Welcome to our travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP)
As global travel slowly picks up, we look at the business and shopping trends of the travel retail world. In recent weeks we’ve seen a spike in beauty sales in Hainan, China; K-beauty going global and a luxury brand experience with phygital appeal. (more…)
Welcome to a new travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP)
As global travel picks up again, we look at the business and shopping trends of the travel retail world. In particular, the beauty, fashion, accessories, and watches & jewellery categories, dipping into the product exclusives and digital strategies that often launch in Asia and give the rest of the world an idea of innovations coming soon.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR DUTY FREE SHOPPING? A major story this month, the entire travel retail industry is reeling from the latest government news that duty free is set to be abolished in the UK for everything bar alcohol and cigarettes from 1 Jan 2020. (more…)
“Audrey Hepburn’s lipstick holder should be owned by one person on this earth, and that is me.”
Auctions are the epitome of experiential retail. A thrilling experience, they combine drama, desire, competition, social interaction and a bit of a gambler mentality. I’ve only been to an auction once, years ago, a Christie’s sale of pop art posters and design. It was relatively tame and we ended up with a much-loved Robert Indiana LOVE poster that I *think* Tommy Roberts (of Mr Freedom and Tom Tom fame) also bid for.
If you want a sense of what it’s like to bid for something really coveted, watch Lisa Eldridge’s account of bidding for Audrey Hepburn’s Cartier lipstick holder. (more…)
Even though people are sniffy about trends, I still quite like tracking them. The trick is just to pay attention to the ones that work for you. So in this wee SS19 round-up, I’m deliberately ignoring anything overstatementy or hype-y that will have disappeared in a year. And instead homing in on the classics that have been reinvented or lifestyle movements that will impact how we live.