LONDON — In August, Rituals Cosmetics will begin a retail race, spending 40 million euros to refurbish 1,500 boutiques across 30 countries to accommodate new products and categories, including fragrance and beauty.
The retail brand, which is based in Amsterdam, said it plans to finish the job in 30 working days in one of the largest-scale retail refurbishments taking place in Europe. The plan is to offer a more stylish merchandising, with furniture and fittings that reflect the brand’s push into the premium market.
An announcement is expected this week.
In an interview, Rituals‘ chief operating officer Gregory Bruyer said that, on average, the brand will be renewing more than 40 boutiques each working day, with around 100 teams across Europe. The transformation, which starts at the beginning of August, is set to be completed on Sept. 25.
He called it “an incredibly complex and challenging operation,” but said it was necessary, given the brand’s renewed focus on personal well-being and experiences. The new spaces, he added, need to match Rituals’ fresh emphasis on skin and hair care, makeup categories and its fragrance launches.
“We strongly believe that Rituals is all about sense, about discovery, and that we can do better. So we’re launching two new perfume lines, and they will have a prominent place within our stores,” he said.
The new fragrance area at Rituals.
He said Rituals is taking fragrance very seriously, and wants to ensure its 40 million-plus loyalty card customers are buying the brand’s scents, rather than shopping elsewhere.
The plan is to have a “haute” fragrance and a premium one, and to tap into a younger cohort, too, who are exploring, layering and enjoying fragrances differently from their parents and grandparents.
“Fragrance is exploding everywhere, and the customers are getting younger as well. The concept of a fragrance wardrobe, of layering, is getting big. We’re even seeing hair mists doing well, with people using them five or six times a day,” he said.
Following the refurbishment, the boutiques will have a “lighter, more premium look and feel, with extra attention to customer experience, product presentation and discovery,” according to Rituals.
At the heart of the renewed concept is Beauty World, where skin care, makeup, and fragrance will be merchandised together.
Other collections will also benefit from bigger, more prominent spaces including the Private Home Collection, the men’s line Homme, and the recently introduced hair care line. In addition, the Luxury Travel Collection will be added to the majority of boutiques.
Raymond Cloosterman, chief executive officer and founder of Rituals, said it was always his dream to build “an international well-being brand, an innovative concept within the luxury beauty industry that was the first to combine high-quality products, accessibility and making a positive impact. We are not building a retail company, but a brand. Our boutiques have played an essential role in this from Day One. This is where our vision of luxury comes to life.”
A meditation pod at Rituals’ Mind Oasis on Oxford Street in London.
Bruyer said that Rituals was making an effort to refurbish sustainably, with the refit being carried out according to the principle of “remove, refresh, and reuse.” Existing furniture and materials are reused in line with the brand’s B Corp certification, while new elements have been designed for flexible use across different collections and layouts.
The brand said that as part of its sustainability focus, it is working toward 90 percent natural-origin formulas and packaging that is refillable, recyclable or made with recycled material.
Worldwide, the beauty and well-being brand usually opens one boutique every working day, or around 200 stores each year.
In Asia and the Middle East, a similar refit program will take place in the first quarter of 2027, once the new collections are introduced in those regions.
Bruyer said Rituals puts a great emphasis on the “consistency” of quality, design and customer service at its stores, no matter how large or small they are or where they are located.
“We very much believe in physical retail and once we open a store we see online sales in the region rise. We are truly an omnichannel company,” he said.
Rituals was founded in Amsterdam in 2000. In addition to its stand-alone stores, it has 4,176 shops-in-shop and has begun trialing Mind Oasis spa and meditation areas at some of its larger city-center flagships.
