DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Duty free and travel retailer, Duty Free Americas (DFA), has partnered with global eyewear house, Luxottica Group, to develop its first standalone sunglasses boutique, at Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic.
The 100sq m bespoke multi-brand concept in Terminal A is built on sunglasses category management principles and places emphasis on an optimised product assortment and enhanced shopper engagement.
DFA President, Leon Falic, said: “Our vision was to create the ‘ideal’ sunglasses store using all of Luxottica’s know-how and best practices – and the power of the Ray-Ban brand. Early results have been extremely positive.”
Luxottica Global Channels Director, Alessandro Pozzi, added: “As a major destination for international holiday-makers and with major investment in the airport infrastructure, Punta Cana has huge potential for sunglasses sales. Based on the most recent performance, this new store is trending towards becoming DFA’s best-performing space for our category.”
Ambitious growth plans
Punta Cana International Airport processed over 7.3 million passengers in 2017 but airport owner and operator, Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este, is targeting 10 million passengers by 2020. The boutique was created as part of the second phase of a major refurbishment of DFA’s retail footprint at the airport.
Opened in the first quarter of 2018, the store carries 23 brands with space for more than 1,300 individual SKUs, while also featuring a shop-in-shop dedicated to leading brands in the channel, Ray-Ban and Oakley.
The store features a highly-visible video wall at the entrance and an adjacent dedicated promotional space to encourage passengers to discover the latest models. Other highlights include a dedicated polarised zone and a zone for kids eyewear. Passengers can try on sunglasses at a ‘style bar’ assisted by a DFA team of four dedicated sunglasses specialists.
