Something in the Àerre: Fragrance maker to open 10 new stores as network grows to 26

Australian fragrance maker Àerre is set to open 10 new retail shops before Christmas in the next phase of its rapid expansion, which will see it grow from one kiosk to 26 stores in the space of 18 months.

Àerre was founded in 2023 by Alec Ramsey and Stefan Muff and started life as an online-only brand, specialising in perfumes ‘inspired by’ luxury scents but sold at affordable prices.

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The retailer, whose name is pronounced ‘air’, has won over leagues of fans for its French-made fragrances that smell like Gucci’s ‘Bloom’ and Chanel’s ‘Coco Mademoiselle’, but which retail for a fraction of the price.

Àerre opened its first retail kiosk at Westfield Parramatta in New South Wales in June 2025. It has since added another 15 physical outposts to its footprint, using a combination of permanent shopfronts and temporary pop-ups to test out new markets for its scents.

Ten new locations will open over the next 10 weeks in locations including at The Glen and Eastland in Melbourne, Queens Plaza in Brisbane, Canberra Centre in the ACT and Warringah Mall and Liverpool in Sydney.

Another four locations will be trialled in Sydney with temporary pop-ups at Broadway, Eastgardens, Rouse Hill and Bondi Junction.

Co-founder Alec Ramsey told SmartCompany Àerre selects its locations based on demand forecasts generated through a mix of Google search data for branded and non-branded terms and the retailer’s own sales data.

“We then overlay this with partner data to provide a ‘qualified customer’ index that represents how many potential perfume-buyers in a given area are already aware of our brand,” he added.

Àerre stores “all about discovery”

Àerre stores are generally smaller format kiosk that are located within major walkways of busy shopping centres and they serve a vital role in reaching new segments of shoppers, said co-founder Stefan Muff.

“For us, stores are all about discovery,” he told SmartCompany.

“Àerre started online, and the business relied on people trusting a scent they’d never smelled. Our stores have become the easiest way for someone to find us for the first time, and they’ve introduced us to a whole new group of customers who want to smell before they buy.”

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Retail sales now account for around 45% of Àerre’s revenue, said Muff, which means “the case for opening more stores is right there in the numbers”, despite the broader challenges hitting the Australian retail sector.

“We’ve been profitable every year since launching in 2023 and haven’t taken any external funding, so every store is backed by a business that already works.”

Demand for fragrances remains strong, Muff said, but consumers are increasingly sensitive to price.

“People haven’t stopped wanting a fragrance, but plenty of them aren’t ready to spend several hundred dollars on a designer bottle,” said Muff.

“We make our perfumes in Provence, France, inspired by the scents people love. We bring the world’s most recognised scents at a fraction of the price. When someone can spray it on their wrist in a shopping centre and see that for themselves, the decision becomes easy.” 

“Luxury without the luxury price tag”

Beyond the Australian market, Àerre also operates in New Zealand and is considering expanding into more international territories too, said Muff.

A global expansion could be well-timed for the company, which Ramsey says is finding itself in a “sweet spot” of selling a product that “feels like a luxury without the luxury price tag”.

To that end, Àerre has released ‘discovery kits’ with smaller bottle sizes, for customers that want to try out a range of scents before buying one of the brand’s standard 50ml bottles, or those who are looking for a Christmas stocking filler.

“People are being more considered about how they spend, but they still want gifts that feel special,” said Ramsey.