At the recent TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition (12-16 May) in Singapore, The Moodie Davitt Report caught up with Swarovski Head of Global Travel Retail Andreea Marginean for a video interview to discuss the crystal house’s big moves in Asia Pacific and its ongoing transformation in travel retail.
To bring its crystal creations to life, Swarovski created a dazzling jewellery box-themed stand. Marginean commented: “Our booth takes inspiration from our store concept. You can see our octagon everywhere and our beautiful logo and one of our signature brand colours, green.”
For spring 2024, Swarovski released a vibrant collection of ocean-inspired jewellery that features a palette of blue and green Swarovski Crystals and pearls. The range includes elegant shell motifs across bracelets, rings and earrings.
“Savoir-faire is at the core of our brand,” Marginean added. “Every season we explore various themes. For SS2024, we’ve expanded our signature families with some great ocean-themed silhouettes to offer our customers a world of underwater beauty.”
Swarovski has been undergoing a major brand transformation under Creative Director Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, who has embraced a colourful, bold and more contemporary aesthetic for the crystal house. Marginean said its strength in travel retail is fuelled by this LUXignite strategy, which has integrated the brand transformation into the channel. Travellers can already experience the evolution of Swarovski through its new store concept, rolling out across airports and cruise ships worldwide.
“We believe that travel retail is the natural habitat for Swarovski. We don’t see Swarovski as part of the jewellery category, we believe it is a special brand with a great ‘right to win’ in gifting.
“Swarovski is at the intersection between luxury and wide appeal,” she added. “In terms of luxury, Swarovski is now enjoying the highest level of luxury brand perception. We’re at sea, in airports and onboard aircrafts, so there is a wideness to our distribution and a ubiquity to our brand awareness in travel retail.
“We’re in the middle of our transformation journey so can really feel the dynamism in our travel retail business. We closed 2023 with a sellout rate of +40% and we have already started 2024 on a positive trend.”
According to Marginean, Asia Pacific was a key region in driving that growth. She described it as “a powerhouse, registering the most significant growth, a testament to the region’s dynamic market and the brand’s resonance with travellers”.
Marginean added: “Some of our key projects from the region include new stores in Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport and a wonderful activation in Hainan for Lunar New Year. In the coming months, we’re opening new stores in Mumbai and Delhi too. We have new spaces and old stores that are coming into the new brand codes. There is really a lot of buzz and excitement.”
Looking ahead, Swarovski reaffirmed its commitment to travel retail as a key driver of growth. The brand aims to capitalise on the gifting market, with a focus on accelerated brand transformation, enhanced collection success through ensuring special channel formats and operational excellence.
“In terms of the development of Asia Pacific, we can no longer compare our business to 2019 because our business has shifted. We have a lot of new travellers coming in from India and other emerging markets in the region. So, it’s a new business and we can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.” ✈
