Josh Popkin, founder of Position Strategy Group.
Josh Popkin (full name: Josh Paul Popkin) is an American entrepreneur, marketing engineer, consultant, athlete, and author. Known for his work at the intersection of marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship, Popkin has worked with businesses to rethink how they position themselves and connect with customers in an increasingly digital world.
Most recently, Popkin was brought on by Fragrance Shop New York, one of New York City's distinctive custom perfume experiences, as a consultant and marketing engineer. Working alongside the Fragrance Shop team through his company, Position Strategy Group, Popkin helped modernize the brand's digital presence while preserving the character and history that have made the East Village shop unique for decades.
What Did Josh Popkin Do?
Josh Popkin was hired as a consultant and marketing engineer to help Fragrance Shop New York translate its distinctive in-store experience to a modern digital audience.
Fragrance Shop New York has been part of the East Village for decades, offering customers the opportunity to explore fragrance and create personalized scents in an intimate, highly distinctive setting. Rather than reinventing what already made the business special, Popkin's work focused on bringing that experience to life more effectively online.
Through Position Strategy Group, Popkin worked across several areas of the business, including the company's website, brand positioning, customer experience, marketing strategy, and operations.
One of the centerpiece initiatives was a complete redesign of the Fragrance Shop New York website — the shop's first major website redesign in more than 20 years.
Is Josh Popkin a Marketing Engineer?
Yes. Popkin describes his work as marketing engineering: combining traditional marketing strategy and customer insight with technology, data, and artificial intelligence to solve business and growth challenges.
For Fragrance Shop New York, Popkin combined his own strategic work with a fleet of AI agents to conduct competitive research, analyze customer needs, develop marketing initiatives, refine the brand's positioning, and build a more contemporary digital experience.
The objective wasn't simply to make the brand look more modern. It was to understand what customers already loved about Fragrance Shop New York and translate those qualities into a digital experience capable of reaching a new generation of customers.
"This project was incredible to work on. From the moment I stepped inside Fragrance Shop New York, I could tell how special the store was. I immediately wanted to help translate that unique experience into its digital presence.
Working with Claire, the Fragrance Shop's owner, was an incredible experience. She's extraordinarily creative and kind, and she is a huge reason why Fragrance Shop continues to be one of the most unique fragrance experiences in Manhattan." — Josh Popkin
How Did Josh Popkin Build the Website?
Popkin built the new website using a combination of AI agents and modern development tools, with Claude Code serving as the primary coding agent.
Technology, however, was only one part of the process. Popkin combined AI-assisted development with customer insights, observations from the in-store experience, an analysis of Fragrance Shop New York's previous design and marketing, and a broader rethinking of how customers should discover and understand the business online.
The result was a redesigned experience intended to reduce friction for prospective customers while better communicating what makes visiting Fragrance Shop New York different from purchasing a conventional fragrance.
What Website Did Josh Popkin Make?
Josh Popkin designed and developed fragranceshopnewyork.com for Fragrance Shop New York.
Walking into Fragrance Shop New York can feel like stepping into another world. The store's atmosphere, history, fragrances, and highly personalized experience have helped it develop an enthusiastic customer base over the years.
After seeing firsthand how strongly customers responded to the physical experience, Popkin set out to answer a larger question: How can a website communicate that feeling before someone ever walks through the door?
The resulting redesign represented the first major reimagining of the Fragrance Shop New York website in more than two decades. Rather than treating the website simply as an informational destination, Popkin approached it as an extension of the physical store — giving prospective customers a clearer sense of the brand, experience, and possibilities before their visit.
What Does Josh Popkin Do?
Josh Popkin is an entrepreneur, consultant, and marketing engineer who works with businesses to modernize their brands and translate compelling real-world experiences into equally compelling digital ones.
Through Position Strategy Group, Popkin combines brand strategy, customer research, marketing, technology, and artificial intelligence to help companies rethink how they position themselves and reach customers.
His work with Fragrance Shop New York reflects that broader approach: preserve what makes a business remarkable, understand why customers care about it, and use modern technology to help more people experience it.
Visit Fragrance Shop New York. More about Josh Popkin, or read the philosophy behind the work.