Apparel Online India Magazine August 1st Issue 2018 | Page 11

WORLD WRAP
Fendi Airport pop-up in Beijing China World
merchandise to exhibit in pop-ups on
the Grecian island this summer.
For French storied house Chanel
that has permanent stores in Cannes
and Portofino, one seasonal pop-up
in St. Tropez (France) just wasn’t
enough, so another temporary shop
was set up in Capri, Italy as well.
Similarly, Italy’s Giambattista Valli is
planning to open a flagship store in
Doha, Qatar by September.
THE ASIAN OPPORTUNITY
Three Asian nations come out
in the top 5 countries with the
highest number of overseas
travellers, according to projections
of the International Air Transport
Association. Surprising to no one,
IATA’s research says China is set to
outpace US in these numbers, while
India and Indonesia follow closely
behind. With the total passenger
count set to reach 8 billion by 2020,
the travel retail boom is no joke.
There are two main threads to this
opportunity – one is of course the
Chinese travellers who are infamous
for big budget spending, and the
second are millennials who are easiest
to target through this elevated retail
experience.
A recent report from Agility
Research reveals that Hong Kong,
Tokyo, and Osaka, with Japan in
general being the favourite, is the
go-to shopping vacation choice for
affluent, spendthrift Asians. Amrita
Banta, MD, Agility Research
said, “Luxury shopping has seen
a steep rise in Japan (perhaps
due to declining value of the Yen);
however, luxury brands need to
H&M's pop-up store in Riccione, Italy
appeal to the travellers as a whole,
so that they connect with them and
can be a preferred choice at home
and abroad.” The report further
advises brands to offer personalised
experiences, especially for Chinese
shoppers with services like Chinese
speaking staff, ability to communicate
on WeChat and so on. Figures from
Statista also corroborate the same
voice as 28% of the travel retail sales
worldwide were centred in the Asia-
Pacific region in 2016. In addition
to this, APAC occupied more than
1/3rd of the market share in 2017,
growing at a CAGR of over 11% in
the period, according to a report on
ResearchandMarkets.com.
New Horizons: Maldives is said to be
the topmost planned-for-the-future
travel destination for the Chinese and
is already popular within the Indian
subcontinent, according to several
sources. Since the popularity of
Maldives is not attached to its shop-
ability allure but rather as an exotic
place to visit, this will be a key place
for luxury brands to expand either
through pop-ups or shop-in-shop
concepts in the coming years.
DON’T WAIT FOR
THEM TO COME
Travel retail fills a big gap in physical
retail that the digital giants like
the Amazon and ASOS of the world
still cannot, and that is the offer of
human engagement and multi-sensory
experiences.
However, in order to truly capture
prospective consumers and maintain
a long-standing relationship, brands
need to go a step further. Especially in
ESSENTIALS
The future of
travel retail
demands
airlines, airports,
and retailers to
work together
towards creating
seamless and
effective points
of sale from the
land to the skies.
The main
idea behind
attracting a
‘tourist shopper’
will be creating
an experience
that is hassle-
free, quick, and
memorable at
the same time!
the case of digitally-native millennials
and their younger cohort Gen Z, it
is important to integrate technology
into the system and create a valuable
affiliation that she/he takes back home.
Personalisation is one such value
addition that works for both – gifting
and personal use, and can be a great
attraction for every guest. Consider
simply, quick to implement options
like engraving, embossing, calligraphy,
size alterations, or simply clever
personal stylists that enable fast
decision making.
Implementation of technology is a
must and this can mean anything
from creating a social media hype to
things like smart mirrors and the use
of iBeacons. Isabelle Fourmentin,
CEO, JCDecaux (Paris Airport)
(a transport-focused advertising
firm) explained, “We’re working
on hardware that gives brands the
opportunity to engage with potential
customers in their own language.
So, based on the relevant departure
time, a brand can create a specially-
tailored conversation with a target
audience. For example, if there is
a late-morning flight to China, the
advertising language could switch to
Mandarin from 10 AM.”
Additionally, travel retail is the best
place to build loyalty programmes by
offering travel exclusive discounts
and offers to pre-target prospective
travellers going towards a certain
destination. Brands can work in
tangent with local resorts and hotels
to get a lowdown on what kind of
tourists are going to be visiting
and how to curate assortments and
personalise experiences for them.
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