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Devanlay Lacoste International Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli introduces the new mobile fashion store concept at the 2012 TFWA World Exhibition |
In the run-up to its 80th anniversary in 2013, Lacoste introduced its new collections alongside a new pop-up store concept specially designed for travel retailers at the 2012 TFWA World Exhibition.
The Lacoste Flight Case Pop-Up Store seeks to help enhance sales over the French brand’s 224 POS across 55 countries.
The concept centres on mobile furniture specially designed for airport environments that offers versatility, opening up an array of new options for retailers in the way that the Lacoste brand can be presented, according to Devanlay Lacoste International Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli.
The series of co-ordinated modular pieces come in a variety of sizes and shapes that can be arranged in many permutations, offering a variety of options for retailers to tailor bespoke in-store displays to align with retail requirements, space and target shopper profiles.
Bonelli described the fixture as “elegantly functional, displaying products beautifully, making it easy to shop and replenish”. The units can accommodate hanging and folded clothing as well as all types of Lacoste accessories, including leathergoods, eyewear, jewellery and watches.
Presented as a large-scale concept on the Lacoste booth in the Riviera Village during the TFWA World Exhibition, the Flight Case Pop-up Store aims to create a retail destination in itself, driving footfall and sales. When adapted to smaller scale use, it helps retailers to optimise every inch of floorspace.
“This versatility brings a new precision to retail execution, creating additional opportunities to strengthen sales performance even in the most challenging of retail spaces. However, whatever scale and format is adopted the system always expresses Lacoste’s brand qualities,” said Bonelli.
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An overview of the mobile pop-up store units on Lacoste’s TFWA World Exhibition booth |
Relevance to the travel retail audience
Talking to journalists at the Cannes show, Bonelli explained: “As a successful leisure brand and a symbol of elegant lifestyle, Lacoste has earned itself a legitimate place in the travel retail business and now intends to become a key player in the field through the development of its retail solutions.
“The travel trunk styling is instantly eye-catching and delivers obvious relevance to the travel retail audience. In fact, the reaction of many people when they first realise the luggage motif is to smile – and I think that’s the perfect opening to engage with a shopper.
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Leathergoods are displayed alongside apparel |
“But it’s so much more than a visual play; the concept also provides an engaging, in-depth brand experience – once again demonstrating the Lacoste blend of style and function.
“Travel retail has a huge imperative to deliver new experiences to the traveller and the industry must be open to new ways of delivering those experiences. Many travellers still think that the channel has nothing to offer them – and many frequent travellers are convinced that they have seen everything that airport shopping has to offer.
“With this concept we can interrupt this and open up new routes to reach the target shoppers and so drive footfall and conversion.”
She continued: “This is our very latest retail concept and it has been developed exclusively for travel retail. The design is deceptively simple but remarkably versatile and effective. Instead of adapting established merchandising models, our design team looked at the unique characteristics of the travel retail environment, particularly at major airports, and set out to address the specific needs of the travel retailer.
“It’s like a mobile fashion store that can be tailored to any space and can be instantly segmented and reconfigured in just moments. The units are perfectly proportioned to accommodate hanging and folded clothing as well as all types of Lacoste accessories, including leathergoods, eyewear, jewellery and watches and fragrances.
“Each individual piece of furniture in the Flight Case Pop-up Store can easily be adapted to a range of themes throughout the year, showcasing collections such as the Roland Garros co-branded line, the Flags Capsule, the new Women’s collection, L1212 event, etc.
“But the key characteristic of this fresh concept is, of course, that this is also retail in motion – the wheels make it so simple to set-up and move around both within the store and in transferring from one airport to another, while its adaptability of layout allows it to fit any type of retail environment.
“For example, it adds amazing versatility in opportunities for cross-merchandising, giving a wide range of scale options – from a single unit partnering a promotion with another category to a whole pop-up store within a main store.
“Within an airport, the Flight Case Pop-up Store also opens up new opportunities to utilise the units across the airport estate, including seasonal events, special promotions, departure gate locations and on the concourse.
“With this concept we can open up new routes to reach the target shoppers and so drive footfall and conversion.
“The airport shopper has seen everything from London’s Bond Street and Paris’s Avenue Montaigne to Tokyo’s Ginza and Hong Kong’s Landmark Mall; they need to discover new experiences. The Flight Case Pop-up Store provides the flexibility, variety and innovative styling that Travel Retail needs if it is to engage, excite and convert these travellers.
“This concept combines novelty with practicality, elegance with substance, innovation with authenticity – which is exactly what you would expect from the world’s most stylish, energetic and creative brand.”
For details, e-mail Catherine Bonelli, International Travel Retail Director, Devanlay Lacoste, at cbonelli@devanlay.fr
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This trunk-themed fixture is shown displaying the childrenswear collection |
