Can LVMH turn BDK into China’s next cult fragrance house?

What happened LVMH’s venture capital arm, LVMH Luxury Ventures (LLV), has taken a minority stake in French niche fragrance house BDK Parfums, marking the maison’s first external investment since its founding in 2016. Terms were undisclosed, but the deal shows the luxury behemoth’s sharpened focus on securing early positions in high-growth artisanal fragrance brands. Founded by perfumer David Benedek, who comes from a family deeply rooted in France’s perfume heritage, BDK has surged to become one of Europe’s fastest-rising independents. The brand posted 45% year-on-year sales growth, expanded into 45 markets, and won multiple FiFi Awards for creations including Rouge Smoking, Velvet Tonka, and Gris Charnel Extrait. Its first Paris flagship opened in 2024, with plans to open more boutiques from 2026 while expanding digital channels, which currently comprise around 10% of sales. BDK’s China retail expansion BDK’s China footprint has become increasingly strategic. The brand entered the market in 2023 through SKP-S in Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu, later expanding into DT51 and Harmay, with touchpoints now in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Wuhan. Positioned in the high-end salon niche at 50-270 euros ($58-$315), BDK has tapped into a Chinese consumer base increasingly drawn to artistic storytelling, unique bottle design, and non-mainstream olfactory signatures. The Jing Take: Why LVMH and everyone else wants a slice of niche fragrance The investment comes amid a structural boom in high-end fragrance, even as other beauty segments soften. Niche perfume has become one of beauty’s fastest-expanding categories, prized for its non-exclusivity, emotional premium, and higher margins. Capital has been pouring into the category. In the past year alone: L’Oréal took stakes in Middle Eastern house Amouage and Chinese niche leader To Summer; Estée Lauder invested in Mexican luxury brand Xinú; L’Occitane acquired Italian home-fragrance label Dr. Vranjes; and Ushopal led a new funding round for Chinese maison Documents. The flurry shows how niche is no longer niche — it is the new center of gravity for global beauty groups. According to Globenewswire, China’s fragrance market is valued at $1.24 billion in 2024, and is forecast to more than double to $3.02 billion by 2030, expanding at 7.5% CAGR, which would outpace the growth of China’s overall beauty sector. This uplift is powered by young, urban consumers who increasingly treat fragrance as affordable self-expression, gravitating toward unisex, niche and “not-everyone-has-it” scents that offer individuality beyond designer pillars. Can LVMH help BDK scale in China without diluting its artisanal identity? LVMH’s move reflects a clear strategic reading: niche fragrance is becoming the next luxury battleground, and China is the market where that battle will be won or lost. Chinese consumers’ appetite for storytelling, design-forward bottles, and “not-everyone-has-it” identity scents aligns naturally with BDK’s DNA — positioning the maison for outsized cultural traction. At the same time, LLV’s minority-stake model allows BDK to retain creative autonomy while accelerating global rollout, especially in Asia. For LVMH, the bet secures an early foothold in a brand with strong momentum and deep craft integrity — before competition (and valuations) rise further. The question now is execution: scaling distribution and brand heat without diluting the artisanal aura that made BDK desirable. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Can LVMH turn BDK into China’s next cult fragrance house?