Cruise and South Korea: latest travel retail openings for Paul & Shark

Luxury lifestyle brand Paul Shark has partnered with Starboard to open its first personalised boutique onboard the Costa Fortuna, which will open in December. In addition, a new point-of-sale opening at Incheon International Airport with Lotte Duty Free signals the brand’s first travel retail store in South Korea.

“We are so excited about these two projects,” says Paul Shark worldwide travel retail director Catherine Bonelli. “The Costa Fortuna is a beautiful ship and to have our own stand-alone boutique onboard is a real coup. Opening in December in the run up to Christmas could not be better timing and we’re expecting really good sell-through during the month.

“Our new opening in Incheon will enable us to enjoy truly spectacular visibility for the brand.  Along with the Lotte store we have another two openings planned in Seoul by the first quarter of 2016, giving Paul Shark a very strong footprint in the South Korean travel retail market. These openings are both at downtown duty free stores, one with Donghwa and another with SM Duty Free.”

This continues a trend that has seen a 55% increase in openings for Paul Shark over the past 18 months. “Of these around half are located in airports and the rest with cruise lines and downtown duty free stores,” continues Bonelli.

Luxury lifestyle brand Paul Shark’s stand at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition Conference in Cannes

Other confirmed openings for 2016 are at Pudong Terminal 1 in partnership with King Power Orient, Hong Kong International Airport with Lagardère Travel Retail, and Houston with ATU-Heinemann.

Recognising the brand’s success at the TFWA World Exhibition Conference in Cannes last month, where it launched its Spring/Summer 2016 men’s collection, Bonelli commented on the personalised embroidery service that is proving to be a particular talking point: “It has become a real stand-out highlight for us… It’s been an incredibly busy and hardworking year for the travel retail team but the effort is certainly paying off and we are being rewarded with superb locations for the brand. We are confident that 2016 will be another exceptional year for us, as retailers continue to understand and realise the business potential of partnering with Paul Shark.

“I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank all our retail partners for their magnificent support this year – and to my team for their amazing dedication and fantastic efforts.”