Blue Storks Travel Retail is building its portfolio of brands that are new to travel retail with an emphasis on fashion & accessories, and continues to seek innovative new concepts that fit its model.
The travel retail and duty free specialist agency was founded in 2013 by several partners including Arnaud Fauvarque and Frederik Westelinck.
Fauvarque told The Moodie Davitt Report: “It is hard for new brands to break into travel retail today and particularly those in non-traditional categories. We represent premium brands at low prices, but it’s about brands that carry a point of difference, not only about being cheap.”
The company focuses on “mono-product concepts” that are easy to understand and use and that are eye-catching and generate impulse purchases.
Examples showcased at the recent TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore include See Concept reading glasses and Ögon aluminium wallets and Happy Socks. “We want to carry products that appeal to the Instagram generation and we have looked at the best concept stores worldwide,” said Fauvarque.
The company’s latest retail concept was tested recently through a pop-up store with Dufry at Basel Airport. “This opportunity showed that we can do much more with lesser known brands in travel retail,” said Fauvarque. “Although retailers do see some risk in taking on new brands, travellers want to see new and different products.
“What we can show from our portfolio is healthy sales per square metre; that is the key metric and our selling point,” noted Fauvarque.
“We are here for the long term and we believe many of our brands can be winners in travel retail,” he said.
