The Transformation of a Home-made Lotion Brand to a Global Perfume Brand Jo Malone

Joanne Lesley Malone is the founder of Jo Malone, a perfume brand that is well known globally.

Malone sold the brand to Estee Lauder in 1999. After that, Malone launched a new perfume brand, Jo Loves.

How did Malone create such a well-known brand and what has happened in between?

1) Malone has a very strong character; she is very determined and independent.

Her father used to have several side occupations when she was younger. He was an artist and was also a magician at one point. Those days, Malone would help her dad out, she would be his famulus and would also be with him at his art stall selling his art pieces.
She has acquired many living skills and learnt a lot about life when she was helping her dad.
He was a drug addict and he used to argue a lot with his wife due to money issues. Although Malone was always stuck in between her parents, she has never blamed them and she still loved them wholeheartedly.
Malone’s mom met Madame Lubatti around the end of 1970 and that was the turning point of Malone’s life. Madame Lubatti had influenced Malone’s life in many ways. She was the one that trained Malone into someone that has a strong sense of smell. Malone also learnt about the creation of face masks and lotions from her.
Madame Lubatti has also encouraged Malone a lot and has helped her to build her self-confidence. She told Malone, “If you can’t do something perfectly, don’t do it at all. You must do it brilliantly!’”
Malone did not finish school as she suffered from severe dyslexia. She then joined her mother in the facial industry. They made and sold their own products.
Malone’s mother suffered from a stroke when she was 15. Malone then had to manage everything on her own. She took care of her mother, the business and her sister as well.
She and her husband, Gary got married when she was 21. They were both very hardworking people. Malone first started off with having a facial clinic in a small apartment. Her business was doing very well, and Malone was very busy at that time. Gary saw the opportunity in the facial business and thought that it was the right time to expand it. So, he decided to quit his job and join Malone in the industry. They opened their first store in London and that was the beginning of the iconic brand ‘Jo Malone’.

2) Malone was never easily swayed or influenced by others. She is always determined with her own decision

She was once doubted for creating scents and fragrances that were too unique or out of norm. However, that did not stop her from believing in herself.

3) Malone’s creative marketing strategy

Malone announced the opening of her store at a huge party and had over 2000 supporters! Then, she created Christmas gift set boxes during the holiday season. Her customer base grew rapidly from that. She managed to hit her 5 years goal within the first 6 months and her sales hit a million USD in just 15th months after her brand was launched!
She never slacked or slowed down after her success. She continued to think of new creative strategy.
When Jo Malone entered the US market, she made 50 of her friends parade around the most fashionable streets of New York with the iconic Jo Malone’s paper bags.

Source: Hotfoot
The iconic Jo Malone paper bag

4) She never gives up. She always pick herself up and continue to move forward even if she was faced with difficulties.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 37. Gary was devastated at that time. She had to suffer and go through the chemotherapy. They both knew that it was something that they have go through and overcome together.
Malone lost her sensitive sense of smell after going through chemotherapy. She was not able to distinguish the scents and fragrances as accurately as before. She was really upset about it.
Her sense of smell started to recover in 2011. She immediately thought of getting back into the business and that was when she started another perfume brand ‘Jo Loves’.
‘Jo Loves’ did not start off very well. Her sales were bad, and the brand did not reach out to a lot of people initially.
She was also determined to have a different approach for ‘Jo Loves’. She was daring and she innovated new fragrances for ‘Jo Loves’.
She had of an unconventional and different idea for ‘Jo Loves’. It was the fragrance paintbrush. Initially, her idea was opposed by many, yet she was determined to design it and produce it.
She has proved that her determination was right. ‘Jo Loves’ is currently well known and the fragrance paintbrush is now the trademark of the brand.

In Conclusion:
Malone mentioned that a hardworking person will surely succeed. We have got to take the time to enjoy the good and bad things in life, take some time out and not rush into the next step, because we might miss the moment and might miss out on the chance to learn if we do that.

Malone’s personality and creative thinking has allowed her to have a new beginning again.