Starboard Cruise Services
“Curating a Vibrant World”
On the maiden voyage of Celebrity Beyond in April, The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies and Starboard Cruise Services CEO Lisa Bauer discussed the retailer’s first-at-sea offering and how it is aiming to deliver a new level of luxury shopping experience onboard.
With the recent launch of the revolutionary new ship in its Edge series, Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Cruises and partner Starboard Cruise Services promised to take retail in cruise luxury to new heights. The array of luxury boutique openings onboard has been developed under Starboard’s strategy to create “immersive lifestyle shopping experiences” according to President and CEO Lisa Bauer. The offer blends many first-at-sea brands making their debut onboard, destination-led brands and ‘tried and true’ houses. Starboard Cruise Services’ retail space covers 8,966sq ft across two decks. It is divided into five areas, with luxury boutiques on Deck 5 and lifestyle, watches and fashion jewellery and multi-category shops on Deck 4. Each retail zone offers a curated assortment of fashion, accessories, watches & fashion jewellery, premium spirits, beauty and destination-specific products. For Bauer, Starboard Cruise Services’ offer was designed to reflect the same values as Celebrity Beyond. She says: “It really comes back to Celebrity Cruises’ brand pillars, which cover everything from sustainability, destination, female empowerment and showcasing highly covetable boutiques, brands and products onboard. Our offer was built around our purpose of Curating a Vibrant World and really leans into Celebrity Cruises’ pillars. “You see this reflected on signage, digital content and more, which clearly describe when a product or brand is sustainable, tied to wellbeing, vintage luxury, destination-inspired or celebrates diversity and inclusion. That’s how everything was framed.”
Celebrity Cruises Vice President Onboard Revenue Janette Coto Dou and Lisa Bauer officially cut the ribbon to the Richemont multi-brand watch boutique
From the offer to the design, Starboard Cruise Services looked at retail with a fresh eye on Celebrity Beyond. “We made a very specific switch away from pure product to curation,” says Bauer. “That’s why you see it come to life in such a vibrant and authentic way. For example, our products from Spain are not just handbags, but also fashion jewellery and sunglasses — each with a story to tell. That curation really makes the shops pop.” From Stella McCartney and Goop to the first Richemont multi-brand watch store at-sea, a series of brands and concepts make their cruise debuts onboard Celebrity Beyond. “There’s a lot of first-at-sea concepts and a lot of newness from brands that we have never carried before. This is especially true for some of our destination offerings,” Bauer explains. “For example, launching the first-ever Stella McCartney store at sea is very exciting. I have a dog named Stella. I love the brand, I love everything she stands for and her values resonate with ours and Celebrity Cruises’ values. Summersalt is another brilliant brand. It was created by two female CEOs, which ties into the female empowerment pillar, but it’s also about diversity & inclusion. The brand embraces inclusive sizing and features full-sized mannequin displays, which we already got a lot of positive feedback from. “Summersalt ticks the boxes of sustainability, inclusivity and female empowerment. It’s incredible because they haven’t done anything aside from ecommerce, and they were very attracted by our story and the cruise industry and so that launch was exciting for us. Beekman 1802 is another a great brand that offers natural goat milk products, while Pig & Hen, in our men’s lifestyle boutique, offers excellent men’s accessories.”
Starboard’s curated approach to retail shines brightly in Mankind, a men’s concept store which features a small but alluring selection of brands including Montblanc, Fulton & Roark, Alan Paine, Pig & Hen and vintage luxury with What Goes Around Comes Around. The multi-brand men’s concept is a first for Starboard and the result of a renewed strategic focus on men’s products compared to previous ships. “There is 100% more focus on men’s assortment,” Bauer explains. “This has to do with the demographic of the ship and the trends that are happening on shore too. We get a lot of good data from our sister brands at LVMH that caters to the Celebrity Cruises demographic as well. We really felt like the men’s category was a white space. We previously haven’t done enough to curate a luxury lifestyle offer for men and Mankind is how we are changing that.” Speaking about which ‘first-at-sea’ concepts will expand into Starboard Cruise Services’ network, Bauer says: “A lot of times we are trying to test and learn. We introduce brands, some of them will be great, others will not. The ones that work will scale to other ships. We really want to see how the customer responds, which helps us decide what to do.”
Celebrity Cruises General Manager Ivette Pimentel inaugurates the Mankind lifestyle concept store
Alongside new brands onboard Celebrity Beyond, Starboard Cruise Services places a strong focus on established luxury. The Luxury Avenue on Deck 5 is a glittering display of well-known names in the luxury world including Bvlgari and the multi-brand watch boutique from Richemont, which houses Cartier, IWC and Panerai. The Sense of Self multi-brand fashion boutique — in addition to housing the first Stella McCartney presence at sea — also offers Marni, Coach, and What Goes Around Comes Around, which offers vintage luxury products from well-known luxury maisons such as Louis Vuitton. Meanwhile, Hublot, Michelle, Ball and Tag Heuer are just some of the major fine watch brands featured in the Time is Now multi-brand watch boutique on Deck 4. The Attraction boutique, which houses Beekman 1802, Summersalt, Goop and Juice Beauty brands, also houses a dedicated perfumes & cosmetics multi-brand space. The area features big beauty names such as Estée Lauder, Christian Dior, Lancôme, Chanel, Clinique and Carolina Herrera. Celebrity Cruises’ own brand of fashion and travel accessories are also featured in The X Collection shop.
On balancing the risk around launching up and coming brands versus tried and tested names, Bauer says: “When you think about fragrance and skincare, we know what the top-selling brands are in the world. You’re not going to go wrong with having Dior or Lancôme in the store. That’s why the guests go into the store, because of their brand loyalty. While we may not necessarily change that, we like to infuse that offer with a selection of discovery brands like Goop and Beekman 1802. You always want to layer in, but you must keep the tried-and-true brands.” “In terms of our destination offer, 50% of the brands are new,” Bauer adds. “There is five times more newness than with our previous ships. Swiss time pieces from Norqain, Gas Bijoux, Rizes Crete, Respoke, The Bridge and Artenseda are all incredible independent brands and a number of them came from our collaboration with our sister brand Le Bon Marché [the historic French department store, also part of LVMH -Ed]. “They helped us discover a lot of new products which are unique to where the ship is sailing. Trying to bring these destinations to life through our offer is something that we are really focused on. This means that our offer will constantly renew as the ships move around and its itineraries change.”
The Starboard Cruise Services team takes pride in the maiden voyage of Celebrity Beyond
This newness and destination-focused retailing is a purposeful move for Starboard Cruise Services. According to Bauer, it is a trend that will continue. “It’s really about following what’s happening with trends and giving guests a sense of discovery and inspiring them take home memories of the destinations they have visited. We had done so much work on this. Presentation after presentation and many late nights to get it just right. To really see it come together is a very proud moment for us.” Starboard Cruise Services’ penchant for newness and innovation doesn’t end with just brands. Across its entire retail offer, the retailer has implemented a range of cutting-edge technologies that embrace omnichannel, O2O and digital concepts. “In front of the Stella McCartney store, there are three large-scale digital screens that showcase the latest runway shows and really builds a sense of brand excitement. There is also virtual try-on at the beauty space in the Attraction boutique. We are rolling out digital programming in the state rooms as well. In the future, our vision is to integrate to the Celebrity App to really offer a seamless digital experience.”
Summersalt is a female-owned fashion and lifestyle brand that celebrates women of all sizes
Bvlgari brings Roman luxury to Celebrity Beyond
Stella McCartney: A first at sea for the luxury brand
While the launch of Celebrity Beyond represents a positive indicator of cruise’s return to pre-pandemic times, Celebrity Cruises and Starboard Cruise Services’ strict COVID protocols on the ship are a reminder of the ‘new normal’ for the sector. Bauer says: “In terms of safety innovation, we certainly follow all of Celebrity’s guidelines. All our staff our vaccinated and are constantly tested. They are all wearing masks and follow strict cleaning protocols so guests can feel safe. The pandemic has been very hard for our crew, but they are smiling behind those masks and are dedicated to delivering a great customer experience. “When you ask our team members onboard, like retailer managers Violeta or Raul, who have each been with us for more than 15 and seven years respectively, they are excited to be back despite the changed retail environment. They are very proud of how all this came together, especially with our new digital merchandising approach,” she adds. Logistical and supply chain challenges have been wreaking havoc for businesses around the globe, and has similarly impacted Starboard Cruise Services’ business. “Supply chain fill rates are just not what they need to be. We are facing challenges with makeup brands, liquor brands and even some of the fine watches. For example, you might be able to buy a perfume and the bottle, but the cap might be missing because it is manufactured in a different location, which presents a tricky logistical issue. “To overcome this, we are working in a more agile way. Instead of projecting six months ahead, we’re now projecting a whole year out. We’ve been doing ship to ship transfers instead of sending everything through our warehouse. We’re doing ‘DSD’ which is shipping direct to the ship from the port. We have also been more creative about how we move things around, but it’s still a major concern for us.”
(Left to right) Starboard Cruise Services CEO Lisa Bauer, Starboard Cruise Services Retail Managers Raul Dobre and Violeta Hulubra and Celebrity Cruises General Manager Ivette Pimentel
The maiden voyage of Celebrity Beyond offered a positive signal about the return of cruising
Looking beyond the challenges, so much about cruising has changed in the new world. Intergenerational travel has boomed, and consumer demands are constantly evolving. On whether there is a difference in the core shopper for the cruise industry now, Bauer says: “It really comes down to the demographics that Celebrity Cruises is attracting. We are working with them on customer research to ensure that our offering matches the demands of the guests. We have certainly noticed that the guests coming back are spending more. We are seeing a lot of revenge spending.” With all these different elements influencing the return to sail, how will Starboard Cruise Services engage and attract the new consumer in an evolving at sea landscape? According to Bauer it’s all about discovery. “When it comes down to it, it’s all about creating a sense of discovery and inspiring guests to take home mementos. For example, our wonderful brand Lat & Lo offers beautiful pieces of jewellery with the exact coordinates of the cruise you’re on. Guests can discover a new brand like Beekman 1802, or treat themselves to a luxury bag from Stella McCartney. “It’s about bringing home an experience versus buying something you would buy at home or in the department store. For example, this is only one of a few places where you can buy a specific product, and for some of our brands certainly the only place to buy at sea.”
Celebrity Cruises CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Starboard Cruise Services President and CEO Lisa Bauer, Stella McCartney US President Ida Simonson, Stella McCartney Vice President Wholesale Andrew Dershaw and Captain Kate McCue officially open the Stella McCartney store
During the media sailing in late April, Starboard Cruise Services hosted an array of engaging activations that highlighted the stories and craftsmanship of its different brands. For example, Spanish silk scarf brand Artenseda hosted a live scarf painting session, which resonated with guests onboard the ship. “We’re calling them ‘limited-time experiences’,” says Bauer. “Our goal is to bring more of the fashion jewellery local artisans onboard to personalise the jewellery and bring our brands to life. While it takes a lot of work in terms of coordination, that is something we certainly want to build on. The guests love it because it’s a one-of-a-kind experience.” Offering a final view on how the cruise eco-system can work together for the benefit of the end consumer and for each other, Bauer says, “I think the cruise industry is incredibly resilient. Throughout the pandemic all the cruise lines worked together to build protocols, through the cruise line industry association, and have been very aligned in what we can do to get the ports open and to enhance safety onboard. Overall, the industry has been very transparent. While we all went through such a difficult time, all the stakeholders understood that we need to work together to be in a stronger position collectively to come out of the crisis. “The occupancies right now are 60%, 70% or even 80% and by the end of the year, I think we will see occupancy back to 100%. Celebrity Cruises’ parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, have had their all-time biggest booking week. Brands are starting to see that demand is returning and so I think travel retail will come back faster than what people thought, especially because we are leisure travel. People want to quench their wanderlust, and cruising is an amazing and safe vacation experience. This is why I’m so incredibly optimistic.”
The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 310 | 6 May 2022
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com