Skip to content

Skip to content

LEARNING AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LONDON

Engage with the world, from the vantage point of a culturally diverse global city.

Degree programmes
Apply
Two people stand outside, smiling and leaning on a black fence. Colorful, patterned tiles decorate the wall behind them. One person wears a scarf and coat, the other a hoodie with stripes.

Student Visit to Atelier Rebul

Experiential Retail and Brand Heritage

Highlights and Key Benefits for Students

Real-world exposure


Students visited Atelier Rebul’s flagship London boutique to understand how a global heritage brand operates at the intersection of marketing, retail experience, and international expansion. Atelier Rebul is a Turkish heritage fragrance and skincare house with origins tracing back to 1895. It operates boutiques across Europe, including its newly opened flagship store in London. The visit directly supported the International Marketing course, giving students tangible insight into how strategic theory translates into day-to-day business practice.

Shelves display various bottles, jars, and boxes of perfumes and candles in a store, with items neatly arranged and labeled. During a student visit to Atelier Rebul, the warm wooden shelves and inviting ambiance create a memorable experience.
A group of people stands in a line inside a well-lit store, listening to a woman who appears to be giving a tour or explanation. Shelves and wooden ceiling panels are visible in the background.
During a student visit to Atelier Rebul, a woman stands behind a curved wooden counter with bottles on it, holding a tester strip. A man in a dark jacket stands in the foreground, observing her in the boutique setting.


Understanding brand heritage and experiential retail


Through a guided tour and interactive discussions, students explored how Atelier Rebul integrates its 130-year legacy into contemporary retail design and brand storytelling. The visit revealed how elements such as visual merchandising, sensory marketing, and heritage curation shape customer experience and reinforce brand positioning.

The visit included the following:

  • Store Tour: Students explored the boutique layout and heritage displays, including archival artefacts and historic product packaging, gaining an appreciation for how physical space communicates brand identity.
  • Talk & Q&A with Host: The Atelier Rebul team shared insights on brand positioning, marketing strategy, and the challenges of entering the UK market. Students asked questions about supply chain management, pricing strategy, and sustainability practices.
  • Behind-the-Scenes / Production Insight: Students were introduced to the fragrance formulation and production process, learning about ingredient sourcing, quality control, and the relationship between production costs and retail pricing.
  • Interactive Reflection: A concluding discussion encouraged students to connect theory with practice—examining how concepts such as cost-plus pricing, internationalisation strategy, and consumer perception manifest in a live business environment.


Inspiration and motivation


The visit inspired students by illustrating how a brand can remain authentic to its roots while expanding globally. Witnessing how Atelier Rebul balances tradition, innovation, and sustainability motivated students to think critically about their own future career paths in international business and marketing.

Insight into business collaboration

Students observed the interconnected roles of marketing, finance, operations, and product development—highlighting how cross-functional collaboration sustains brand coherence across markets.

Exposure to professional culture and strategy tools

Through direct interaction with brand representatives, students gained insight into the culture of a heritage luxury company, including decision-making processes, market entry planning, and experiential branding techniques.

Student perspective

“Working with Atelier Rebul was an incredible experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity to engage with such an established heritage brand and learn how meaningful storytelling can shape consumer connection.”

Nisha Reyes Muñoz, International Business with a concentration in Brand Management
A young woman with long, straight brown hair wears an off-shoulder white sweater, standing indoors against a gray wall with white grid lines. She is looking at the camera with a slight smile.

Students reflected that the visit clarified how raw material sourcing, currency fluctuations, and production scale directly impact final retail pricing. The experience helped bridge theory with practical application, reinforcing lessons about pricing strategy, international branding, and operational realities.

“Thank you so much for giving us today’s opportunity to experience what a real market pitch feels like. Even though it was a mock pitch, the nerves definitely felt real!”

Nisha, in a Dragons Den setting presenting her findings in front of AR representatives.
A woman stands by a screen giving a presentation titled "History & Opportunity" during a Student Visit to Atelier Rebul in a modern conference room with a round table, laptops, and a visible wall clock.

Faculty perspective

“Student experience is at the heart of Northeastern University London. This visit offered students a rare window into how a storied brand balances tradition with modern global ambitions — an experience that enriches classroom learning far beyond textbooks.”

Dr Fran Dench, Assistant Professor in Marketing (Social Sciences)

“When engaging with an external partner on an impact challenge, students have expressed a desire to visit the company to better visualise the bigger picture and gain insight into what they do and why it matters. The Atelier Rebul site visit enabled this, allowing students to deepen their understanding of the company and connect their classroom learning to real-world operations.”

Dr Rebecca Maccabe, Associate Director Experiential & Careers (Social Sciences)

Learning Outcomes and Relevance

• Applied understanding of how international marketing decisions—such as entry, pricing, and positioning—are informed by production, supply chain, and brand heritage.
• Operational insight into how a fragrance and skincare company sources, formulates, and delivers products.
• Brand heritage perspective on how storytelling, design, and sensory experience contribute to differentiation in luxury retail.
• Critical thinking about managing tensions between cost, quality, and scale within niche heritage markets.
• Professional exposure to how marketing, finance, and international business intersect within a real-world organisational context.