retailer series: kai conversations with...franco wright, co-founder of luckyscent

in this next kai conversation highlighting our boutique retailers, we are thrilled to introduce you to franco wright, one of the founders of luckyscent.com and the scent bar - with locations right near us here in los angeles and one in nyc. we have had the pleasure of working and, truly, growing with franco over the past 20 years! we started our boutique fragrance businesses around the same time -- he had the vison to believe in supporting independent fragrance brands “back in the day” and has continued to do so with kai ever since. we are so grateful to be a part of his beautiful website and stores! we encourage you to read his story in our conversation with franco below. you will be inspired not only by this creative and retail visionary, but also by his own personal strength and positive outlook. how “lucky” are we to count franco and luckyscent as one of our longtime, beloved retailers and friends…

xo,
tyler.

how are you taking care of yourself and your business during this time?  are there certain things that are proving to be sources of motivation/inspiration?  if so, please feel free to share.

well, this is an interesting question, about me specifically… i had a health scare last month, a blood clot that came from a leg injury, and spread to my lungs. so i was in er for 3 days – and a couple weeks on bed rest.

that all being said (phew!).. i’ve been finding myself watching more standup comedy on netflix as of late; i think when we often sometimes take our health for granted, and then life throws you a curve ball.  having that joy of laughter is really a wonderful remedy.

how did you start your career? and how did you end up with your current role?

myself and my business partner, adam – we met about 22 years ago in venice, at a graphic design firm. during that time we knew we wanted to start our own agency – we did – and from there, we nurtured a few beauty clients, which then led to the idea of building our own website, solely focused on perfume. luckyscent.com was born in the fall of 2002. back in the day, los angeles had a lot of unique independent perfumes brands (kai, child, sage, creative scentualization / sarah horowitz)… so these brands inspired us to introduce these perfumes via our website and sell them across the country… and world…

can you please share a few sentences about your retail business and what makes your platform unique and special to your community?

our backgrounds were marketing and design – so we really took that the heart in building our platform with the focus on content (creating stories around perfume), photography, and curation of unique brands. back then, really the community was forming on message boards and specialty groups such as make up alley. to bring the perfumes from online to customers’ homes, we created the idea of online sampling, essentially hand-making sample vials so customers could try all these unique, independent brands.

how did you first discover kai?

gosh.. now that’s a good question!  i believe we first found it in a small women’s boutique in los angeles. it was gaining traction, and of course popular amongst celebrities (and daily candy!) so somewhere along the journey, we reached out.

what is your favorite kai product?

i prefer the original in edp format.  it wears so well. 

can you please share a memory of a customer experience with kai?

one of my son’s teachers wore kai, so every time i would pick him up from school i would catch a whiff of gardenia!

what do you like to do for fun when you are not working?

lately i’ve been obsessed with pickleball.  other than that, tennis, biking, paddleboard.

what is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

mostly all the above…  and drinking wine if that counts…ha!

can you share a little about where you live, and who you spend your leisure time with?

studio city, it’s a great town and near work, school and close enough to be in the city.

where do you look for inspiration for your business?  are there certain instagram pages or pinterest boards you follow? or are there podcasts you listen to?

well, as for podcasts.. and on the topic of comedy, i really only listen to smartless. but as for more business inspiration, i read a lot of the beauty industry publications online, and i do enjoy wallpaper magazine to get inspired from a more global design/retail/product perspective.

 

thank you, franco!