Niche Beauty
Travel retailers weigh on the niche beauty opportunity (III)
Can you give us examples of how niche beauty has captured the customer imagination through launches and promotions?
Amael Blain (DFS Group) : DFS has leaned into the niche beauty category by introducing a new concept called ‘The Beauty Collective’ across our stores. This concept is dedicated to showcasing today’s top new beauty brands while also providing an incubator space for emerging brands and trends. In Macau, for example, when we reopened our T Galleria Beauty by DFS store at Galaxy Macau, we were able to provide customers with an exclusive brand line-up including EviDenS de Beauté, Malin+Goetz and Farmacy Beauty – all of which have become new customer favourites and some of our top performing brands.
Beauty heartland: Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf by DFS (Photo: Matthieu Salvaing)
Sharon Beecham (Dubai Duty Free) : The top-selling niche collection in Dubai Duty Free is Maison Christian Dior. In 2022, it had +41% growth versus 2019, with growing market share of total niche sales. We observed successful developments of this collection by adding elixirs, candles, soaps, travel sprays, large sizes, limited editions and discovery sets. The collection has a dedicated space with beautiful shop ambiance and exceptional customer service in Concourse B.
Other outstanding collections are Allegra and Le Gemme by Bvlgari, ranked in the top three, if combined, in the collection sales. The Allegra was launched in November 2021 in Concourse B's Business Class Lounge. Later in 2022, in Concourse B West and East shops. It offers a unique range of colourful perfumes with magnifying essences. The scents can be blended together and perfectly reflect Italian origins and inspiration.
Guerlain Haute Perfumery was initially launched in March 2022 on the Concourse B podium with an exclusive range and a refined customer experience such as product personalisation, calligraphy, packaging and gifts with purchases. This activation helped grow the collection to #7 in the collection ranking in 2022. This March, we launched the collection full-scale in Concourse D in the newly refurbished area with a complete customer experience and services.
Blended beauty at Dubai Duty Free
Emilie Kotnarovsky (Dufry) : In terms of make-up, Kylie Jenner has been launched in different locations including São Paulo in Brazil, where a digital programme connecting offline and online has triggered very encouraging commercial performances and also recruited younger customers.
As far as skincare is concerned, the launch of must have and cult brands such as Augustinus Bader in Barcelona T1 or Madrid T4 shows the strong appetite of our customers for a new skincare proposal.
Haute Parfumerie brands are also very attractive for our customers looking for exceptional fragrances and personalised services. As an example, the launch of Creed in our shops at Heathrow has been extremely successful and implementation of brand animation highlights the strength of such brands in terms of both commercial performance and new customer recruitment.
Dufry Brazil hosted a 360-degree Kylie Cosmetics campaign, which combined in-store animations with photo opportunities for consumers to engage with the brand and share content on social media. The activations also invited consumers to discover the brand and the products through disruptive and playful experiences.
Britta Hoffmann (Gebr. Heinemann) : During the previous Christmas season, we launched animations that showcased Chloé with a focus on the ‘Atelier des Fleurs’ collection at Copenhagen Airport, creating in-store excellence and shopping experiences through engaging ‘retailtainment’ with a photobooth, calligrapher and gifting ceremony with a branded wrapping station and exclusive gifts with purchase.
In November and December, the ‘Hive of Wonders’ pop-up campaign at Istanbul Airport displayed Guerlain's L'Art & La Matière, Aqua Allegoria and Abeille Royale lines, as well as the holiday makeup collections. Honeycomb motifs, festive gifts and immersive digital displays drew travellers to the three pop-ups. They showcased Guerlain’s holiday makeup line with a special focus on exclusive gift sets and limited editions. Istanbul Airport is the only European travel retail location to offer the L’Art & La Matière line.
A great example of brand integration with the ‘customer experience’ factor was Penhaligon’s at Sydney Airport. Quirky, vibrant displays and interactive digital elements brought the Penhaligon’s counter to life with Heinemann Australia at the airport. A premium personalised gifting experience was waiting for the shoppers. They were also able to scan a QR code to access the Magic Monocle fragrance discovery tool.
Penhaligon’s comes to life at Sydney Airport with Heinemann Australia
Séverine Patureau (Extime Duty Free) : From a very personal point of view, I will never forget the launch of les Editions de Parfum, Frederic Malle. That was way back in the 2000’s, but such a journey. Today, I closely follow the 360° and phygital launches of Puig. Also, Byredo’s first ever Web3 perfume and its amazing creative possibilities would for sure arouse the curiosity of our passengers.
I think it all goes back to the arts. Artistic collaborations and installations are my favourite way to create emotions, and Francis Kurkdjian is definitely a master in this art. Bubble-ising Le Grand Palais or Le Château de Versailles was an amazing idea for example.
Extime Paris: A wonderful beauty environment at the new-look Paris CDG T1
Anne Marie Brett (Aer Rianta International) : Beauty can be a polarised category in terms of price points, however both entry-level and higher end luxury brands are performing well for us. Championing our value messaging – highlighting the savings of at least -15% versus downtown – remains crucial across all spectrums.
Mid-tier brands that have created a point of difference in terms of gifting, with newness or with Home Fragrance for example, are also outperforming expectations. Brands are keen to understand how they can create this point of difference to attract new customers with collections such as Boss Collection which is a more elevated range, and Chloe Les Atelier des Fleurs which offers a clean beauty perspective.
Charlotte Tilbury has made a big impact since its counter introduction at Dublin Airport with ARI
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 323 | 5 May 2023
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