L'Occitane opened a store here in Belfast about a year ago and as yet I have not ventured inside but instead have been savouring the aromas from the perfumes, beauty products and lavender (you can just make out a large tub of lavender in the window to the left) as I pass by. It brings back a lot of fond memories of holidays in Provence. It certainly brings a bit of colour to an otherwise dull street.
The company was founded by Olivier Baussan in the south of France in 1976 then the first shop and mail order service was opened in Volx, France, in 1980. The current factory in Manosque was established in response to an ever-growing distribution network and in the mid to late 1990s; subsidiaries were opened in the U.S., Hong Kong and the U.K.