FRANCE. The Sunglasses Workshop returned for its 13th edition at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last month, attracting 110 travel retail executives. The gathering at beach-side venue, Plage Goeland, facilitated category networking among stakeholders under the theme ‘Focusing on the future’.
The event was co-sponsored by EssilorLuxottica, Kering Eyewear, Marchon, Marcolin, Maui Jim, Safilo Group and Thélios. It was moderated by The Moodie Davitt Report President and Editorial Director Dermot Davitt and organised by integrated retail marketing, design and communications agency PURPLE.
The programme comprised three core elements. Dr. Peter Mohn, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at m1nd-set presented a summary of findings from a consumer study of 1,000 sunglasses shoppers in travel retail. The study, which was conducted during August and September, was commissioned by seven supplier companies especially for the workshop.
It revealed that 80% of sunglasses purchases in travel retail have a degree of pre-planning and that 21% of sunglasses shoppers see the brand they purchase from outside the store.
The study showed that 43% of sunglasses purchases are informed by pre-store touchpoints, while 20% of sunglasses shoppers showed interest in travel retail-exclusive styles. Finally, Mohn said that 67% of sunglasses shoppers interacted with staff, and that 69% said that sales staff influenced their purchase decision.
The second part was an interactive panel discussion that featured senior representatives from leading sunglasses suppliers. The expert panel consisted of Thélios (LVMH Group) Travel Retail Director Alessandro Eucaliptus; EssilorLuxottica Global Travel Retail Director Alessio Crivelli; Marcolin Head of Travel Retail and Online Alessia Voltan; Kering Eyewear Head of Global Travel Retail Emanuele Lasagna; Marchon Global Travel Retail and Ecommerce Director Erwan Le Guennec; Maui Jim Global Travel Retail Senior Director Giles Marks and Safilo Group Director Global Travel Retail & Customer Marketing Global Channels Maria Valentina Alessi.
The panel discussed a range of topics from emerging category and consumer trends, the role of travel retail for sunglasses brands, the importance of digital and how partnerships can help unlock the potential of the category.
When asked to summarise with one word what the focus of the category should be over the next 12 months, the panellists respectively answered with: collaboration, trust, partnership, consumer-centric, innovation, consumer experience and elevation.
The sunglasses suppliers collectively commented, “We are thrilled with the attendance and quality time spent together at the returning workshop this year. We wanted to send out a clear message that the sunglasses category is back, stronger and more determined than ever. Thank you to everyone who participated.
“We covered a lot of ground in this session but it’s only the start of 12 months of relentless effort to drive the category, culminating in another Sunglasses Workshop in Cannes next year. We will be back again, and we will mark this occasion with the return of a bigger, better and even more coveted Sunglasses Awards.”
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report’s portfolio of titles included Sunglasses Curated, a regular eNewsletter series that offers a selection of stories focused on the key sunglasses & eyewear category in travel retail and beyond.
As with all Moodie Davitt Report media, Sunglasses Curated is free of charge. If you would like to be added to its mailing list (or to those for any other Moodie Davitt titles), please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com headed ‘Curated Sunglasses’.
