INTERVIEW
CRAFTING LUXURY EXPERIENCES
At TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies spoke with La Prairie Group Business Development Director Global Travel Retail Sabine Fagan to shed light on the Swiss brand’s latest launch, the Skin Caviar Luxe Cream, and to reflect on the brand owner’s travel retail journey.
The main focus for La Prairie in Cannes was the Skin Caviar Luxe Cream. “It’s a new formula with sustainable packaging that is really modernised,” says Fagan.
“We are running a campaign all over the world to really create a buzz about this wonderful product. The first sales results are already very promising,” she notes.
La Prairie Founder Dr Paul Niehans had been an avid supporter of the arts, and French-American sculptor and painter Niki De Saint Phalle’s work holds particular resonance with the brand. In the early 1980s, cobalt blue – Saint Phalle’s favourite colour – had inspired the colour of La Prairie’s signature Skin Caviar line.
The house’s innovative approach to product launches means that it continues to feature artistic collaborations with every major release. Fagan says: “Our territory of expression is very singular – it’s science elevated by art and culture. Art is really at the core of our DNA, starting with Saint Phalle and the cobalt blue that she gave us.
“Whenever we launch a new product, we have an artistic collaboration. For Skin Caviar Luxe Cream, we partnered with award-winning artist Sabine Marcelis.
“She reinterpreted the sensoriality of the cream by creating an exclusive set of furniture that you can see in our booth alongside a limited edition of the Skin Caviar Luxe Cream. We’ve been organising events around the Cobalt House immersion that she enabled us to create.”
According to Fagan, La Prairie – which sits at the intersection of luxury and skincare – has a special positioning in the perfumes & cosmetics category. Offering her insights into business recovery, Fagan says: “We’re back in growth for sure and our aim is to be an accelerator of the luxury skincare category. To achieve that, we want to be at the forefront of breakthrough innovations and the constant elevation of luxury experiences and services in travel retail.
“Our priority is to continue to elevate our brand presence. This year we will have increased our footprint by +10% around the world, despite having a very limited and selective distribution approach.”
One way in which La Prairie is elevating the luxury experience in travel retail is through its Art of Beauty skincare lounges. Fagan says: “We have opened 11 facial rooms this year. We recently opened a one-of-a-kind beauty lounge in Sydney Airport with Heinemann which has two facial rooms and it’s been very successful so far.”
“Experience is the heart of our strategy”
Sabine Fagan
The approach for the Art of Beauty lounges, according to Fagan, is and will continue to be very selective. “We want to open facial rooms where there’s a decent dwell time because our clients need to be fully relaxed. We’re also targeting airports and downtown duty free locations which cater to high-value clients.
“Experience is really at the heart of our strategy as evidenced by our Art of Perfection treatments and Art of Beauty lounges. We want to continue to immerse our clients in our world.”
Offering a final message for the travel retail industry, Fagan says: “We should all work together because we want to make travel retail a destination for the younger generations, for the Gen Z and Millennials.”
Watch the YouTube video above to see the full interview
Spotlight Series - December 2023