(Photo: Robert Ferfecki and Didier Calvo)
How
does a tiny company manage to develop and launch a perfume without outside capital
and millions to spend on advertising?
Didier Calvo, owner of a few exclusive fashion boutiques in Cannes. When the
20th anniversary of his company came closer in 1994, he decided -
well aware that an exquisite scent definitely belongs to fine fabrics - to take
advantage of the fact that Grasse is right around the corner. Grasse, the world
capital of perfumes, made it easy for Didier Calvo to launch his own men’s
fragrance. Its name: UOMO, which means nothing else than man if you speak Italian,
and the adjoining bottle quite simply comes in the shape of a Roman-Greek torso
.
| Some time
later, Robert Ferfecki happened to discover UOMO in Cannes. He agreed on
a contract with Didier Calvo to launch UOMO in Switzerland, and could hardly
believe what happened then: The "BLICK", Switzerlands largest
selling Boulevard Gazette (not unlike the National Enquirer or The Sun),
was soon raving about the new super scent in the erotic bottle. The customers
stampeded the shops, and the perfume was sold out at once. In fact, Uomo
Parfums had a problem delivering their product in appropriate quantities,
which gave it immediate cult status. |
(Photo: Robert Ferfecki and Didier Calvo) |
| "BLICK, Switzerlands largest selling
‘Boulevard Gazette’, called HEROS a sex scent, and the German PENTHOUSE
recognized it as The Adonis Fragrance. Both of which swept the shelves all over the
countries within hours!"
Robert Ferfecki, marketing director |
This marketing success made such an impression on Didier Calvo that he invited Robert Ferfecki to develop the product with him in Cannes for worldwide promotion.
"Of course most people had warned me not to introduce a completely new perfume in the market, all of them saying it was impossible without the support of a million dollar budget. But I was convinced Didier Calvo had created a strong product with great market potential, provided it would receive the proper positioning and profit from efficient marketing", says Ferfecki, a Marketing Consultant who boasts an impressive job experience with top-notch advertising agencies, national and international, and clients of all types.
"It‘s amazing that wherever we launch our
product, there’s always a heavy discussion about the naked man. While in
fact I was not much interested in that aspect of the perfumes' image when I
created the bottle. It was much more the cultural and aesthetic dimension that
fascinated me", Didier Calvo smiles. "It’s really something
to think about: any good scent should underline the personality of the one who
wears a perfume, but most of the time the opposite is the case today: everybody
wears the same three fragrances, if possible even unisex! We wish to give our
demanding customers a real choice: an exclusive perfume of outstanding quality
not everybody calls his own."
| "I did’nt mean to shock anybody, it’s
all about the aesthetic and cultural values of classical antiquity that have defined the
ideal of a man for 2000 years and up to this day."
Didier Calvo, creator of HEROS |
| Uomo
products must have something magic about them: Gilbert Puech, Calvo’s
business partner in the Seventies, created some scents that were highly
appreciated by the illustrious clientele of the French Riviera. Of course
many stars and VIPs from all over the world still are among the clients
of Uomo today, and they get the personal attention of Didier Calvo whenever
they are in Cannes or St. Tropez. (Photo: The harbour of Saint Tropez) |
Calvo and Ferfecki had hardly enjoyed their first joint success when they took on a new challenge: Within only nine months they created a follow-up scent including a complete line of After Shave Balm, Shower Gel and Body Lotion - all financed out of their own resources. The name of the new product: HEROS, a blend of words of the Greek "Eros" (God of Love) and the English "Hero".
(Photo: Beautiful Côte d'Azur) |
HEROS is a Mediterranean fragrance, rich with balsamic extracts. Frankincense, which has been used for thousands of years in many cultures for ritual purposes, also gives HEROS a mystic note. HEROS is the fragrance of light, clarity and equilibrium. It harmonizes and stimulates, is a sophisticated complete work of art for discerning men. |
HEROS simply is the the fragrance of pure masculinity in its most classical form.
