE的每一个客户。

       这与市面上的香水品牌有很大的不同：市面上的香水品牌可能更多的是用包装、广告来吸引客户。而RE不一样，她为每一款香水赋予一个特点、一个故事、一个画面。这个特点、故事、画面会吸引客户，帮助客户去了解、找到适合自己的香水。

       例如，RE有一款叫“不腐的爱恋”，讲述了法老王的尸体因爱情而不腐的故事。该香水的特点是：埃及莲花、茉莉、琥珀混合出的圣洁而又悠远的香气。

       再例如，RE还有一款叫“现代强迫症”的香水。它的背后故事梗概：在现代极快的生活节奏下，依然有人要坚持对细节的把控、对极致的追求。香水的主要特点也是：清爽的不带有任何杂质。此外，RE还有“巴比伦空中花园”、“阿修罗”、“夜莺与玫瑰”等各有特色的产品。

       在做好这些产品的基础上，RE还是个极富体验感的品牌。RE在近百家门店为客户提供调DIY调香服务。通过RE专业的调香指导，帮助客户调制出自己最喜欢的、独一无二的味道。

因为有了好产品、好服务，RE在中国市场获得快速的发展。而RE的愿景就是成为一个世界品牌。在这样的愿景下，RE决定把自己的产品、品牌推广到亚洲其他国家。在亚洲推广成功后，RE甚至会到欧洲、美洲去宣传RE的文化、概念。

      但是在2016年，RE决定走向国际市场时，RE遇到一个很大的问题：因为化妆品的进出口条件苛刻，需要诸多项的检测报告，手续繁琐，关税高。RE需要一个国际有名的代工厂，来解决这些问题。

      了解到该需求后，86Links亚太区总监金红花给出了她的想法：如果把RE的代工厂安排在韩国，借助韩国化妆品工厂的高端技术、海外渠道，可以帮RE免去很多报关手续，降低较高的成本支出，保证海外市场拓展的效率。

       经过周密的调研分析，金红花迅速地联系到韩国当地的一家生物制药企业。该企业旗下有两家化妆品工厂，其中一家便是专门接受高端品牌代工生产业务。该工厂代理了约150个韩国品牌，海外销售渠道遍布东南亚的新加坡、马来西亚、越南、菲律宾等国家。

      2016年12月，在金红花的牵线下，韩国代工厂负责人与RE品牌创始人孙淼进行了第一次的洽谈。这次的洽谈是在RE世博园店进行的。韩国代工厂负责人对世博园店进行了详细地考察，同时也听取了孙淼对RE的产品理念、市场策略、国际拓展的介绍。

      第一次会谈结束后，韩国代工厂又邀请孙淼到韩国，实地参观代工厂。第二次洽谈也非常顺利，RE成功地解决了香水的代工生产问题。

      随后，RE遇到了第二个问题：新加坡建店选址问题。RE需要一个熟悉新加坡商业环境的向导，以更快速地找到适合RE的地址、解决法律咨询、营销推广等问题。86Links东南亚区客户服务主管林志刚，在详细了解RE的需求后，凭借着对新加坡商业环境的了解，将Changi Jewel 对接给了RE。

       Changi Jewel 是一座聚集航空设施、购物休闲、住宿、景观花园等功能于一体的综合性地标建筑，由新加坡凯德商用与新加坡樟宜机场集团共同开发。而Changi Jewel 定位中高端商场，人流量大，非常符合RE的品牌定位。反过来，RE极具特色的DIY调香服务，也满足了候机旅客的休闲娱乐需求。

      考察完Changi Jewel后，在林志刚的协助下，孙淼还考察了新加坡多处商场，为RE在新加坡建店做准备。当然，中国品牌RE走进新加坡，选址只是众多问题中的一个，还有营销推广、法律程序等问题也在林志刚的协助下逐步解决。

而RE的品牌负责人彭逴也在86Links的采访中表示：

       我们RE调香室的定位在于这个世界是非常明确的，愿景就是成为一个世界品牌。因此，我们在这样的愿景下，跨出了中国的第一步，也就是去到韩国。并且我们通过86Links的合作，了解到东南亚市场可能更能接受来自韩国的产品。所以，我们境外的第一条生产线在韩国设立。也非常感谢86Links为我们推介了这方面的资源。

      那在这个基础上我们可能会拓展新加坡市场、拓展越南市场、拓展东南亚的一些其他的国家，甚至马来西亚这种市场，我们都会逐步走进，去到他们的商场，开设RE在当地的第一家门店，向当地的人们宣传RE的调香室。

      在这之后，我们会慢慢去到欧洲，慢慢去到更远的地方，去到美国，诸如此类的国家，来宣传RE调香室的文化，宣传我们的概念。当然，当中会有一些些差别，就是我们去到的每个国家，会融入这个国家的元素到RE中来。我们每个国家的产品线、每个国家的门店，都会有些调整，那这样可以更好地服务于当地的市场、服务于当地的我们的客户。

      以上，便是一个中国香水品牌从创立，到在中国拥有近百家店，再到拓展海外市场、打造国际品牌的过程分享。当然，这其中还有故事细节，因篇幅问题而不能详细讲述。如果你想了解更多，可在86insights的后台留言，有机会与文中人物进一步交流（这是真的，因为我认识他们哈）。

致谢：感谢RE品牌负责人 彭逴接受86Links的采访，为本文提供了丰富的素材。