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The Retro Sport range of 1980s-style bags are among Lacoste’s best-selling lines |
FRANCE. French fashion house Lacoste is opening a raft of new stores across the Asia Pacific region, reported Travel Retail Director David Dayan at the recent TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore.
The lifestyle brand has just signed agreements for retail expansion into South Korea with Lotte, AK Duty Free and Shilla. The new shop-in-shops will offer the Lacoste ‘total look’ of apparel and accessories. Lacoste already sells apparel in the country but accessories will be on offer for the first time, said Dayan.
Seven doors will be opening in South Korea between July and December 2006, he added.
Next year, in the Philippines, Lacoste is looking forward to opening an accessories boutique at Manila Airport in terminal three and a renovated shop-in-shop in T1.
In Vietnam, a boutique will open in six months time at Ho Chi Minh Airport. In July/August, King Power will begin operating a Lacoste boutique at the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.
In China, Lacoste is seeking partners. The company already has an office in Shanghai and is considering employing an executive to manage sales for the Asian market, including China, though this has not been finalised yet, according to Dayan.
Next year, two dedicated travel retail offices will be opening: one for the Asian market, either in Hong Kong or Shanghai; and one for the Americas, in Miami.
Meanwhile, discussions are under way with Blanc de Blancs to open a shop-in-shop in Osaka, Japan, and with Dufry to set up a boutique in the Hong Kong SkyPlaza and Singapore Changi Airport for accessories and textiles.
Expansion also progresses in the Americas, where a Lacoste shop-in-shop recently opened for business in Seattle Airport with HMSHost.
Brazil will see the inauguration of nine airport outlets, with Brasif/Dufry.
Dayan told The Moodie Report that more than 40 doors had begun trading in the past year – almost four per month. Accessories turnover in airport stores alone had exceeded US$6 million during that time.
Product wise, the Retro Sport bag line, which harks back to 1980s styles, has become a big seller in US travel retail stores. A total of 15,000 pieces have been sold in the US alone, according to Dayan.
For details, contact David Dayan, Travel Retail Director, Lacoste, e-mail ddayan@latr.ch Visit www.lacoste.com
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Timeless sport chic from Lacoste Retro Sport – 04/05/06
