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Airport expansion: Montblanc recently began trading at The Nuance Group’s Manchester Airport T1 fashion store |
GERMANY. Montblanc has embarked on a series of travel retail store openings and refurbishments with its fast-expanding range of products.
The German company showcased its travel retail boutique concept to the industry at the 2008 TFWA World Exhibition – the first time it had shown its writing instruments, jewellery, watches and leathergoods ranges for men and women combined in a single concept store.
Montblanc General Manager Travel Retail – Western Hemisphere Frank Passmann updated The Moodie Report on the company’s new product developments and ambitious store opening schedule. On the retail front, he said the company had recently opened a 60sq m shop-in-shop at Brussels Airport, a 54sq m boutique at Copenhagen Airport and a 20sq m shop-in-shop at Dubai Terminal 2.
The company plans to open a 90sq m boutique at Madrid Airport this year and to enlarge its Hamburg Airport store to 80sq m, in which half the space will be devoted to women’s products – including handbags, jewellery and watches – and half to men’s items.
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Montblanc’s shop-in-shop at Manchester Airport Terminal 1 carries a full range of products for men and women |
Already trading are recently opened airport stores in Zürich (80sq m), Munich (60sq m on level 5), Abu Dhabi (40sq m) and Mumbai. The latter 30sq m shop-in-shop opened in November 2008. Also at the end of 2008, a shop-in-shop started trading in The Nuance Group’s flagship 835sq m fashion department store at Manchester Airport Terminal 1.
US projects now open for business include shop-in-shops in Miami Terminal H and Chicago Terminal 5, in addition to a 40sq m boutique at New York JFK Terminal 7. Upcoming airport shop openings are scheduled for Los Angeles and Washington Dulles.
In the Caribbean, new downtown stores include a 100sq m location on Cozumel Island, Los Cabos (100sq m) and Curacao (80sq m).
Passmann reported that Montblanc’s 210sq m boutique opened in 2007 in Macau’s Venetian hotel was trading “very successfully”. He added that in order to showcase a minimum of every product category the company’s retail space requirement starts with a corner including a backwall measuring 3.5m and wherever possible a boutique between 40 and 200sq m.
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Moving into the top end of the watch market: The Montblanc Star Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph is the company’s first watch with an in-house manufactured movement; it made its debut at the 2008 SIHH expo in Geneva |
New product developments
Montblanc aims to consolidate its position in the watch category with a plan to double watch-making capacity at its Le Locle facility in Switzerland to produce 200,000 pieces a year. “Demand has always been higher than supply,” observed Passmann during the Cannes exhibition.
Montblanc is moving into the top end of the watch market with models priced at between €50-60,000 and €200,000, following the acquisition in 2007 of master watchmaker Minerva, which produces the top end Montblanc Villaret Collection. Also in its core business the brand has launched a new model with its first in-house manufactured movement called Montblanc Star Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph, which made its debut at the 2008 SIHH expo in Geneva.
Expanding the company’s core writing instruments range is the Etoile de Montblanc women’s collection, which has a floating Montblanc Star diamond in the cap top. This patented diamond was launched along the 100th anniversary and is the only brand icon cut in a diamond. The new advertising campaign for this line is being fronted by singer Katherine Jenkins.
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The Etoile de Montblanc women’s writing instruments collection has a floating Montblanc Star diamond in the cap top |
Montblanc has extended its sterling silver jewellery lines and in 2008 launched a collection of fine jewellery, which is already available at major stores in Zürich, Copenhagen and Frankfurt.
Passmann revealed that although the core writing instruments category contributed 50% of the company’s sales, leathergoods, watches and jewellery were all growing fast, taking 20%, 20% and 10% of turnover, respectively.
MORE STORIES ON MONTBLANC
Nuance-Watson Singapore and Montblanc secure key retail concessions at Changi Airport T2 – 18/09/08
DFS, Valiram, Montblanc and Club 21 share Changi T3 luxury brand name spoils – 01/06/07
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