CHINA. L’Oréal Travel Retail has launched Giorgio Armani Beauty’s travelling pop-up store, Armani Box, on China’s Hainan Island. Open until 31 May in China Duty Free Group’s Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex (CDF Mall), the one-month animation marks the second time Armani Box has landed in Haitang Bay.
The opening of Armani Box Hainan and its return to CDF Mall was celebrated on 10 May with a high-profile promotional event hosted by L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific and China Duty Free Group (CDFG). It was attended by Chinese celebrity Zheng Kai and 20 key opinion leaders (KOLs) and media, including The Moodie Davitt Report*. The celebratory event was followed by a Sì Passione-themed dinner at the Rosewood Sanya hotel.
“The Giorgio Armani brand is synonymous with cinema and the red carpet,” the brand said. The new Armani Box Hainan celebrates the glamour of Hollywood and offers “a sensorial and playful immersion” in Giorgio Armani Beauty’s universe.
Welcoming visitors to the pop-up is Uri, the giant gorilla statue that is a replica of the movie prop founded in Giorgio Armani’s home in Milan. In 2019, Uri has changed from red to golden.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report, L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific General Manager of Giorgio Armani Beauty Tony Khajenouri said: “The idea behind Armani Box is to offer a series of cinematic and red-carpet experiences to travelling consumers, with the iconic giant gorilla Uri, created by the Italian artist Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba. Exclusively for Haitang Bay, we are extremely pleased to have renowned Chinese actor Zheng Kai join us in celebration of the launch of our pop-up.”
Designed to transform visitors into ‘Armani Beauty Stars’, the pop-up features several movie-themed details and props for an interactive movie star experience.
Visitors can try on virtual looks at the virtual makeup application stations, while a ‘Connected Mirror’ with iPads allows them to record their makeup consultations and post them on social platforms. They can also showcase their acting skills by filming a custom ‘screen test’ in front of the camera, as well as add their digital handprints and signature to the ‘Wall of Fame’ machine. All photos and videos will be available to keep, share and post online.
These digital elements were incorporated into the pop-up to engage and “cater to the taste of millennials”, said Khajenouri. “The iPads on site record the beauty experience and allows visitors to share these special moments online, while the special ‘casting area’ serves as the perfect ‘Instagrammable’ backdrop to elevate the travellers’ beauty journey.”
Products highlighted at the pop-up include novelties and exclusive limited editions such as the Lip Maestro Uri Edition #405 and Lip Maestro Gold Edition #400, as well as the My Armani to Go Cushion and Power Fabric foundations.
Visitors can also discover the Sì Passione fragrance collection and the full Armani lip range, from Lip Maestro to Rouge d’Armani Matte Lipstick. These can be personalised at the on-site engraving station.
Since its travel retail debut at Hong Kong International Airport in January 2018, the Armani Box concept has been on a world tour, launching in several key airport and downtown duty free locations. These include Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (March 2018), CDF Mall (May 2018), Sydney Airport (September 2018) and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (January 2019).
“We are proud to have launched the Armani Box pop-up in five travel retail locations so far, including Haitang Bay,” said Khajenouri. “The reception to the concept has been great since our debut at Hong Kong International Airport; this is the core reason we are expanding this beauty experience to more locations in Asia Pacific. As long as there is interest from travellers, we will continue to collaborate with retailers to surprise them with such an elevated shopping experience.”
The success of the pop-up concept has been underpinned by Giorgio Armani’s strong brand awareness. Khajenouri said: “Giorgio Armani is an iconic and well-respected Italian fashion house, recognised for its great elegance and perfect style. Armani Beauty beautifully translates this elegant minimalism through soft colour and sublime texture in makeup, while capturing the very essence of style through scent.
“With this philosophy behind it, the Armani Beauty brand is able to attract demanding and refined luxury customers from all over the world, including Chinese customers.” [The Jessica’s Secret Index, in association with The Moodie Davitt Report, revealed that Armani Beauty made up five of the top 30 most price-searched duty free makeup products by Chinese travellers in March 2019]
Khajenouri underlined the importance of working with retailers such as CDFG to capture and engage the increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers.
“China Duty Free Group is definitely one of the closest and most important partners of our business in Asia Pacific. The joint launch of Armani Box Hainan at Haitang Bay shows that we share the same vision of putting travellers at the heart of everything we do. We see a great future in partnership with CDFG for the development of our brands within China and the Asia Pacific region. Together with their talented team, we will continue to bring unique retail expressions, tailored and connected initiatives to Asia Pacific travel retail,” he said.
“We are very happy with the growth of Giorgio Armani,” Khajenouri said, adding that the brand has benefited from the travel boom and expansion of the upper middle class segment in the Asia Pacific region. “Armani Beauty, as a luxury beauty brand that is already well known in Asia Pacific, has been able to take full advantage of these trends.”
“We project Armani to continue to be one of the fastest-growing brands in Travel Retail Asia Pacific,” he said. Growth will be led by the brand’s icon products such as Cushion, Lip Maestro and Sì Passione, as well as innovations such as Power Fabric, Crema Nera and Prive Fragrances.
“We see great opportunity in the fragrance sector and are confident we have products relevant for Chinese consumers. Sì Passione, with the scent of rose and jasmine, is a very popular scent loved by our Asian customers. We are very happy with its performance and we are optimistic that our business has great potential to grow.”
Khajenouri concluded: “With our expertise in elevating consumers’ shopping experience via unique retail design and pop-up concepts, we will continue to excite our loyal consumers, as well as connect Armani with the many new consumers in the market.”
*NOTE: The Moodie Davitt Report was the exclusive travel retail media present at the Armani Box Hainan opening, providing extension on-location coverage on Instagram Stories – check out our Instagram Post and Story Highlight ‘Armani Hainan’ below.
