INTERNATIONAL. Luxottica Travel Retail has partnered with travel retailers worldwide to develop a series of bespoke in-store environments for the sunglasses category.
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“Each case study demonstrates the impact and success that can be achieved when we have the right merchandising environment for our category“ |
Francis Gros Director Luxottica Group Travel Retail |
Underpinned by category management studies, these new merchandising fixtures have been created to increase sales for Luxottica brands and the sunglasses category as a whole; improve the share of voice and visibility of the category; and, most importantly, create extra excitement and attraction to drive store penetration and conversion, the Italian eyewear group stated.
Luxottica said that its vision is to make travel retail the specialist and most authoritative channel for sunglasses shopping. Creating the optimum retail environment to showcase products and communicating best sellers, new trends and technical features are important steps in turning that vision into a reality, the company added.
Each of Luxottica’s new furniture incorporates the best practices in eyewear retailing through a balance between the number of product facings and brand assortment, features that enable additional communication messages at brand and category level, as well as special promotions.
Luxottica Group Travel Retail Director Francis Gros outlines the approach: “Luxottica Travel Retail is determined to rise to the challenge of being category leader. We launched our category management activity two years ago in Cannes and merchandising and in-store environment is an important building block.
“Working with some of the most progressive retail partners for this category we now have some great examples across the world. Each case study demonstrates the impact and success that can be achieved when we have the right merchandising environment for our category. They combine creativity and latest materials with the fundamentals of sunglasses category management.”
MERCHANDISING PARTNERSHIP CASE STUDIES:
Sao Paulo Airport, Brazil
The arrivals stores at Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport host new sunglasses merchandising units developed and implemented by Dufry and Luxottica.
Appealing to both male and female customers, the units maximise the number of facings along each side, but also feature promotional spaces on either end. These promotional ends are designed with the flexibility to change the brand or range being promoted throughout the day to allow Dufry to tailor the merchandising to flights and passenger profiles. Brand visuals are showcased through light-boxes and special collections are displayed on acrylic shelves at eye level.
Since implementation of these fixtures, sales grew by +80%.
Dufry do Brazil Regional Procurement Director Vivianne Nunes commented: “Sunglasses is a major growth category for Dufry and Luxottica’s new fixtures have been incredibly successful. They are elegant, enticing and really help our customers through the decision-making process of purchasing sunglasses. The results speak for themselves.”
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Appealing to both male and female customers, the new sunglasses merchandising units at Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport maximise the number of facings along each side, but also feature promotional spaces on either end |
Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport, Argentina; and Punta del Este Airport, Uruguay
IOSC and Luxottica have developed new Ray-Ban personalised merchandising displays at Buenos Aires Airport and Punta del Este Airport to give the brand additional exposure in-store while communicating the different styles and technical options in the Ray-Ban range.
Since the fixtures were installed, sales for the brand have climbed by +94% in volume and +107% in value at Punta del Este. At Buenos Aires, an increase in the number of facings of only +10% achieved sales growth of +90% in volume and +96% in value. Value outperforming volume indicates that the communication surrounding polarized lenses and carbon-fibre frames in the Ray-Ban Tech range have driven purchases of the higher-priced technical models and increased the average transaction value, Luxottica explained.
Interbaires Argentina Commercial Manager Rodrigo Mancenido commented: “We are delighted with what our partnership with Luxottica is achieving in sunglasses. IOSC are strong supporters of this category and we are pleased to be involved in initiatives that push the category forward with big steps. Here IOSC has examples of best practice for the rest of the industry.”
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Sales for Ray-Ban have surged by +94% in volume and +107% in value at Punta del Este (right); at Buenos Aires (left), an increase in the number of facings of only +10% achieved sales growth of +90% in volume and +96% in value | |
Alicante and Madrid airports, Spain
Luxottica and the Aldeasa-WDF Group collaborated on the refurbishment of the sunglasses areas at Madrid Airport and developed bespoke fixtures for the new store at Alicante.
The new free-standing gondolas at Madrid now incorporate light-box brand visuals, back-lit products and mirrors designed into the furniture. The striking backwall at Alicante features back-lit acrylic shelving, light-boxes for brand visuals and specially angled display units designed to break up the contours of the furniture and create more visual intrigue for customers.
Both locations have achieved significant sales growth since the installations. At Madrid Airport, sunglasses sales grew +83% at Terminal 3 and +18% at T1. At Alicante Airport, turnover has surged by +84% versus the same period in 2010.
Aldeasa-WDF Chief Commercial Officer Eugenio Andrades commented: “Luxottica is our category manager for sunglasses and they have really helped us enhance our offer across several locations to date. Their bespoke fixtures at our recently opened Alicante store have improved the category by making it much more customer-friendly and brand-focused. Our shared investment in the category has been justified in the immediate sales growth that we have seen across all brands.
“Sunglasses have been a truly destination category with WDF for some years now, and with these learnings and the new direction and partnership with Luxottica with Aldeasa-WDF, we’re really starting to see how sunglasses can contribute to the customer shopping experience across stores throughout the Aldeasa-WDF retail group.”
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The striking backwall at Alicante Airport features back-lit acrylic shelving, light-boxes for brand visuals and specially angled display units designed to break up the contours of the furniture and create more visual intrigue for customers |
Taipei Taoyuan International Airport
In late August 2010, Luxottica and Everrich Duty Free launched a temporary stand-alone store for sunglasses at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. Carrying premium and luxury brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Miu Miu and D&G, the 80sq m unit combined back-walls with freestanding gondolas.
Sales of sunglasses since the launch of the stand-alone have soared by +200%, demonstrating the strong incremental growth that can be achieved from the category when it is presented to passengers in multi-formats and at multiple locations in an airport.
“We achieved huge success with this temporary sunglasses concept and are extremely happy with the results,” enthused Everrich Duty Free Vice President Merchandising Dept Patricia Wang. “With Luxottica, we shared risk by doing something new and different, and together we found a new way to drive sales in the sunglasses category at Taipei Airport.”
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Sales of sunglasses at Taipei Taoyuan Airport since the launch of the stand-alone have soared by +200% |
