Luxury perfume brand Elegantes London seeks US growth

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 19, 2019

High-end perfume house Elegantes London is accelerating its expansion plans in the U.S. with the appointment of Thea Kocher as head of sales & marketing for the USA division.

The brand, established by husband and wife duo Thomas and Dagmar Smit, is ramping up its U.S. expansion this year after seeing strong sales in 2018. Its perfumes are stocked in upmarket retailers including Fortnum & Mason in London, Leclaireur in Paris and Profumerie Mazzolari in Milan.

Thea Kocher will work with the Smits to support the global expansion of Elegantes London into the U.S. market. She has more than 14 years of experience in the luxury beauty industry, having started her career at NY-based spa and skincare firm Bliss, and later becoming director of visual merchandising, international development and global marketing at Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.

Kocher was also executive director of marketing at Caudalie, a French skincare company with distribution at Sephora, bluemercury, and other high-end boutiques. Most recently, she has helped beauty startups including LXMI, Doc Block, and Shhhowercap as a consultant, and currently serves as an advisor for UpstageIQ.

“Elegantes London has achieved post record sales and profits for 2018. Following the success in the UK market, we are excited to unveil our global growth strategy, including the appointment of new retail partners in the USA,” commented Dagmar Smit, CEO of Elegantes London.

“Kocher will play an integral role in supporting the new partnerships for Elegantes London in the USA.”

Kocher added: “The success of Elegantes London in Harrods reflects the Smits' commitment to excellence, which will remain the focus as we grow our global footprint.”