Bally has made great strides in Asia and remains committed to the travel retail market according to recently-appointed Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto who has succeeded Frédéric de Narp. Speaking to business customers, media and other guests at the TFWA travel retail exhibition in Cannes on Monday night his message was upbeat.
He said: “This year alone, we have secured locations in the world’s most important airports and downtown duty free malls, working closely with the top travel retail operators in the business and adding exclusive experiential touch points.”
He cited Hong Kong International Airport where expansive interactive screens allow customers to visualise and ‘mix and match’ their products and Haitang Bay in Sanya, China where a new storytelling pop-up concept inspired by Bally’s heritage and DNA will greet guests through Golden Week in October.
Other notable developments across travel retail in Asia, include key collaborations with Shanghai Hongqiao and Pudong airports, Beijing Daxing and Beijing International, Guangzhou T2 (international and domestic).
He added: “In Beijing, we also opened Bally’s largest store in China in the new luxury wing of the China World Mall, solidifying our presence on the mainland, where we first entered the market in the 1980s.” The brand has since grown a retail network that is 50-stores strong.
In South Korea, another key market, Bally has been working with its local partners “on a well-rounded distribution network focusing on both local and tourist clients, and a footprint in flagship department stores including Hyundai, Shinsegae, and Lotte”.
Bally presented its latest collections to travel customers in a relaxed environment on the beachfront of Cannes
First Bally Haus
Meanwhile in Europe – alongside Dufry – Bally is renovating its Swiss flagship at Zürich Airport and in France the brand will launch at La Samaritaine in Paris in the first quarter of 2020. The luxury house has also just opened its first Bally Haus, a flagship in Milan on the prestigious intersection of Via Montenapoleone and Via Manzoni.
Online, the brand has successfully launched on Tmall’s Luxury Pavilion and it will unveil redesigned Bally ecommerce sites later this quarter.
Girotto, a former Chief Financial Officer of travel retailer Nuance (now part of Dufry Group), added: “Suffice to say, Bally has been at the forefront of travel and retail since our founding in 1851. Not only did we have flagships from Geneva to Montevideo over 150 years ago – our founder, Carl Franz Bally, compellingly put purpose before profit, thinking of ways to better the brand.
“Not only have we been able to significantly grow our global distribution footprint – which now spans across 66 countries, with 311 retail stores and 500 multi-brand points of sale – but in addition we have ecommerce channels servicing 34 countries.”