Bond No. 9

Bond No. 9 is an American luxury fragrance house based in New York City. Laurice Rahmé launched the brand in 2003, opening its principal boutique at 9 Bond Street in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood. The address supplied both the company name and a central part of its identity: Bond No. 9 presents fragrance as a form of urban portraiture, associating individual scents with New York neighborhoods, avenues, parks, districts, and civic themes. The company began with a group of 16 neighborhood fragrances and expanded substantially during its first decade. By 2013, it had produced more than 60 fragrances, including products inspired by areas such as Central Park South, Madison Square Park, Manhattan, Chinatown, and Brooklyn. Its portfolio has included products marketed to women, men, and both sexes, rather than operating within a strictly gender-exclusive fragrance structure. The brand is known for high perfume-oil concentrations, generally around 18% to 22% in many fragrances, with some pure-parfum offerings reaching approximately 30%. Bond No. 9 differentiates itself through a combination of place-based storytelling, decorative packaging, and direct retail experiences. Its bottles are often brightly colored or graphically distinctive, and some limited editions have been embellished with Swarovski crystals. The company has also sold candles, pocket sprays, body creams, and other products that extend its scent concepts beyond traditional bottles of perfume. A custom-blending service allows customers to work with the brand’s fragrance specialists, known as Bond Perfumistas, to create and bottle a personalized scent. Retail distribution combines the company’s own New York boutiques with upscale department stores and specialty retailers. The brand has maintained five eponymous New York boutiques and has been sold through retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, Hudson’s Bay, Isetan, Sephora, and De Bijenkorf. Its New York-focused marketing has included the Bond Mobile, an English taxi decorated with imagery echoing the brand’s bottle designs and used to chauffeur customers and media editors. The brand has also pursued cultural and institutional collaborations. A licensing relationship with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts began in 2007 and produced a series of Warhol-associated fragrances before the agreement ended in 2013. Bond No. 9 retained the scents after the licensing period but renamed and repackaged them. In 2011, it introduced the I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9 capsule collection, using Milton Glaser’s well-known I LOVE NY logo and extending the brand’s New York theme from the city to the wider state. The collection included versions associated with men, women, families, mothers, fathers, holidays, Earth Day, and marriage equality. Bond No. 9 has also undertaken environmentally and socially oriented activities. Its recycling program encourages customers to return empty fragrance bottles from any brand for refurbishing or recycling, sometimes in exchange for a gift. The company created Saks NOLA for Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans in 2011, during the city’s post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding period. Its I LOVE NY for Earth Day fragrance was linked to environmental observance and a contribution to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The company states that its products are produced locally in the New York metropolitan area. In addition to physical retail and wholesale distribution, Bond No. 9 has experimented with digital packaging, including a 2013 QR-code initiative associated with the fragrance named BONDNO9.COM. The company’s public profile has been reinforced by industry recognition. Astor Place and Brooklyn received 2009 FiFi Awards in women’s and men’s fragrance categories, respectively, while New York Oud won a 2012 FiFi Award for Perfume Extraordinaire. Rahmé received the Fashion Group International Beauty/Fragrance Entrepreneur Rising Star Award in 2006 and Cosmetic Executive Women’s Innovator of the Year award in 2012. Bond No. 9 remains positioned as a premium, design-led fragrance brand centered on New York identity and experiential retail.

Bond No. 9 was launched in New York City in 2003 by Laurice Rahmé. The company took its name from its original principal address, 9 Bond Street in Manhattan’s NoHo district, and built its identity around the idea that a fragrance could represent a particular New York place or atmosphere. Its opening assortment consisted of 16 neighborhood fragrances, establishing the place-based naming strategy that would define the house. During its first decade, Bond No. 9 expanded from a boutique fragrance operation into a broader luxury scent business. Its portfolio grew to more than 60 fragrances by 2013. Many compositions referenced New York neighborhoods, streets, parks, and districts, including Central Park South, Madison Square Park, Manhattan, Chinatown, and Brooklyn. The portfolio also included scents for women, men, and both sexes. The brand’s formulation strategy emphasized comparatively high concentrations of perfume oils, with many products containing approximately 18% to 22% and selected pure-parfum products reaching about 30%. Retail development combined Bond No. 9’s own boutiques with distribution through luxury department stores and specialty retailers. The company established five New York boutiques and secured placements at Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, Hudson’s Bay, Isetan, Sephora, and De Bijenkorf. Its marketing extended the physical identity of the stores into the streets through the Bond Mobile, an English taxi decorated to resemble the visual language of the company’s bottles and used for customer and media transportation. The house expanded its cultural associations through a licensing partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts beginning in 2007. The resulting fragrance series used the Andy Warhol name and bottle concepts influenced by his artwork. Products in the series included Andy Warhol Silver Factory, Andy Warhol Union Square, Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue, Andy Warhol Success Is a Job in New York, Andy Warhol Montauk, and Andy Warhol by Bond No. 9. When the licensing arrangement ended in 2013, the company kept the scents but changed their names and packaging. In 2011, Bond No. 9 introduced the I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9 capsule collection. The project broadened the geographic frame from New York City neighborhoods to the state as a whole and used Milton Glaser’s I LOVE NY logo on its bottles. The collection developed into several thematic variants, including fragrances for him, her, all, mothers, fathers, holidays, Earth Day, and marriage equality. The company also created Saks NOLA for Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans, linking an exclusive fragrance to the city’s rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. Environmental and community-oriented initiatives formed another part of the company’s public identity. Bond No. 9 operated a bottle-recycling program that invited customers to return empty bottles from any fragrance brand for recycling or refurbishment, sometimes with a gift provided in return. The I LOVE NY for Earth Day fragrance was associated with an environmental message and a contribution to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The company has stated that its products are made locally in the New York metropolitan area. Product development has not been limited to perfume. Bond No. 9 has offered candles, pocket sprays, body creams, limited-edition crystal-covered bottles, and custom fragrance blending. In the custom service, customers consult with Bond Perfumistas and create a personalized metro-fragrance that can be bottled for them. In 2013, the brand also promoted BONDNO9.COM as a digital-scent concept using a QR code on the packaging. Industry recognition followed the company’s expansion. Founder Laurice Rahmé received the Fashion Group International Beauty/Fragrance Entrepreneur Rising Star Award in 2006 and Cosmetic Executive Women’s Innovator of the Year award in 2012. Bond No. 9 fragrances also received FiFi Awards: Astor Place and Brooklyn were recognized in 2009, and New York Oud won in 2012. The company’s continuing identity is that of a New York-centered luxury fragrance house combining high-concentration scents, collectible design, neighborhood storytelling, boutique retail, and collaborations with cultural and civic institutions.

• 2013

  Bond No. 9 reaches more than 60 fragrances

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  The house reports a portfolio of more than 60 fragrances, including retail-exclusive collaborations.

• 2013

  Perfumista Avenue launches

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  The company marks its tenth anniversary with a fragrance inspired by an imaginary New York neighborhood.

• 2013

  Andy Warhol licensing agreement concludes

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  Bond No. 9 retains and reworks the associated fragrances after the licensing relationship ends.

• 2012

  New York Oud receives a FiFi Award

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  New York Oud wins the FiFi Award for Perfume Extraordinaire.

• 2012

  Rahmé receives CEW Innovator of the Year award

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  Cosmetic Executive Women recognizes Rahmé as Innovator of the Year.

• 2011

  I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9 is introduced

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  The company launches a New York State-themed capsule collection using Milton Glaser’s I LOVE NY logo.

• 2009

  Astor Place and Brooklyn win FiFi Awards

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  The two fragrances receive awards in women’s and men’s fragrance categories.

• 2007

  Andy Warhol Foundation partnership begins

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  Bond No. 9 begins a licensing partnership that produces fragrances associated with Andy Warhol and his visual language.

• 2006

  Laurice Rahmé receives a Rising Star award

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  Rahmé receives Fashion Group International’s Beauty/Fragrance Entrepreneur Rising Star Award.

• 2003

  Bond No. 9 launches in New York

  [1]Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org

  Laurice Rahmé opens the brand at 9 Bond Street in NoHo with an initial collection of 16 neighborhood fragrances.

New York-inspired luxury fragrance with distinctive packaging, high perfume-oil concentrations, cultural collaborations, and experiential retail.

• Luxury fragrance collection · 2003

  New York neighborhood fragrances

  Bond No. 9’s core line consists of perfumes named for or inspired by New York locations, including neighborhoods, avenues, parks, and districts. The collection translates urban associations into scent profiles and uses place-specific storytelling as a central organizing principle. Examples include Central Park South, Madison Square Park, Chinatown, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Astor Place. The range includes fragrances marketed to women, men, and all genders.

• Luxury fragrance

  The Scent of Peace

  The Scent of Peace is one of Bond No. 9’s recognized signature offerings. It represents the house’s practice of attaching broad cultural or civic ideas to a luxury fragrance while retaining the brand’s distinctive bottle-led visual identity. It is included among the brand’s flagship offerings.

• Themed fragrance collection · 2011

  I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9

  Introduced in 2011, this capsule collection celebrates New York State rather than a single city neighborhood. Its bottles feature Milton Glaser’s I LOVE NY logo, and the collection developed into variants associated with men, women, families, mothers, fathers, holidays, Earth Day, and marriage equality. It extends Bond No. 9’s geographic branding into a civic and cultural campaign.

• Cultural collaboration fragrance collection · 2007

  Andy Warhol fragrance series

  This series was developed through Bond No. 9’s licensing partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The fragrances included versions associated with Silver Factory, Union Square, Lexington Avenue, Success Is a Job in New York, Montauk, and Andy Warhol by Bond No. 9. After the agreement ended in 2013, the company retained the scents but renamed and repackaged them.

• Retail-exclusive fragrance · 2011

  Saks NOLA

  Saks NOLA was created exclusively for Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans. The fragrance was connected to the city’s recovery and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and demonstrates Bond No. 9’s use of commissioned scents to link product launches with a specific place and local context.

• Luxury fragrance

  New York Oud

  New York Oud is a Bond No. 9 fragrance that received the FiFi Award for Perfume Extraordinaire in 2012. Its name combines the house’s New York location-based concept with oud, a prominent perfumery material, and illustrates the brand’s practice of pairing metropolitan references with high-end fragrance conventions.

• Luxury fragrance · 2013

  Perfumista Avenue

  Perfumista Avenue was introduced in September 2013 for Bond No. 9’s tenth anniversary. Unlike many of the company’s products, it is based on a fictional neighborhood, allowing the brand to turn its location-based naming system into an imagined urban destination.

• Personalized fragrance service

  Custom-blended metro-fragrances

  Bond No. 9 offers customers a personalized blending experience conducted by specialists called Bond Perfumistas. Customers consult on a scent, have it blended, and can bottle the resulting customized metro-fragrance. The service reinforces the brand’s boutique and experiential positioning.

• Fragrance extensions

  Fragrance accessories and body products

  Beyond perfume bottles, Bond No. 9 has offered scented candles, pocket sprays, body creams, and limited-edition bottles decorated with Swarovski crystals. These products extend the house’s fragrance themes into home scent, portable formats, personal care, and collectible packaging.

• 2012I LOVE NY for Earth Day

  New York State · United States

  Bond No. 9 introduced an Earth Day-themed fragrance linked to environmental awareness and New York’s conservation identity.

  Outcome. A percentage of proceeds was directed to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

  Source
• 2011I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9

  New York State · United States · International markets

  The brand launched a collection celebrating New York State with bottles carrying Milton Glaser’s I LOVE NY logo and variants tied to different audiences and occasions.

  Outcome. The collection expanded into multiple themed fragrances, including versions for men, women, mothers, fathers, holidays, Earth Day, and marriage equality.

  Source
• 2011Saks NOLA

  New Orleans · United States

  Bond No. 9 created an exclusive fragrance for Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans as the city continued rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

  Outcome. The project produced a location-specific retail fragrance and connected the brand with New Orleans recovery efforts.

  Source
• 2007Andy Warhol Foundation collaboration

  United States · International luxury fragrance markets

  Bond No. 9 entered a licensing partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to create fragrances bearing the Warhol name and packaging influenced by his artwork.

  Outcome. The partnership produced several fragrances and ended in 2013. Bond No. 9 retained the scents but renamed and repackaged them after the licensing term.

  Source
• Bond No. 9 bottle recycling program

  United States · Bond No. 9 retail locations

  The company encourages customers to return empty fragrance bottles from any brand for refurbishing or recycling, sometimes providing a gift in return.

  Outcome. The program supports bottle reuse and recycling while creating an additional customer engagement mechanism.

  Source
• Bond Mobile street marketing

  New York City

  The company uses an English taxi decorated in the style of its fragrance bottles to chauffeur customers and media editors.

  Outcome. The branded vehicle extends Bond No. 9’s packaging and New York identity into an experiential street-level marketing format.

  Source

• 2013

  Introduce Perfumista Avenue for the tenth anniversaryProduct launch

  Background

  Bond No. 9 marked ten years since its launch and had already developed a large portfolio of real-location fragrances.

  Action taken

  The company introduced Perfumista Avenue, a fragrance based on a fictional neighborhood.

  Aftermath

  The launch demonstrated that the brand could extend its neighborhood concept beyond documented New York places into imaginative world-building.

  Source

• 2013

  Retain and repackage Warhol-associated fragrances after licensing endedStrategy

  Background

  The licensing agreement with the Andy Warhol Foundation came to an end.

  Action taken

  Bond No. 9 kept the underlying scents but changed their names and packaging.

  Aftermath

  The company preserved part of the product portfolio while removing the former licensing presentation.

  Source

• 2011

  Expand from New York City to a statewide I LOVE NY collectionProduct launch

  Background

  The brand had primarily focused on New York City locations and sought a broader civic expression of its identity.

  Action taken

  Bond No. 9 launched the I LOVE NY by Bond No. 9 capsule collection using Milton Glaser’s I LOVE NY logo.

  Aftermath

  The collection developed into several audience- and occasion-specific fragrances, broadening the brand’s New York platform.

  Source

• 2007

  Enter a licensing partnership with the Andy Warhol FoundationM&A

  Background

  Bond No. 9 sought to connect its fragrance products with a major figure in New York’s visual and cultural history.

  Action taken

  The company entered a licensing partnership allowing it to create fragrances bearing the Andy Warhol name and designs inspired by his art.

  Aftermath

  The partnership produced a multi-product series before the agreement concluded in 2013. The scents were subsequently renamed and repackaged.

  Source

• 2003

  Adopt a New York neighborhood-centered brand strategyStrategy

  Background

  The newly launched house was established at 9 Bond Street and introduced an initial range of 16 fragrances linked to New York neighborhoods.

  Action taken

  Bond No. 9 made place-based naming and New York cultural references the organizing principle for its fragrance portfolio and retail identity.

  Aftermath

  The approach supported expansion into dozens of additional fragrances and became the defining feature of the brand.

  Source

1. 1Bond No. 9en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bond No. 9 official websitebondno9.com