COACH OPENS MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SHOPS IN CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT

Coach, Inc., a leading New York design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle collections, recently announced the opening of their first men’s and women’s shops in the world renowned Charles De Gaulle Airport. The two separate shops are located in Terminal 2A within the Buy Paris Multi Brand Stores.

The shops feature the brand’s new Modern Luxury retail concept: a warmer and more inviting store environment, which serves as the perfect home to Coach’s newest product designed by Creative Director Stuart Vevers. The new store design has a distinctive New York City attitude, expressed through an iconic materials palette that is distinctively Coach. The men’s and women’s shops are both outfitted with warm lighting, hand tufted carpets and fine millwork accents.  

Giorgio Sarne, President Coach International comments, “We are extremely excited to announce the opening of our two Modern Luxury stores in CDG. They are an essential part of our travel retail expansion strategy and signify the brand’s increasing fashion relevancy. Our location in the airport will allow our traveling customers to experience Coach’s new store environment and latest product offerings.”

The Charles De Gaulle Men’s and Women’s airport stores will offer a full range of Coach’s men’s and women’s essentials including handbags, small leather goods, watches, jewellery and fragrance.

 

About Coach

Coach, established in New York City in 1941, is a leading design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle collections with a rich heritage of pairing exceptional leathers and materials with innovative design. Coach is sold worldwide through Coach stores, select department stores and specialty stores, and through Coach’s website at www.coach.com. In 2015, Coach acquired Stuart Weitzman, a global leader in designer footwear, sold in more than 70 countries. Coach, Inc.’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COH and Coach’s Hong Kong Depositary Receipts are traded on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the symbol 6388.

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FURLA AND RATTI TEAM UP FOR A NEW TEXTILE LINE

In a bid to increase its lifestyle appeal and implement new categories, Furla has signed a three-year licensing agreement with leading Italian silk maker Ratti to produce and distribute a collection of textile accessories for men and women. 
 

Eraldo Poletto - CEO Furla

Sergio Tamborini - CEO Ratti

Furla chose Ratti for its globally-consolidated reputation in the textile industry, for its extensive know-how in prints and its ability to interpret Furla's DNA with high-end products made with precious fabrics. Furthermore, both companies share a deep respect for their Made in Italy heritage and tradition. 

The collection perfectly reflects Furla's values, legacy and modernity infused with joyfulness, bold colors and upbeat energy. It rolled out to Furla boutiques, select department stores, specialty shops and on furla.com in Fall 2015. 

The scarves and stoles in silk twill and chiffon or modal blended with cashmere, silk and viscose come in a wide array of patterns - collages of Furla's iconic bags, drawings that nod to the world of graffiti and cartoons, blurry artsy swirls and the animal realm interpreted in both abstract and innovative versions. The men's line-up channels a metropolitan mood for a young and cosmopolitan man who updates his look with geometric patterns, inventive colour blocks and an exclusive camouflage motif. 

Established in 1945 by Antonio Ratti, Ratti, which has been part of the Marzotto Group since 2010, is a key player on the international luxury textile scene, producing fabrics and accessories for men, women and home furnishings. It manufactures around five million meters of fabric annually. 

“Our partnership with Ratti further proves Furla's ambitions to build a solid portfolio of lifestyle categories. In the textile field, Ratti is a high-profile global leader whose reputation to mix its print heritage and use of colour with forward-looking inventiveness is perfectly in line with our codes.” Eraldo Poletto CEO Furla. 

“Both Ratti and Furla are rooted in Italian tradition and culture, which correspond to quality, style and research. Two companies that, inspired by globalization and the interaction among different cultures, have been able to change the approach to product and distribution. The strength of our identity has made innovation become the engine of our success”. Sergio Tamborini CEO Ratti.

Paul & Shark opens first cruise-ship boutique Along with first store in South Korea

Luxury lifestyle brand Paul & Shark has partnered with Starboard to open its first personalized boutique next month onboard the Costa Fortuna, while the middle of the month sees a magnificent new point of sale opening at Incheon International Airport with Lotte Duty Free – the brand’s first travel retail store in South Korea.

“We are so excited about these two projects,” says Paul & Shark Worldwide Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli. “The Costa Fortuna is a beautiful ship and to have our own stand-alone bou-tique onboard is a real coup. Opening in December in the run up to Christmas could not be better timing and we’re expecting really good sell-through during the month.

“Our new opening in Incheon will enable us to enjoy truly spectacular visibility for the brand.  Along with the Lotte store we have another two openings planned in Seoul by the first quarter of 2016, giving Paul & Shark a very strong foot-print in the South Korean travel retail market. These open-ings are both downtown Duty-Free, one with Donghwa and another with SM Duty Free.

This continues a trend that has seen a 55% increase in openings for Paul & Shark over the past 18 months. “Of these around half are located in airports and the rest with cruise-lines and down-town Duty Free stores,” continues Bonelli. Other confirmed openings for 2016 are at Pudong Ter-minal 1 in partnership with King Power Orient; Hong Kong International Airport with Lagardères Travel Retail, and Houston with ATU-Heinemann”.

Next year looks equally positive following another extremely busy and productive week at TFWA World Exhibition last month.  “Cannes, with our new stand, was an incredibly busy and successful week for us with head to head appointments all week,” says Bonelli. “Our personalized embroidery service was again a particular talking point and has become a real stand-out highlight for us.”

Says Bonelli: “It’s been an incredibly busy and hardworking year for the Travel Retail team but the effort is certainly paying off and we are being rewarded with superb locations for the brand. We are confident that 2016 will be another exceptional year for us, as retailers continue to understand and realize the business potential of partnering with Paul & Shark.

“I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank all our retail partners for their magnificent support this year – and to my team for their amazing dedication and fantastic efforts.”

A statement from Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President

"The Board and permanent staff of TFWA have been touched by the many messages of support sent by our industry friends and business partners since the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday November 13. Thankfully all our Paris-based colleagues are safe and well, although mourning those innocent people lost in the attacks. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this appalling crime, and we are heartened by the spirit of solidarity shown by people all over the world.”.

JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER TO WELCOME DELEGATES TO MEADFA CONFERENCE

The Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association is honoured to announce that the upcoming MEADFA Conference, to be held at the Dead Sea in Jordan on November 22 to 24, will take place under the patronage of the Jordanian Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, His Excellency Dr Abdullah Ensour.

The Prime Minister will officially open the event, welcoming delegates to the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre on the shores of the Dead Sea.

H.E. Dr Ensour is the most senior politician in Jordan, having been appointed Prime Minister by HRH King Abdullah in 2012.

MEADFA President Sean Staunton said: “We are truly honoured that H.E. the Prime Minister has agreed to become official patron of the MEADFA Conference. It is further evidence of the Jordanian government’s strong support for the travel and tourism industries, and for sectors such as ours that depend on them. We would like to sincerely thank H.E. Dr Ensour for his patronage of our event and look forward very much to having him with us at the Dead Sea.”

There is still time for delegates to register for the MEADFA Conference. For further details please contact Ms Catherine Fily, MEADFA Conference Registration Co-ordinator, on tel : + 33 (0) 1 41 44 98 73 or by email: meadfaconference@tfwa.com. 

Full details of the conference programme are available on TFWA.com. A dedicated event app will be available to download shortly; pre-registered delegates will receive a link in an information pack to be sent via email very soon.

MONKEY SHOULDER PROMOTION DRIVE IN KUALA LUMPUR AIRPORT KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 2 - ARRIVALS

Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Whisky invited travellers to venture into the world of malt whiskies to “Take Home a Monkey”  

Leading up to the Chinese New Year 2016, Year of the Monkey, Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Whisky launched a unique “Take Home a Monkey Today” activation drive in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Two (KLIA2) Arrivals during October.

With a cheeky theme of “How to Care for your Monkey”, the activation was a quirky take on trading up blended whisky drinkers to premium malt whisky and looking to encourage bourbon drinkers into the malt market. 

Dressed in neon-safety vests akin to “charity workers” on the streets, brand advocates initiated sampling trials of Monkey Shoulder with travellers while explaining the brand origin. Those who sampled the whisky and in support of the campaign were given campaign stickers.

With each purchase of a Monkey Shoulder bottle, travellers received a “mini-monkey”, a 50ml miniature Monkey Shoulder, along with their 1L bottle packed in a take-away brown carton box with breathing holes that emulate taking a pet monkey home.

Beneath the playfulness of the brand, lies a serious whisky. Made by combining small batches of single malts from three of Speyside’s finest distilleries, it won the “Best Scotch Whisky Aged 20 Years and Under” in the International Spirit Challenge (ISC) 2015.

Also recently identified by Drinks International as one of the best-selling whiskies in top bars in London, Singapore and USA, Monkey Shoulder, which sits in the Blended Malt Scotch Whisky category, is gaining ground rapidly in travel retail.

Commenting on the brand activity, APAC Travel Retail Director, Scott Hamilton, shared, “While consumer interest in Single Malt Whisky has picked up considerably, the Blended Malt Scotch Whisky category is growing faster as it bridges deluxe blended scotch drinkers into the world of malt whisky. We are anticipating further interest in the Monkey Shoulder brand once Chinese New Year 2016, the Year of the Monkey swings in.”

The activity ran from 10th October to 31st October at KLIA2 Arrivals

About Monkey Shoulder:

v  The Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Whisky is produced by William Grant & Sons Ltd, an award-winning independent family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1886 and today run by his direct descendants.

v  Created by combining small batches of single malts from three of Speyside’s finest distilleries in a marrying tun for three to six months, it is a 100% malt Scotch whisky, distilled, matured and bottled in Scotland.

v  The term “monkey shoulder” harks back to whisky making heritage of William Grant & Sons. It is a reference to a condition that maltmen sometimes picked up while working long shifts, turning the barley by hand. It had a tendency to cause their arm to hang down a bit like a monkey’s, so they nicknamed it “monkey shoulder’.  Whilst the maltmen currently are among the few who still turn the barley manually, working conditions have changed which means this injury has been consigned to the past. Today, the name Monkey Shoulder lives on as an affectionate tribute, to honour the hard graft of all the maltmen past and present.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Zesty Orange meets mellow vanilla, honey and spiced oak

Taste: Mellow vanilla with spicy hints

Finish: Super smooth

Superb quality for drinking neat and balanced for mixing in a wide variety of cocktails

~ ENDS ~

 

TYKO SUCCESS IN CANNES CONFIRMS DEMAND FOR AFFORDABLE FASHION ACCESSORY BRANDS

“We came away from TFWA World Exhibition with a real buzz this year. It was undoubtedly the best week ever for us. We had a fantastic response to all our newness; we had buyers stopping us in the street congratulating us and saying all they keep hearing people talk about is Tyko Brands and in particular Hippie Chic. There’s no doubt that affordable, on-trend fashion accessories are just as important to the travel retail business as luxury – more so in some cases.” This summary of a phenomenally successful week in Cannes from Tyko Brands travel retail director Martin Lovatt came on the back of a record sales year for the company.

2016 will see Tyko Brands offering airline and ground store customers a 738% increase in brand sku’s, focusing on Kartel, Hippie Chic and Breo. “We’ve spent the last year studying global market trends, understanding the needs, expectations and desires of the global consumer.”

Continues Lovatt. “The new models introduced to buyers at TFWA World Exhibition were the result of translating this data into core ‘must have’ products; products which offer consumers exceptional quality at affordable prices. Products that, in turn, drive volume sales for ALL our global travel retail partners.”

Hippie Chic has been re-launched to offer a diverse multi-category product range that allows buyers the chance to feature the brand in watch, jewellery and accessories sections, whilst offering a multi-buy opportunity to drive the average transaction upwards. Cannes saw new watch and jewellery collections introduced with onboard price points from just £10 to £25.

Hippie Chic Ebony wrap around

Hippie Chic Savannah wrap around

“Everyone loved the new Hippie Chic watch collections, especially the new wrap around Savannah and Ebony, with its genuine leather braded strap, plus the new friendship inspired collections Kirra, Zuri and Alora,” says Lovatt. “The rose gold Nia with sunray rose gold dial was a real showstopper, while jewellery went down a storm too with the reversible Colbie bracelet grabbing the headlines, closely followed by the three-pack bracelet sets Romy and Esme. Finally the new 100% cotton scarves retailing at £15 on board were the icing on the cake.”

Hippie Chic is the perfect volume selling brand: “As an example, a major European low cost carrier sold 6000 units of one sku Pagan watch in August alone,” continues Lovatt.

The new Breo Moda, Orb10 and Cosmo collections retailing from £15 to £45 also received a very positive response during the week. “Thanks to the amazing sales from global ground store locations over the past 12 months Breo has once again shown the love affair that global passengers have with the brand,” says Lovatt. “Breo should be a key strategic brand for our clients on board for SS16 to help drive incremental in-pulse purchases on board. Average monthly sales in an airport Turkey for 2 months were 730 units per month!”

 

Breo Moda

Last, but not least, Cannes saw the official launch of Kartel watches to ground-store buyers. Targeted to an edgy audience ranging from ‘preppy’ to the more style-conscious, three-day growth, tattoo wearing individual, Kartel competes against £100+ brands with a high-precision collection featuring stainless steel case backs, metal mesh bracelets and a variation of genuine leather and Harris Tweed straps from just £55.

Kartel

 

 “We had a very good response to Kartel both from ground and airline buyers,” says Lovatt. “Kartel is a totally different audience to Breo or Hippie Chic so sits nicely alongside these brands in catalogues and shops." Next year will see the offer increasing from 9 skus in one collection to 23 models over five collections.

“There’s so much focus in this business on premium and luxury at the expense of high volume, fashion brands which Tyko Brands has proven are just as critical in terms of delivering to the travelling consumer what he/she wants. The reaction from buyers to our offer in Cannes this year is evidence that the message is getting through: on trend, high volume, quality brands and products are very much in demand by the global passenger."

William Grant & Sons touches down at Auckland Airport with ultimate rugby world cup promotion

With the Rugby World Cup (RWC) a hot topic of conversation - and disappointment- for many travellers earlier this year, William Grant & Sons (WGS) took advantage of this globally loved sport to launch its own RWC activation. Taking place at the ‘home of rugby,’ New Zealand’s Auckland International Airport, WGS created the ultimate activation for rugby lovers – the chance to win two tickets to the RWC final at Twickenham Stadium.
Running throughout September and October- WGS worked in partnership with Aer Rianta to ensure that no area in the airport escaped the rugby touch. With the activation spread throughout numerous zones including one at departures, two at arrivals and a variety of other touch-points, the activation was highly visible, engaging and fun.

The concept gave travellers the chance to win original RWC merchandise when purchasing any WGS product through a free scratch-card. The shopper could also fill out the back of the card to be entered into a grand prize draw to win the ultimate rugby fan’s dream prize- a pair of tickets to the RWC grand finals at Twickenham London. The prize also included flights and accommodation at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel; all in all, a prize to create life long memories.

APAC Travel Retail Director, Scott Hamilton comments, “At William Grant we are always looking to run activations that are eye-catching and unique to each individual retailer. Winning a prize like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many. We wanted to reward travellers for buying our products, which not only pleases our current customers but hopefully encourages more travellers to buy and increase our brand awareness.”

The Loop Duty Free General Manager Tom Byrne adds, “We were really delighted with this in-store activation, William Grant & Sons really hit the nail on the head with this exciting and event specific promotion. Experience is everything at The Loop Duty Free and we truly believe our customers experienced the fun and excitement with this activation. Particularly our lucky winner who flew to England to watch the RWC final!!”

“From a commercial perspective, we are delighted with the results. We can see the positive effect on passenger-average-spend, penetration and the sales uplift in Grants portfolio.”, Tom continues.
To add elements of fun and entertainment to the shop floor, the departure activation included a flick footy game, helping to ensure that travellers spent as much time in the promotional area as possible. Drawing on the heavy association beer has with rugby, a promotional ambassador offered travellers the opportunity to try a new way to enjoy Tullamore Dew - ‘Dew and a Brew’, a combination of beer and Irish Whiskey – helping to educate travellers on an alternative way to enjoy a WGS favourite.

The beginning of October saw the introduction of the ‘Mix it Bar’ inside The Loop Store in departures. Travellers were offered samples of three different cocktails to help both celebrate the RWC, and also reiterate the promotion in-store. The competitive spirit of the RWC even extended to the sales staff, with members being divided into teams of six and a host of fun activities and incentives given to keep motivation and competitiveness high. A leader’ board kept everyone up to speed on how respective teams ranked – just like the real thing!



About William Grant & Sons
William Grant & Sons Holdings Ltd is an independent family-owned distiller and was founded by William Grant in 1887. Today the company owns some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® gin, Sailor Jerry® spiced rum, Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish whiskey and Drambuie® Scotch Liqueur.

For more information on the company, please visit www.williamgrant.com

Lanson brings Christmas cheer to Paris travellers

Champagne Lanson is ensuring travel retail passengers at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Orly are in a festive mood with the introduction of its new Christmas themed gift-box. Available in Lagardère Travel Retail outlets since the beginning of November, the new festive box is the perfect gift to share with friends or family and ensure that any celebration starts with a pop. 

Decorated with Christmas themed illustrations including reindeers, presents and Christmas trees, the festive gift box is offered with Champagne Lanson’s Black Label – Brut Non-Vintage. With bright red and white colouring, the gift box clearly calls for celebration, especially Christmas. Champagne Lanson has also ensured that the magic of Christmas has been represented in pure Lanson style, with the use of gold and red beautifully decorated Lanson Crosses.

Olivier De La Giraudière, Export Director of Lanson Champagne comments, “Christmas is an important time for Champagne Lanson, we want to provide travellers a perfect start to their festive holidays and what better way to do that then with a bottle of Lanson’s Black Label. Our new festive gift-box is ideal as a present for a loved one or to take home and enjoy as a treat on Christmas day. The festive decoration is truly eye-catching and is sure to please our current customers and help to attract new buyers.”

STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR MEADFA CONFERENCE 2015

Delegate registrations are flooding in for the 2015 MEADFA Conference (23-24 November), which is managed by TFWA on behalf of the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association.

Over thirty of the most influential landlords and travel retail operators in the region have already confirmed their attendance, including Aelia, Aer Rianta, DFS, Dubai Duty Free, Dufry, Egyptair, Etihad Airways, Hamila Duty Free, Jordanian Duty Free Shops, Lagardere Travel Retail, Qatar Airways, Tourvest Inflight Retail and World Duty Free Group.

The two-day conference programme combines stimulating debate, informed commercial perspectives and ample opportunities for networking with colleagues. Full details can be found at http://tfwa.com/duty_free/Programme.1251.0.html

In addition, the venue for the MEADFA Conference – the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan -  is proving a particular attraction, with delegates signing up for sight-seeing tours of historic landmarks in the vicinity prior to and after the business proceedings.

Special rates have been negotiated on Royal Jordanian Airlines, the official carrier, and at the official hotels - Jordan Valley Marriott Dead Sea and Mövenpick Dead Sea, with a free shuttle service to the venue courtesy of the Jordan Tourism Board.

Business partners have been enthusiastic in their support of the 2015 MEADFA Conference. Key sponsors are World Duty Free Group (gala dinner & conference host), Dufry Sharjah (opening cocktail); Qatar Duty Free (lunch); platinum sponsors Aer Rianta International, Bahrain Duty Free, Dubai Duty Free and Jordan Duty Free Shops; gold sponsors Ferrero, Haribo and JTI; silver sponsors Aphrodite Duty Free Shop, Hersheys, Jordan Tourism Board, Philip Morris (smoking lounge and exhibitor), International Duty Free Trading & Agencies (coffee breaks), Travalo (portfolio), Kajal (gift bag), Pernod Ricard (cocktail evening drinks), Diageo and Audeh (gala dinner drinks), Lagardère Travel Retail (lanyards), Frey Wille (hostess outfits);.exhibition stands Mars ITR and Oriental GT Inc; Rotary and Fazer (product distribution).

MEADFA President Sean Staunton commented, “I’m delighted with the way in which operators and brands across the Middle East and Africa have got behind this year’s MEADFA Conference. As ever, the event offers fantastic opportunities to network and to meet the region’s most influential companies, and the conference programme includes a diverse range of high-level speakers. And the backdrop to the event, at Jordan’s Dead Sea, will be spectacular. We invite all those with an interest in duty free & travel retail in the Middle East and Africa to join us at what will be a landmark event.”

The media partners of the MEADFA Conference are The Moodie Report, Travel Retail Business, Gulf-Africa Duty Free, Frontier & Frontier Brands, DFNI & Travel Retailer International.

Registration for the MEADFA Conference 2015 is open at www.tfwa.com.

Galaxy® heads to Jordan as Mars International Travel Retail continues to relaunch brand to travel retail

Following the highly successful launch of its new travel retail packs at TFWA World Exhibition earlier this month, the Galaxy® roadshow is heading to Jordan in November to feature at the MEADFA Conference. Mars International Travel Retail (MITR) is taking a stand at the conference, cleverly designed to reflect the smooth, silky taste of Galaxy® with product sampling offering delegates the chance to try the new range. 

“Jordan is the perfect location to continue the Galaxy® launch as the brand is hugely popular in the Middle East and represents a significant proportion of the brands sales in International Travel Retail,” says MITR General Manager, Craig Sargeant.

“We will be introducing the new Galaxy® product range in travel retail globally,  supported by new displays, activations and promotions. The Middle East continues to play a leading role in developing our business for the brand so it really makes sense to be here in Jordan. MEADFA attracts key buyers from the region and so it is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the new strategy for the brand with both existing and potential customers.”

Galaxy® was one of the key talking points for MITR in Cannes this year with sampling delivered by Galaxy® hostesses in their specially designed ‘chocolate bar’ dresses, creating great attention throughout the week.  

“The structure of our Galaxy® story to customers was based on three key insights that will ensure success of the brand in travel retail. Firstly, the brand is the  fifth largest chocolate brand in the world, yet does not currently have a strong presence in travel retail outside the Middle East. Secondly, Galaxy® is already very popuar in the domestic market of the world’s top travelling nations. Thirdly, Galaxy® has a unique brand story that provides huge potential to deliver a fantastic shopper experience in ITR,” adds Craig.

The Galaxy® launch in Cannes sat alongside MITR’s other key growth drivers for 2016 as part of Mars’ Power of a Smile category vision. Mars shared the huge headroom for growth that can be gained by focusing on the bestselling core confectionary items as we all the potential of sugar and gum in the category.

“We invested in a completely new approach to Cannes in 2016 to help bring our plans to life and enable extremely constructive meetings with some of our key customers. For us, it was a fantastically successful week and we are now looking forward to continuing the discussions in Jordan at MEADFA.” concludes Craig.