Le Labo Opens First China Store in Shanghai
Le Labo's first China store opened recently in a stand-alone shikumen building in Xintiandi, a retail hot spot in downtown Shanghai. The two-story building, a former historical Shikumen “Open House” Museum that showcased the lifestyle of Old Shanghainese in the 1920s, was transformed by the Estée Lauder Cos.-owned fragrance brand into a Le Labo flagship, which showcases a wide range of Le Labo products and also boasts a vegan bakery and café.
Staying consistent with Le Labo’s vintage-inspired wabi-sabi retail aesthetic, the store preserves the building’s original wooden ceiling and embellished window panels while displaying curiosities such as an old rotary telephone, a vintage safe, and a typewriter.
Le Labo was founded in 2006 by Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot in downtown New York before being acquired by Estée Lauder in 2014. Sustainability has been a core of Le Labo's business development. From the carton to boxes to the glass that holds these luxurious perfumes, all of it is sourced from recycled materials and are recyclable after use. When it comes to the fragrance, ingredients are responsibly sourced and the user gets full details of where each and every ingredient comes from, such as the mandarin oil which comes from a project that replaces all seeds they make use of.
