Porsche Design chief enjoys life in the fast lane as travel retail expansion powers ahead - 19/11/09
Published: 19/11/09
Source: ©The Moodie Report
By Mary Jane Pittilla, Brands Editor
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"Travel retail is a very important business, representing some 20% of our total franchise store business" |
Dr Juergen Gessler
President & CEO
Porsche Design |
GERMANY. German design firm Porsche Design’s travel retail business has surged by more than +170% over the past two years, according to President & CEO Dr Juergen Gessler.
Talking to The Moodie Report on the company’s stand at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, where a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Supercup racing car took centre stage, Gessler said that the company’s franchise (travel retail) business was up +40% last year.
By comparison, since the start of its investment in the channel, travel retail sales alone had jumped by more than +170% over a two-year period.
Gessler noted that the company’s last financial year (1 August 2008 to end July 2009) included the full effect of the global financial crisis.
However, he pointed out that the company had “started from a low level [in travel retail], as we had just started investing in the business” some two years ago. Porsche Design now counts 21 airport partners and some 23 airport locations, and expansion is continuing amid the financial downturn.
“We have increased the number of locations and the space for the locations, and we are opening new stores,” he said. “Travel retail is a very important business, representing some 20% of our total franchise store business.”
He added: "The number of Porsche Design Stores and Shops is to increase from our current 84 to more than 100 worldwide. This offensive will create a further upturn."
New product developments
While Porsche Design is boosting its visibility in the travel retail sector, new products are also being introduced. “The trend now is towards more quality and function; not too fancy or decorated,” observed Gessler.
The company is focusing on core categories and tightening its product range. This has meant cancelling some product categories, for example pocket knives. Fashion is now a key focus, and to this end, this previously licensed business is now developed in-house with the renowned Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See, Austria.
Gessler pointed to some interesting differences in the travel retail product mix versus the local market. Luggage accounts for 50-60% of the product mix in domestic market stores, whereas in travel retail this category has a dominant position, contributing 70-80% of turnover.
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A new Porsche Design shoe collection with an innovative sole concept will be available in-store in early 2010
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Sports clothing and shoes tend to make up 16% of sales, watches 10% and sunglasses 12%, but this can change depending on the outlet. For example, Zürich Airport sees bigger sales of watches and the brand’s Adidas sports collection, according to Gessler.
Alongside luggage lines, the best-selling products include the Bounce:S running shoe – which recently appeared in Time magazine’s Top 50 Innovations of the Year USA listing. The shoe’s USP is to combine sports performance with all-round wearability. (A new Porsche Design shoe collection with an innovative sole concept will be available in-store in early 2010.)
The sunglasses category has also been a recent focus for Porsche Design. A sports style worn by Yoko Ono in 1979 is being relaunched this year as the P'8479 model, made from beta-titanium. The brand’s famous foldable aviator model, now available in different sizes, is also taking centre stage again this year.
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These sports sunglasses originally worn by Yoko Ono in 1979 are being relaunched, made from beta-titanium
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Porsche Design – which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2012 – continues to delve into its archives in the History Collection, which is important to the brand, noted Gessler. Innovation remains vital, and to this end, the brand’s first all-black watch will be introduced.
After nearly 40 years of accessorising the male population, Porsche Design is turning its attention to women’s products for growth. The brand’s first dedicated female collection of sunglasses and watches is in the pipeline, together with Black & White Collection leather jackets. The products will be launched in-store at the end of 2009.
Travel retail expansion continues
Porsche Design’s airport presence has been boosted by a landside 130sq m store at Frankfurt - “good promotion for the brand”, said Gessler.
Dubai Duty Free is performing well, and the brand is also expanding its presence at London Heathrow, where the brand has three locations, in Terminal 3, T5 and T1.
Expansion will continue. “We want 42 airports by 2015, and we have 21 already,” he said. A new 25sq m store at Sydney Airport had just opened in Terminal 1 a few days before the TFWA World Exhibition began last month.
Having built up a presence on the Asian and Middle Eastern domestic markets, the Porsche Design team is now on the look-out for airport locations. “We are looking at Riyadh and Qatar. We already have stores at Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International Airport.”
The team is busy working on China and Japan, as it does not yet have a travel retail presence in those countries. Domestically, a large 300sq m store has begun trading at Ningbo, alongside other smaller outlets on the Chinese mainland.
Recent airport-based promotions have included Porsche Supercup car exhibitions at Frankfurt and Zürich.
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A second fragrance line “The Essence Intense” was presented at the TFWA World Exhibition and rolls out in Fall 2009
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New “The Essence Intense” fragrance
Gessler said the first Porsche Design fragrance, “The Essence”, produced in partnership with Clarins Group/Azzaro, had been “appreciated very well and is very successful where the brand itself is successful”. The product had performed best in Dubai, Germany and the UK.
A new, second fragrance line was presented at the TFWA World Exhibition last month. “The Essence Intense” will go on sale in Fall 2009 in Germany and the Middle East and will be on hand thereafter worldwide in Porsche Design Stores and via Clarins Group distribution channels.
Described as a new interpretation of "The Essence", the perfume will be available in 50ml and 80ml sprays. “The Essence Intense" is intensified by rich woody-amber harmonies. The tonic freshness characterising the initial scent has been kept. In contrast, its aromatic and woody facets have been intensified with added notes, which aim to provide a longer-lasting trail of scent.
Like "The Essence", the new line is based on myrtle, juniper berry and bitter mandarin. Next, the fragrance opens to the intense notes of Siberian pine and black pepper, which contrast with the spicy mildness of cinnamon from Ceylon. Finally, Haitian vetiver and amber give strength and sensuality.
The bottle has been redone entirely in black; its imposing black glass prism is designed to be matt, restrained and elegant. The satiny black, brushed-aluminum used for the frame provides a contrast. The product has neither a lid nor a bottle top.
MORE STORIES ON PORSCHE DESIGN
Porsche Design powers on with new designs - 30/07/09
Porsche Design engineers accessories collections to celebrate new Panamera car launch - 13/07/09
Porsche Design revs up its motorsport fashion range - 26/05/09
Porsche Design lives and breathes the 911 - 04/03/09
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