Does It Really Matter Where You Come From?

I think it might just so.

Every region in the world has its own individual characteristics but also includes the attributes of the wider area that is influenced by the history and how their ideology actually evolved.

It does depend on from where you come... as people in different continents have very significant values and approach to life.

In the Third World Countries; no matter which country or continent, there is a lack of basic systems that are essential for survival. There are rising gaps in the rich and the poor, injustice prevails in all walks of life. For an average person even to enjoy the benefits of a normal life feels like a mission. The ones who have the money have the power, those who have the power, have the control.

But when you think about it, these systems just don't emerge like that, they are a result of the wider world domination which we will come to later.

So with the constant struggle to get the basic necessaries, such individuals get into the mode of dealing with the situation and moving on. The struggle to get a home, to get food, clean water. Luxuries (for them) like Education, electricity and gas then become very low on their priority list.

In the Eastern/Asian Countries, Southern European/American, African Countries one can see some strong family support systems with strong ties and relationships. These ties come naturally and are embedded within most and individuals feel obligated to help each other. These values may come from when these countries were invaded and ruled by either the British, French, Romans or Spanish (- list goes on)! When countries are invaded and conquered, the victims then strive to retain their values, identity and culture and can do so by staying together and keeping their own support systems going.

It is not to say that other factors are not involved in the evolution of family systems. But the idea is to understand why it is so strong in these countries rather than the North Western Countries.

Western Countries have their very own values and thoughts, most of them based on 'individualism'. And one can see similar effects of such values in the society. Family systems are not strong enough currently and every member sort of does his/her own thing, that is not to say that all are similar in their function. There are still some very strong value based families that follow the traditional English etiquette and manners and seem to be successful.

But on the other hand, 'majority' of the people in the West take everything for granted. Home, education, health care, social care, food, water running from the taps and strive for luxuries - a vital difference between the rich and poor.

The point I'm trying to put across is that if someone migrates from a certain area, they will bring the full wealth of background with them. For instance if a family has moved to the UK from a small village in India, they will not be able to settle in, adapting the norms of UK immediately. They will live trying to retain their culture as much as they can in the new place, as if trying to cling on to their identities. And I have seen that sometimes these families try so hard to retain their culture that they forget that the people and the place they left behind, have steadily moved on.

So yes it does depend on where one comes from, what background, what experiences and what coping mechanisms people acquire.

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Did a Fragrance Really Trigger the Events That Led to the Infamous Beheading of Marie Antoinette?

Jean-Francois Houbigant launched his famous Perfume atelier and shop on the Fauborg St. Honore in Paris in 1775. This was during the gilded age of French royalty and of the elite that that parasitically clung to the Court. Luxury, hedonism and sensuality were the cornerstones of life for these denizens of hedonism.

Mr. Houbigant opened his shop and carried a beautiful basket of flowers over the threshold on its first day in business. The basket of beautiful flowers drew very favorable comment from his initial clients, so, being a clever Marketer he commissioned a sign to be painted representing the bouquet. This sign was hung over Houbigant's shop door at 19, Fauborg St. Honore and became indelibly identified with the success of the Fragrances and Soaps produced therein. For decades Houbigant advertisements and handbills copy began with "At the sign of the Basket of Flowers".

The list of clients who frequented Houbigant included everybody who was anybody in pre-French Revloution Paris. Only the finest, rarest Toiletries were produced and made available at Houbigant. Dandies, church prelates, government ministers and military officers and their wives were listed on preserved invoices as having been customers. But it was the Royal Family and their Court members that conveyed a special patina on Houbigant.

Alas, the glow of the royal life would be sundered by the violence and anarchy produced by the outbreak of the French Revolutionary. The rich and luxuriant class associated with all that was wrong in France was hunted down by the mob, instilled with the lust to remove those whom they perceived had caused their impoverishment and servitude.

The Empress Marie Antoinette was certainly a prime target for revenge. Her ladies in waiting knew that she was a highly prized object of derision by the mob and that violence would be done her if caught. The Empress was purportedly bundled into a carriage and surreptitiously led away, hopefully to safety.

The escape was foiled, however, when the carriage carrying Marie Antoinette became bogged down in the confusion of peasants fleeing the violence in all directions. There was a maelstrom of mob activity, noise and mistrust around her. Then someone sniffed an elegant scent emanating from a carriage. Only a person of real wealth and refinement could wear such a Fragrance. That person would naturally be an enemy of the enraged proletariat.

And so, Marie Antoinette was captured by the mob. Her beautiful, refined Houbigant Perfume had signaled that she was definitely not one of the masses. This story has taken hold and become part of the legend of Houbigant. After the spouting the infamous quip, "Let them eat cake", the Empress Marie Antoinette was unceremoniously beheaded. Houbigant survived the French Revolution. It seems that the new non-bourgeoisie rulers of France loved luxury Perfumery too.

For the next 200 years Houbigant prospered, introducing over three dozen unique Fragrances including such classics as Quelques Fleur (1912) and Chantilly (1941). The luxury and exclusivity that Houbigant represented insured that stores around the world pampered the brand.

Unfortunately, as so often happens when classic family nurtured brands come under the control of asset managers, Houbigant declined in the late 20th century. By the 1980's Houbigant products were only to be found in mass merchandise outlets. The Company was acquired out of bankruptcy by a start-up; Renaissance Fragrance. Renaissance itself filed for bankruptcy in 1999.

By the beginning of the 21st century the venerable House of Houbigant was no longer producing Perfume Products. The revered Brands that the Company had launched, nurtured and pampered had been watered down, diluted and were sold in deep discount chains. The Luxury Scents that had enchanted Marie Antoinette, and is said to have lead to her capture and subsequent execution, also has disappeared forever as a harbinger of beauty, quality and exclusivity.

by: Geoff Ficke

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

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