JEWELRY: DYRBERG/KERN The Travel Fairy Tale bangle and bracelet set is inscribed with a quote from famous children’s author Hans Christian Andersen
Danish design
has ASPAC aims One of Scandinavia’s most successful fashion brands, Dyrberg/Kern is building on its inflight sales success to crack new Asia markets by
CLAIRE MALCOLM
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decade of travel retail sector exposure has given the Danish company a solid foundation, and as the bestselling jewelry brand on board Philippine Airlines, as well as strong performance with Dragonair, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines and Korean Air, inflight sales have been the main driver. “We started working with Scorpio after TFWA WE in 2014, and have broadened our reach territory-wise, but Asia is definitely a market where it’s harder to punch through,” says Jacob Harbo Olsen, the group’s Travel Retail Manager. According to Olsen, inflight sales currently account for 80% of its travel retail business, which is controlled from head office, making it a logistical dream.
The elegant watch collection has opened up another avenue of travel retail opportunity
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CHINESE TRAVELER MARCH 2016
Dyrberg/Kern is known for its use of stones that add glitter and glam to the fashion jewelery category
“However, airport ground operations is the next step for us. To kick things off we have developed a ‘grab and pay’ unit solution that we are tying to get into as many airports as possible,” he says. “With the market share we have in Asia today we are doing quite well in travel retail, but we need to build brand awareness on the ground as we want to capture these customers and that’s our next focus,” he adds. He also hints at news regarding the brand’s re-entry into China. “We are in the process of developing there; it’s very close and there are very big projects. This is definitely a big focus for the company.” Creating the right product for the right market is also critical and 2014 threw up one surprise in particular, in the form of a simple enamel bracelet, as he explains: “We wanted something light and fun for a mid-season summer collection, just to stir things up, and the feedback was overwhelming, and huge success with pretty much every airline we’ve been listed with. “It’s a little bit different than what we are known for, which is all about stones, glitter and glam.”
The company even built a brand story around the collection. Says Olsen: “Being a Danish brand, we decided to include an accompanying bangle which is inscribed with a quote from famous children’s author Hans Christian Andersen, that says ‘to travel is to live’. “This was an obvious fit for the travel retail market and so we named this our Travel Fairy Tale bracelet.” Exploring other design avenues also gave Dyrberg/Kern the chance to differentiate itself from other brands with a similar focus. “With stones we realized that we are all chasing the same customer, so we decided to go another route, and it really paid off for us,” he remarks. Watches are another area that has opened up new interest, with an elegant collection that also plays on the brand’s signature mix and match layering philosophy, with bracelets paired with timepieces. “It’s also all about creating a look, about standing out, and matching products to incentivise multiple purchases. We don’t consider them as watches per se, but as jewelry that tells time.”