Inspired by cycling, this chronograph for men from the Chrono Bike collection is available in a stainless steel case and is water resistant up to 10 ATM
Festina
Making the rounds
Enjoying success in Middle Eastern domestic venues, Festina seeks the same in travel retail BY
MELISSA SILVA
atch company Festina currently has its hands full in the Middle East, selling in locales such as Bahrain Duty Free and Beirut Duty Free. Ethiopia has also proven to be a great market for the brand in terms of sales, and Iraq sales are on the rise. Given the growth of the brand in domestic markets, Festina wants to replicate that growth in travel retail, and is on the hunt for a business partner who can help establish the brand and leverage the competitive advantage it currently enjoys. As a direct result of the current growth, Festina’s domestic sales are currently up, along with sales in travel retail. The brand’s listings with Saudi Airlines have contributed a lot to this increase, and have helped boost sales figures. “Airlines are the vehicle we use to increase brand awareness at both national and international levels,” says Worldwide Director of Travel Retail Jason Newman. “So we will continue to push to get more listings. Selling ‘in the air’ also gives the possibility of presenting a successful product which is representative of the brand in a proactive and commercial way via a professional and qualitative backdrop, usually in the form of an inflight catalogue.” In addition to airlines, Festina is looking to develop sales in airports, duty free zones and other areas. Festina has recently introduced some new models exclusive to travel retail, and is evaluating their performance. In collaboration with cruiselines the brand has pursued some GWP promotions, which have boosted sales. “With one cruise ship operator we offered a Festina towel as a GWP and the results were very positive,” says Newman. “While in general we do not want to be a GWP-defined brand, we can discriminate according to clientele, destination, etc., and thus push sales in a particular direction.” Festina plans to continue with new product development on a constant basis, offering products that are suitable for duty free and offer
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good value for price. Over the past year Festina has increased market share in ladies’ watches, with the brand developing a successful ceramic line that has been introduced into travel retail. Sales of this line have been very good, largely thanks to listings with Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. “Some brands come and go in a flash and others have existed for centuries,” says Newman. “The watch category is a dichotomy of fashion and tradition. Part of the watch category is evolving constantly; the other part takes pride in being faithful to its origins. Festina was founded in Switzerland in 1902 but as a forerunner in the mid-price range we are constantly introducing new products.” Consumer buying trends are changing, something many companies in the category have noted. According to Newman, watches used to generally be an “event” purchase, meaning that buying a watch was an educated selection of a product people knew something about. Buyers had a notion of what they wanted and how much they were willing to pay. Today, that mentality has changed. “I would say the reasons people buy a watch have evolved. The motivation for buying a watch now ranges from functionality to pure frivolity, but still with a strong ingredient of the watch being a status symbol,” Newman says. Newman feels the materials used today contribute to this evolution and have rendered watches more of a fashion accessory than ever before. “They are less functional and more ornamental; it is more about color and material combinations. At the lower price point colorful combinations of plastic have been the recent trend, whereas ceramic is the biggest innovation at the middle-to-higher-end product group,” Newman tells Gulf-Africa Duty Free. To maintain this demand for fashionable timepieces, Festina works closely with local partners in the domestic and duty free
GULF-AFRICA DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING OCTOBER 2012
Part of the Ceramic Collection, this ladies’ watch features a ceramic band and stainless steel dial with a mineral glass face
Jason Newman, Worldwide Director of Travel Retail for Festina
markets to develop product lines that follow certain trends on either a short run or oneshot basis. This strategy complements the listing of models from the brand’s more established collections. “This said, consumer tastes are also becoming homogeneous in many categories,” says Newman. “So for example, tailoring to local market needs is more the exception than the rule.” As for retailer buying trends, Newman has noticed a lack of risk taking, which he feels is largely due to retailer purchasing budgets being controlled by accounting departments. Because of this, each brand is allocated only a certain amount of money per year. “While this is necessary for financial purposes, from a commercial point of view it is suicide,” Newman explains. “If a brand sells well, by October the client can be out of budget leaving a totally flat end-of-year period, and if sales aren’t going well, you have generally no feedback until after year-end, by which time it’s too late to solve any style, c display or other issues.”