That demand prompted a furious response from at least one of Chanel’s major rivals (and concern from others), and Chanel’s Incheon exit has been a subject of constant conjecture over the past few months. The Moodie Report held off the story last month due to commercial sensitivities but the die has now been cast with Shilla at least.
Lotte yesterday told The Moodie Report that Chanel’s presence was still “under discussion” for the new Incheon contract. Incheon International Airport Corp has tried to encourage a resolution over recent weeks, admitting its disappointment to The Moodie Report at the prospective loss of Chanel.
The brand is known to be keen on securing stand-alone beauty space at Incheon. We’ll bring you more details on this development in a separate report.
ANOTHER STOREY IN THE CHANGI STORY
Chanel will, however, feature very prominently at Singapore Changi Airport when The Shilla Duty Free opens the much-anticipated top-floor of its duplex beauty store towards the end of September (a formal opening ceremony is expected during the first week of October).
The upper-floor will feature extensive areas from four blue-chip beauty brands – Chanel, SKII, Dior and La Prairie. “Each brand has its own concept,” Cha said.
He said the Changi business continues to improve after a tough (and heavy loss-making) start. “This month is very strong,” Cha commented. “It’s still a little bit less than our original plan but we’re almost reaching 90% of our plan – so it’s getting better.”
NOTE: The full version of this interview will appear in an extensive South Korean travel retail market report in the October (Cannes) issue of The Moodie Report Print Edition.