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The new Ice-Watch store at Singapore Changi Terminal 2 |
Ice-Watch is reinforcing its presence in the travel retail market with an increased focus on branding, high-profile marketing, product quality and added-value features.
The Belgian fashion watch brand entered the travel retail market in 2011 with its colourful silicone watches and achieved rapid expansion. It is now carried onboard 82 airlines, 228 duty free shops and 115 cruise ships.
A total of 4.3 million pieces were sold last year – a +20% jump year-on-year, Travel Retail Manager Jean-Philippe Balon told The Moodie Report at the TFWA Asia Pacific show in May 2013. More than 10 million watches have been sold in the last six years, with a leading domestic market position gained in European countries such as Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands.
“We want to extend our range and improve the product quality while gaining more high-level recognition,” Balon explained, noting that the company has launched a number of watches with added-value features.
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New to the Ice-Watch assortment is the Ice-Mini children’s collection |
As part of the move upmarket, all new models produced are water-resistant to 10ATM and carry a two-year warranty. All the watches currently contain a Japanese movement, but as part of its plan to focus on product quality, the company will launch a collection with a Swiss movement and assembly later this year.
The brand’s strategy is to launch new collections into international domestic markets and then introduce the most successful lines to travel retail, Balon said. The watches retail from €50 to €250.
To cater for travellers, Ice-Watch is adding new references to the travel retail business segment and aims to continue investing in high-impact marketing activities. New collections available to operators include the Ice-Mini children’s watch (inflight RRP €49/US$69), the Ice-Chrono Elecktrik supersized model (inflight RRP €125/US$169), and the ICE (inflight RRP €59/US$75), described as an ultra-flexible style made from a single piece from the strap to the case.
In the travel retail arena, Ice-Watch recently opened a store at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 and a POS at Barcelona El Prat Terminal 1. Other stockists can be found at Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, Schiphol and Dubai airports.
This year, the brand is seeking to extend its reach to regional powerhouses in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region and further increase the penetration into European markets.
Ice-Watch has beaten inflight sales records, noted Balon, and was among the three top-selling timepieces on board Japan Airlines in the first month of launch. On Air France, the Ice-Forever model was the number one selling watch for 14 consecutive months, with an average monthly sales figure of 1,000 watches and peak sales records in January and August.
The Ice-Watch brand is keen on staging HPPs at airports, having launched some eye-catching marketing activities at London Heathrow, consisting of a window campaign in 2011 and 2012, and at Schiphol, where a pop-up shop opened in summer 2012.
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The original ice-Forever watches are the best-selling styles in the Ice-Watch range |
“Both of these campaigns were a huge success and the brand was exceptionally asked to extend and even renew its lease by landlords in both locations,” the company said.
In a promotional tactic for the inflight channel, crew on some airlines have been chosen to wear Ice-Watches onboard. The marketing ploy was first used on SAS, then on Jetairfly male stewards for a six-month period and now it will be the case on Thomas Cook from July 2013 and for one year long.
“During the six months that the SAS crews wore the Ice-Forever White, sales increased tenfold, proving the significant impact on sales of such campaigns,” said the firm, which has developed mini plastic cube-shaped packaging specially for airlines, based on the brand’s regular, stackable BeCubic boxes.
“Our best-selling watch was the original watch launched in 2009,” said Balon, referring to the Ice-Forever model (duty free RRP €65/US$89), adding: “Our first watch has been the most copied in the market.”
The company has a big Facebook presence to cater for its nearly 5m fans – some of whom own up to 30 watches each, according to Balon.
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Left: Ice-Mini watches; Right: Ice-Chrono Electrik model | |
To boost its travel retail exhibition presence, Ice-Watch will attend the ARC 2013 event in Paris in July 2013 as well as the TFWA World Exhibition this October. The brand was the main sponsor of the Airline Retail Conference – Asia Pacific 2013 and attended the IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas for the first time in April, which it described as “an excellent way to pursue its expansion in the Americas market”.
About Ice-Watch
Ice-Watch is an international watch brand created in 2007 by Belgian entrepreneur Jean-Pierre Lutgen, based on the concept of “Change. You can”.
The Ice-Watch brand is distributed in 110 countries in over 12,000 points of sale. In 2012 the brand opened five flagship stores in fashionable neighbourhoods in Paris, Geneva, Brussels, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In 2011 the company entered the travel retail market, achieving rapid expansion. The watches are sold onboard 82 airlines, 228 duty free shops and on 115 cruise ships.
For details, contact Jean-Philippe Balon, on tel: +32 61 404 237 or e-mail jpb@ice-watch.com
Visit www.ice-watch.com
