Thursday 28 January 2016

Perfumer’s Workshop brings its ‘niche’ fragrance collection AMOUROUD to Esxence


Perfumer’s Workshop has confirmed that it will be showcasing, AMOUROUD, its ‘niche’ fragrance brand at the Art Perfumery Event: Esxence (stand numbers: 104 & 106). With the ever increasing interest and development of the ‘niche’ category in domestic markets, Perfumer’s Workshop is focusing its full attention on the domestic launches of AMOUROUD, a collection of rich and long-lasting fragrances, each with its own unique character.  




PWI founder Donald Bauchner comments, “The growth of ‘niche’ fragrances has been remarkable, especially in the US where since 2013 the segment has grown by 25% compared to 4% for other prestige fragrances. Over the last year we have been focused on positioning our AMOUROUD brand into domestic stores, especially in the Middle East, Russia, and the UK, where we have seen very positive results. 2016 will see us continue to focus on these regions as well as introducing the brand into Italy, Germany and the United States.”
Born out of the PWI legacy, AMOUROUD is an evolution of the custom blending concept that won Perfumer’s Workshop recognition for its visionary ideas. The result is an extremely refined, perfectly proportioned and beautifully balanced assortment of perfumes. The collection contains a wide range of new and innovative fragrances, all with long-lasting personalities: Dark Orchid, Safran Rare, Santal des Indes, Oud du Jour, Miel Sauvage, Midnight Rose, Silk Route, Agarwood Noir, Bois D’Orient, and Oud After Dark. Several of these fragrances are built around a core of pure Oud essence. Each fragrance is presented in an eye-catching and engaging rich black and gold package.

“2016 is set to be a very exciting year for PWI, we have already secured domestic listings in Italy, Russia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Lebanon and Afghanistan with AMOUROUD and we are finalizing details with several key European markets,” continues Bauchner.  An important element of the AMOUROUD merchandising is the presence of fragrance consultants with pre-sprayed blotters introducing the fragrances to consumers in “dry-down” form. With very simple sales messaging from the consultants such as, “just smell this blotter, and if you like it, let me give you a fresh spray so you can see how beautiful and long-lasting it is” and, “these blotters were sprayed last evening, by the way!  While you’re walking around the store you'll see how nicely it works on your skin.” This very simple, “no pressure” sales tactic has already proven to be very successful with retailers, resulting in either an immediate sale or a repeat visit.

 In addition to a full range of spray-testers, there are special beakers containing pre-sprayed blotters of all fragrances.  Blotters are sprayed the evening prior or before the store opens in the morning.  These pre-sprayed blotters are integral to the PWI story, because they demonstrate how long-lasting and beautiful each fragrance remains even hours after first being sprayed.

PWI will also be showcasing its world famous PARFUM TEA ROSE fragrance, which has been a perennial favourite for more than 40 years in widespread global distribution. It became an instant 'classic' with a celebrity fan base including Princess Grace of Monaco, Catherine Deneuve, Princess Diana and Nicole Kidman to name but a few. 

About Perfumers Workshop International Perfumer’s Workshop International is a privately owned company, with distribution throughout the world. Company headquarters are located in New York. 
In 1970, after ten years in the industry learning from legends such as Charles Revson and Leonard Lauder, Donald Bauchner formed Perfumer's Workshop Ltd., with his wife Gun. Armed with a vision to create a new company with a character and personality reflecting an 'underground' movement then surfacing, Perfumer's Workshop was born.
Early on, Perfumer's Workshop believed that the consumer was ready to deconstruct the fragrance business, stripping it of the pomp and formality that had permeated it since the beginnings of the 1900's. Its first breakthrough was a Bloomingdale's counter which transformed the idea for using essential oils, a mainstay of the youth and hippie culture, remade as a luxury product, an 'uptown meets downtown' spirit. It was the industry's first custom-blending fragrance concept. Perfumer's Workshop allowed the customer to create his/her own individual scent in a variety of fragrance
combinations. In its basic, simple packaging, this custom-blending opportunity actually empowered the consumer for the very first time, setting the tone for much of what was yet to come, foreshadowing so many of today's niche brands.

The Perfumer's Workshop custom-blending counters have been in department
stores and specialty shops throughout the United States and in many of the worlds most prominent and trend-setting stores for the past 45 years. Its original Custom-Blending Counters at Bloomingdales evolved into yet newer personal-interaction concepts - Perfume By Appointment, developed for Harrod's. Followed by Personal Perfumery, for Saks Fifth Avenue and for Nordstroms.

About AMOUROUD Shimmering and dreamy, provocative and dark, both light and warm, Amouroud is a Collection of olfactory memories, stories real and imaginary, translated with wood-notes, flowers, roots, and herbs into perfumes that capture a primal place of serenity, joy, and passion. Each fragrance maintains its beauty, signature, and character, all of which remain evident in the dry-down.



Monday 25 January 2016

To the Moon and back with the new UPTOWN watch set


Moon, the watch brand that was successfully introduced by the trend-setting jewellery brand Aeon, has released an exciting new collection to strengthen its presence in travel retail. The new collection, UPTOWN is a sleek and stylish watch set that is perfect for day or night and its low price point of £15 makes it perfect for the competitive inflight channel. 





The Moon brand was first introduced to Travel Retail in 2014 with an aim to fill a gap in the market for trend driven, good quality watches with impulse price purchase points of £12-20. Claire O'Donnell, Key Account Manager comments, “Since its introduction to travel retail our Moon watch brand has been in huge demand so much so we decided to launch this new collection UPTOWN into the market.”
With a stand-out combination of a rose plated case on a comfortable black strap, the watch ensures you will always be on-trend (and on time!). The addition of a matching beaded bracelet compliments the UPTOWN watch perfectly and gives it an added stylish edge, and with four colours to choose from: black, beige, grey and turquoise, there is something for everyone.
With unique packaging the collection is not only eye-catching and trendy, but also allows travellers to transform the flat pillow pack into a gift box, making it a perfect treat for a loved one.
“With every product and design we launch we always have the airlines in mind. It is vital that we are providing the airlines with products that suit their needs – whether this is size or regional trends. The packaging for UPTOWN has been designed to not only suit the traveller but also the airline; it’s stylish yet small in size and the incorporation of a gift box in the packaging makes it completely unique.”

Tuesday 19 January 2016

Aurora World sees sparkles at The Toy Fair


Aurora World, the plush toy specialist, is delighted to announce the arrival of two new concepts that it will be showing at the upcoming Toy Fair (January 24-26) in Olympia, London (stand number D35).

Sea Sparkles has become one of Aurora’s best selling items over the last couple of years. Starting with just 6 different styles, the range now boasts over 50 colourful and cuddly sea creatures for young children to collect. Retailing at $10 - $29, the range is a perfect gifting opportunity and is also available in travel retail.



Brand new this year and officially launched in January are Gnomes. The super soft, super detailed Gnomes offer huge ‘cute appeal’ for children and adults alike. Available in 3 sizes and 2 colour variations, the Gnomes are available from $10-$29 and are also available in travel retail stores.



“It is a pleasure to be showing our latest concepts at The Toy Fair,’ says Garry Stoner, Travel Retail Sales Manager of Aurora World. “The Gnomes we expect to be a big hit with children and adults alike - who doesn’t want a cute cuddly Gnome? We also anticipate both concepts to do particularly well in travel retail, with the number of families travelling each year and the number of adults looking for ‘guilt’ purchases, plush remains an underestimated impulsive purchase category.”

Garry Stoner will be meeting a number of travel retail buyers during the Toy Fair this year and says interest in the event from the channel is growing. It’s a testament to the fact that more buyers are seeing unexploited potential in the toy category,” says Stoner, plush being a highly important part of the category mix.”


Tuesday 12 January 2016

MITR continues on its course towards doubling the confectionery category with another colourful creation.


Mars International Travel Retail (MITR) has again proved it’s one of the leaders of memorable activations with its latest fun, colourful and exciting innovation in exclusive partnership with Dubai Duty Free (DDF). Having run from 8th November until 30th November, the promotion gave those buyers who spent over 110 Dirhams ($30) the chance to win a trip for two to New York City. 





The amazing prize included two nights’ accommodation in New York and a $100 voucher to be spent at the flagship M&M’S World® store in the City’s famous Times Square. With a 30.1% upturn in growth vs November 2014 the activation proved to be extremely successful, and once again shows that innovation and excitement are the keys to increasing penetration and sales in the confectionery sector.

Commenting on this exclusive partnership, Dubai Duty Free’s Vice President for Purchasing, Saba Tahir said, “We were thrilled to be in an exclusive partnership with MITR for such a great promotion. The quality of the prize on offer combined with the brand awareness of M&M’S® resulted in the promotion gaining a lot of attention from both existing and new consumers. The promotion brought added value to the category as well as tempting our customers to enjoy some M&M’S®.”

The promotion was displayed on colourful, eye-catching units that clearly communicated the prize, with dedicated staff supporting the promotion. In addition, two M&M’S® mascots were present throughout the day to create an exciting atmosphere for the shoppers and to encourage a photo opportunity.

MITR’s Category Director, Matt Boulter comments, “Working in an exclusive partnership with DDF has been a great opportunity for MITR; it has helped us build a stronger and more engaging partnership and we hope that this relationship will grow from strength to strength in the future. We are always looking to introduce promotions that are unique and exciting; this promotion not only offered an amazing prize to New York but also gave passengers a great Value Offer.”

Friday 8 January 2016

P and O Ferries – Aurora pop-up shop

P and O Ferries and Aurora World announce a “first” – a highly successful YooHoo pop-up shop on board The Pride of Canterbury vessel.

The instore promotional activity included a life size YooHoo who engaged with P and O Passengers, both adults and kids alike. The promotion timing was set to coincide with the 2 weeks UK school half term period; passengers were incentivised to purchase Yoohoo on board and take advantage of exclusive GWP offers. 

P and O buyer Charlotte Barton commented, “YooHoo does well for us, so we were delighted when Aurora agreed to participate in our on board pop-up shop programme. The YooHoo pop-up shop worked well, the life-size YooHoo was a big hit with passengers young and old, created some great in store theatre, and certainly helped drive footfall in the store. YooHoo sales over the period increased by 200% week-on-week.”



Aurora’s Travel Retail Sales Manager, Garry Stoner added: “YooHoo makes people smile all around the world, so to create the first YooHoo pop-up shop on a ferry with P & O was very exciting and certainly delivered some great results. We’ll certainly look to build on this during 2016.”

Monday 4 January 2016

Furla updates its Taipei store


Furla is delighted to announce that it has renovated its existing generic store in Taipei Songhan Airport to a 12sqm personalised store in line with Furla’s global identity.

The store was opened in partnership with Everrich D.F.S. Corporation on December 26th with Furla’s SS16 Cruise and AW15 Main collections.

Furla’s Global Travel Retail Director, Gerry Munday, comments: “This year has been phenomenally busy for Furla, when we aren’t opening a brand new store, we are renovating an already existing one. I would like to thank Everrich for their hard work with this refurbishment, the store looks fabulous.”