Portals Parfums × STOQ: how preorders helped sell out in under 24 hours

From celebrity scents to Portals Parfums

Isaac Lekach’s career in fragrance began early, working alongside his father to create scents for global celebrities. His first major project was with Paris Hilton, followed by launches for Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, and Adam Levine. Today, he runs Flower Shop, a family-led company with his wife (creative director) and brother, producing fragrances in collaboration with bold partners like Melanie Martinez and Cirque du Soleil. Portals Parfums, one of Flower Shop’s flagship brands, was the store where they turned to STOQ for a major preorder launch.

“We help people get their vision across. We don’t just put a bottle in front of them. We let them explore their creativity.”

The challenge: confusion and overselling risks

Flower Shop had run a presale in the past, but it created confusion. Customers rushed to buy without realizing it was a preorder, leading to service headaches. On top of that, fragrances are difficult to ship internationally because of alcohol content restrictions. To reach customers worldwide, Flower Shop manages warehouses in multiple countries.

That meant Isaac needed a preorder setup that could:
- Clearly communicate preorder timelines to customers.
- Prevent overselling by managing inventory across different warehouses.

“Our setup was unique, but STOQ helped make sure everything processed and appeared correctly.”

Why Isaac chose STOQ

When preparing for the Portals Parfums relaunch, Isaac asked Shopify for recommendations. STOQ came up alongside a few others, but one difference stood out immediately: responsiveness.

“I sent a question, and you were the fastest to respond. Then Anaam helped me right away with the setup. That’s when I knew it was the right decision.”

Compared to other apps he had explored, STOQ felt the most user-friendly and flexible.

The team guided him through unique warehouse configurations, handling multi-warehouse limits and ensuring accurate communication with both customers and fulfillment centers.

Launch: a complete sellout

Portals Parfums relaunch was highly anticipated. Fans had been waiting years for it to return. With STOQ powering the preorder launch, the entire allotment sold out in less than 24 hours.

Isaac spent the day monitoring the backend, watching traffic spike and orders flow in. “I was watching the computer the whole time to make sure nothing broke… as traffic increased, I saw it was holding. At the end of the day, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Everything worked.”

STOQ also enabled Portals Parfums to switch from preorders to back-in-stock email capture once inventory ran out. The team even helped customize the alerts to match the brand’s identity, down to color-matched capture forms.

“At the end of the day, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

What stood out most: service and reliability

For Isaac, the difference wasn’t just the feature set. It was how reliably the app performed and how quickly the team responded whenever help was needed.

“Honestly, your customer service, the attentiveness… that was incredible.”

The value: peace of mind

When asked about return on investment, Isaac didn’t bring up numbers. What mattered most to him was peace of mind.

“When you have reliable tech at your disposal, I don’t think you can put a price on that. It helps you sleep at night.”

For Isaac, STOQ’s real value is knowing every high-stakes launch will run smoothly.

Advice for other merchants

Isaac’s advice is simple: preorders aren’t just for marketing hype.
They can be used for:
- Cash flow: capturing revenue before production.
- Market testing: validating demand before committing to scale.
- Customer experience: making sure buyers know what to expect.

His main caution is to pick tools you can trust. “Whatever the reason you do it, you want to make sure it works according to plan and doesn’t backfire.”

What I’d tell myself before launch

• Make sure preorder messaging is clear. Don’t assume customers will read the fine print.
• Watch your backend closely on launch day, but trust reliable tech to hold.
• Don’t underestimate the importance of fast, human support.
• Preorders are not just about hype, they’re about testing markets and protecting cash flow.

Why this mattered

Portals Parfums turned to STOQ to manage preorders across multiple markets. The result was a seamless launch, clear communication to customers, and a complete sellout in under a day. For Isaac, it wasn’t just about selling out. It was about the confidence that everything would work when it mattered most.