Paul & Shark will launch its first store in South Korea with a new point of sale opening at Incheon International airport with Lotte Duty Free, and will also open its first personalised boutique onboard cruiseship Costa Fortuna.
“Our new opening in Incheon will enable us to enjoy truly spectacular visibility for the brand. Along with the Lotte store we have another two openings planned in Seoul by the first quarter of 2016, giving Paul & Shark a very strong foot-print in the South Korean travel-retail market. These openings are both downtown duty-free – one with Donghwa and another with SM Duty Free.”Both stores will make its inaugurate launch next month. “We are so excited about these two projects,” said Paul & Shark Worldwide Travel Retail director Catherine Bonelli. “The Costa Fortuna is a beautiful ship and to have our own standalone boutique onboard is a real coup. Opening in December in the run up to Christmas could not be better timing and we’re expecting really good sell-through during the month.
This continues a trend that has seen a 55% increase in openings for Paul & Shark over the past 18 months, of which Bonelli said around half were located in airports and the rest with cruiselines and downtown duty-free stores.
After coming back from a busy TFWA World Exhibition last month, Bonelli sees a rosy future next year. She added that openings in 2016 were earmarked at Pudong terminal one in partnership with King Power Orient; Hong Kong International airport with Lagardère Travel Retail, and Houston with ATU-Heinemann.
Speaking of last month’s TFWA, she added: “Cannes, with our new stand, was an incredibly busy and successful week for us with head to head appointments all week,” said Bonelli. “Our personalised embroidery service was again a particular talking point and has become a real stand-out highlight for us.
“It’s been an incredibly busy and hardworking year for the Travel Retail team but the effort is certainly paying off and we are being rewarded with superb locations for the brand. We are confident that 2016 will be another exceptional year for us, as retailers continue to understand and realise the business potential of partnering with Paul & Shark.