A View from the Top with Jo Malone: ‘When I’m creating, I come alive’

Jo Malone needs no introduction. After founding one of Britain’s most famous fragrance brands in the 1980s, the hugely successful, self-made businesswoman went on to sell her eponymous company – whose products are now available in 22 countries – to Estée Lauder for undisclosed millions in 1999.

She could have put her feet up and retired before 40 – but the “Queen of fragrance” had other plans. Malone stayed on as creative director of the brand until 2006 – a period during which she was also diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. But stepping away from Jo Malone, the company she created at her kitchen table, proved harder than she thought.

The Estée Lauder deal included a “lockout clause”, which meant she was contractually prevented from being part of the beauty industry and forced into a five-year exile. Such was her influence, this meant she wasn’t even allowed to purchase items from a beauty counter in case it appeared to be an endorsement.

“I missed the industry so much. Believe it or not, it never really felt like a business to me. When I’m creating and working I literally come alive, it’s something that’s in me,” she tells The Independent.

This might be why those close to her were not surprised when she told them about her idea to launch a second global fragrance brand.

“My family knew because I’ve been such a nightmare to live with for five years. They knew I had to get back there, it was inevitable.

“But some of my friends did tell me: ‘I know you’ve got another business in you Jo but should it be fragrance again?’” she adds.

For someone with her influence, Malone is almost too humble: “I did think about moving away from the industry and doing other things. But I’ve never written a CV in my life, I had no qualifications [she left school at 15 and struggled academically due to her dyslexia]. I didn’t want to go through the humiliation of someone saying no. I wanted to move forward.”

In 2011, her second brand, Jo Loves, was born without any external help and she is now finally ready to take it on to the global stage. “Every penny that we invested in the company was ours [with her husband and business partner Gary Wilcox]. I set it up from my own savings.

“I still love Jo Malone, of course, even if I don’t identify with it creatively anymore. I’m still proud of it and Estée Lauder has done an incredible job. But Jo Loves doesn’t feel like a business, it’s an extension of who I am,” she says.

Being a household name, you might assume building a start-up would have been easier the second time around, but Malone laughs out loud as soon as she hears the question: “I’ve got to be honest with you, the first two years were just excruciating.

“Now I can say this because we have passed that stage, but I’m not sure I could have told you this at the time, I felt so embarrassed. I’m afraid – and I say this to all the people that are building their businesses today – if success does land on your doorstep on day one, you’re one in a million.”

According to Malone, she made every mistake possible, from packaging to distribution, when launching her new brand. “We were about to launch our capsule collection in Selfridges over Christmas, a fantastic opportunity. We were building the pop-up the night before opening day and I just knew I had made the biggest mistake with the packaging, it just wasn’t right.

“Sometimes in business you know you’ve made a big mistake but you don’t have the money to put it right straight away, so you have to salvage as much as you can, and that’s what I did in the first two years. What I knew was I had a product that could still be global and that’s what drove me.”

“During these two years, I just kept thinking, I have to get through the week, the month, Christmas. The thing that motivated me the most were the people working with me and the salaries I was responsible for. At one point when there was not enough coming in, I started doing speaking engagements across the country. I knew these engagements would give me a fee that would guarantee a month’s salary.”

Despite Malone’s struggles, Jo Loves quickly attracted loyal customers.

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At the time, Malone operated from a creative studio in west London. Customers from all over the world would have to call and make an appointment to order a candle or a fragrance, buying 10-15 bottles in bulk. She had a thriving little business, but she knew it needed a home.

After an 18-month delay, which allowed her to replace the initial red packaging with a more subtle white, she launched with a single shop on Elizabeth Street in London’s Belgravia in 2013 – in the very same space where she started her shopkeeper journey more than 30 years ago. “Sometimes life will bring you back to where you started,” she says.

Malone’s business philosophy comes from a continual desire to innovate and inspire, which is why her shop was always going to be different. “I didn’t want to do another candle store. So I thought of a new way to present everything. It’s about changing the way that the industry looks at cosmetics and fragrance,” she adds.

The store itself is a delight to the senses the second you step into it. The elegant white design of the shop allows your eyes to relax and the door is always kept closed, enabling customers to be stimulated by the scents in the air – the perfect setting for Malone’s “Fragrance Brasserie Bar”, where customers can try out a complimentary fragrance “tapas” experience.

During the experience, shoppers can start by selecting their desired fragrance to create a palate of scents – similar to a food tasting, but for the nose. Bath cologne is first warmed in a tagine before being presented to you as a cloud of steam; a cleanser is then shaken over ice and strained into a Martini glass. Lastly, lotion is whipped and foamed before being painted onto your skin.

“In the same way we all remember our first kiss, I wanted my customers to remember their first experience with my brand. It adds value to the brand with no costs and translates into a sale 97 per cent of the time,” she says.

For Malone, perfume is strongly associated with memories. Her bestseller scent Pomelo – a fresh, citrus smell with hints of rose and patchouli, reminiscent of a summer holiday – is now one of 14 fragrances inspired by her own experiences. Other products include bath and body lotions, and candles of course.

In 2017, Malone started using a paintbrush as part of the brand’s fragrance tapas experience, which inspired her to change how her customers applied scent. Although very few believed in the idea originally, it’s now her flagship product.

“Whenever someone says ‘no one is going to use that’ or ‘it’s never going to work’, it always goes into my head. These paintbrushes became my golden ticket, the product that got me all over the world telling creative stories. So, if someone tells you you can’t do it, stick to your guns. Don’t always listen to the voices around you.”

Jo Loves was always designed to be a global brand and Malone is planning to open new stores soon, both in the UK and across the Atlantic – although she doesn’t want to discuss the exact locations just yet.

“I can see the potential in my business and it’s something I would never take for granted,” she says.

For any young entrepreneur starting their business, Malone’s story is an inspiration. Perhaps because she was repeatedly told she would fail, she’s keen to give back to the next generation and tell them that they are not alone.

With that in mind, Malone has recently taken part in Secret Leaders – a business podcast that dives deep into the stories of top CEOs, their brands and their personal lives.

“Sometimes when you’re on your own and you start your business from your spare room, it can be isolating. There’s a lot of self-doubt. I want to inspire the next generation, but also tell them that they’re not on on their own.”

“So Secret Leaders is a way to share my story with them – the good the bad and the ugly. Sometimes hearing someone else’s story might inspire you to think differently.”

Malone cites passion, resilience and respect for the currency of creativity as the three most important values in developing a new brand.

When I ask what advice she would give to a young business owner in doubt, she quotes the catchphrase from the movie The Imitation Game, in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays British mathematician Alan Turing: “Sometimes it’s the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”

Jo Malone features in series 2 of the UK’s leading business podcast, Secret Leaders – founded by Dan Murray-Serter and Rich Martell. Series 3 is now live, and listeners can subscribe on iTunes and Spotify. For more information visit secretleaders.com