Amouage
Playing on the
world stage by
F
or high-end perfume house Amouage, the duty free trade is very good these days, according to CEO David Crickmore. Crickmore says Amouage’s duty free business is currently running at 35% up on 2012, and he expects that rapid growth will continue over the next two years. Amouage has recently made a calculated choice to get out of onboard duty free on most
HIBAH NOOR
airlines, the one exception being Oman Air, where Crickmore says that Amouage has been “incredibly successful.” But that one case aside, Crickmore says that Amouage has concluded that onboard duty free selling isn’t a good fit simply because ultra-premium products really need to be presented to consumers by highly trained and knowledgeable staff who specialize in this area, and this kind of treatment simply can’t be offered by flight attendants for whom
David Crickmore, CEO, Amouage
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GULF-AFRICA DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING OCTOBER 2013
Amouage crosses the threshold as an international leader in luxury fragrances
duty free sales aren’t their main focus. The withdrawal from onboard probably won’t have a major impact on returns, as Amouage is at the same time opening up more firmly in the US, European and other duty free markets. “We believe the brand is now so widely accepted in the international arena that this has to be the next logical step,” Crickmore says. “Europe has major potential considering our continuing success there downtown, and the Far East too is proving interesting. This year we’ve seen considerable strides made in the US, and we’ve just opened really well in several countries in South America—so we can now truly claim to be an international luxury house.” Amouage has a solid presence in the Gulf, Crickmore says, with the brand firmly ensconced as one of the top-ranked brands in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Growth is good in Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. “We’re waiting for the new developments planned for Saudi Arabia, and of course our presence is very strong in Muscat Duty Free,” Crickmore adds. “Our sales in Singapore [with Changi] are also excellent.” Singapore’s Changi Airport is a key locale for Amouage. The brand has traded there since late 2007, and is in terminals 2 and 3. The Terminal 2 presence includes a brand personalized gondola plus additional in-store exposure. In Terminal 3 Amouage has a wall bay plus some front space and gondola space. Purchasers include Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders, Americans, Indians, Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Russians and mainland Chinese. Sales are growing at a brisk 20-25% per year. In the Americas, Amouage is in discussion with DFS for space at JFK’s Terminal 3, while the brand as yet has no duty free presence in South America, having just entered the downtown market in that part of the world. Amouage is currently on the ground in Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador and Crickmore says it will be in Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela by Christmas 2013. “This is an exciting new development for us in markets where we believe there is a huge potential due to