CHINA (HONG KONG). Cartier and retail partner King Power Global Development Company yesterday honoured the opening of the French luxury brand’s newly renovated boutique at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) with a Chinese-themed celebration that featured Champagne toasts, red envelopes and traditional Cantonese roast pig.
The elegant pale-pink hued 191sq m store features a fresh new look for the French maison owned by Swiss luxury goods powerhouse Richemont.
Conceived by famed Parisian artist and interior designer Bruno Moinard, the boutique is the third in the world to bear the Maison’s latest airport architectural concept.
As first revealed by The Moodie Davitt Report, King Power Global Development Company – a joint venture between King Power Group (Hong Kong) and King Power International of Thailand – was awarded five luxury concessions at HKIA last November. The portfolio embraces some of Richemont’s most stellar watch & jewellery labels: Cartier, plus Swiss watch brands Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC Schaffhausen, together with Italian luxury watchmaker Panerai.
The Moodie Davitt Report was on hand as Cartier executives and store employees celebrated with the King Power team and Airport Authority Hong Kong management while travellers perused the legacy French jeweller’s star-studded product line, including limited-edition watches, classic jewellery sets, and fine leathergoods.
King Power Global Development Company Managing Director and King Power Group Hong Kong Chairman Antares Cheng gave out red envelopes in the Chinese tradition of offering money to associates at times of celebration. The Tong Sing, a traditional Chinese almanac (the ‘know everything book’), was used to determine the exact auspicious time that the roast pig should be cut.
In another honouring of Chinese tradition, the pig was “set to face North because that is where the money god resides at the moment,” explained King Power Group (HK) Marketing & Communications Manager Karli Cheng.
Cartier International Travel Retail Director Virginie Martignac said that the redesigned boutique offers an inviting, open space for travellers. “We lightened the colour, so it is much clearer and brighter,” said Martignac. “There is more customised furniture, which allows us to display the different collections of Cartier across products and categories and to introduce the clients to a broader array from watches to jewellery to accessories — allowing them to discover the collection in a new way.”
The see-through facade marks a considerable change in the overall decor, unveiling only one main and inviting entrance post-renovations. Traditional windows are replaced by dramatic vertical panels, playing with lights, verticality and contrasts of display.
The boutique interior has been designed with practicality in mind, allowing for easy access and seamless experiences. An elegant marble flooring runs all around the boutique as an invitation for travellers with luggage to navigate through jewellery counters.
The selling ceremony is toned down and simplified thanks to a dedicated ‘icon bar’ area, where shoppers can easily access the various Cartier creations.
These include Clé de Cartier, a limited-edition women’s watch made of steel and set with 61 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel, totaling 0.38 carat. With soft curves, clean lines, and a rounded profile, the Clé exudes a minimalist elegance. For Hong Kong, the watch is available exclusively at the Cartier HKIA boutique.
King Power Group HK Group CEO Sunil Tuli told The Moodie Davitt Report: “We are honoured to partner with such an illustrious maison as Cartier in opening this new-look, beautiful addition to Hong Kong International Airport’s impressive luxury line-up. Together with our other Richemont brand partners, our thriving King Power Global Development Company joint venture is excited to be at the forefront of world-class retailing in one of the world’s great air transport hubs.”
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The boutique is strategically placed one escalator flight down from central security, housed in a well-populated premium and luxury retail zone that enjoys high footfall before gate directions diverge. Within no more than 100 meters, airport shoppers can now visit Cartier and the other four Richemont-owned luxury brands managed by the King Power joint venture.
Regardless of recent slowdowns in retail due to Hong Kong’s social protests, HKIA still offers brands such as Cartier well-appointed space to showcase its wares to an international audience of travellers, Martignac said. The boutique reflects a renewed focus on appealing to travelling consumers “while being consistent, coherent, and in tune with the overall airport feeling”, she said.
“We are looking at airports as part of an overall strategy to try to develop [brand] visibility across the globe among travellers,” Martignac told The Moodie Davitt Report.
Airport Authority General Manager, Retail Portfolio, Retail & Advertising Alby Tsang said that in order to further enhance luxury retail brand options at HKIA, Terminal 1 is undergoing a phased changeover of luxury boutiques that includes the injection of 11 new brands, including Panerai. “We are confident that the changeover will significantly uplift the shopping experience for our passengers,” he told The Moodie Davitt Report.
All five stores (see below) were renovated during the changeover. Piaget has a bright, feminine, minimalist appearance, while the others have slightly more masculine, traditional characteristics, including the use of dark woods and metals and navy-hued walls. The Panerai store boasts striking copper details, a nod to the company’s Italian heritage.
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IWC Schaffhausen celebrates craftsmanship in reopened boutique  Swiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has also partnered with King Power Global Development to reopen its boutique at Hong Kong International Airport after a period of renovation. The refurbished 52sq m boutique now sports the new ‘BTQ EVO concept’ design that is being implemented around the globe to create a premium shopping experience. The well-appointed black and white interiors are highlighted by glossy Macassar Ebony furnishings, providing watch connoisseurs with a luxurious ambience to browse at leisure. A focal point is a giant LED wall measuring 3.6 metres wide and 1.3 metres high. Visitors are greeted with movies of IWC’s six renowned watch families – Pilot’s Watches, Portugieser, Portofino, Da Vinci, Ingenieur and Aquatimer – which celebrate the brand’s heritage and craftsmanship. Another striking new design element is a large 3D watch movement decoration on a wall that not only catches the eye but pays tribute to IWC’s watchmaking excellence and mechanical highlights. |
Going strong on Globuy
As a lead business partner of The Moodie Davitt Report, Cartier’s story will also appear in coming days in Chinese and with a consumer voice on fast-growing Chinese B2C WeChat social media account Globuy [玩转全球免税], as part of a new collaboration between Globuy owner Extra-Aile Media in Shanghai and The Moodie Davitt Report. Globuy aims to become “the KOL of Chinese travel retail” and already has 400,000 followers and a monthly audience of 1 million views for its WeChat social media platform promoting new launches, product availability, promotions and special offers. Underlining the strong affinity and complementary nature of the two companies’ work, Globuy has dubbed The Moodie Davitt Report “the KOL of travel retail B2B media” Under the agreement, selected stories from The Moodie Davitt Report.com’s lead brand partners in beauty, fashion, luxury, confectionery and premium spirits are also published by Globuy in Chinese. These include product reviews by the Globuy team. Globuy is promoting The Moodie Davitt Report’s platform to China’s travel retail sector and to its own consumer audience in China. The Moodie Davitt Report subsequently also publishes a curated selection of Chinese consumer feedback on the chosen stories and will reveal the results of regular consumer surveys conducted in association with Globuy. |
