Page 28 - Travel Markets Insider October 2021 Final

INSIDER

The Rouge Duty Free flagship shop at the Port Louis Marina in Grenada.
Rouge Duty Free on its way to becoming a Caribbean

powerhouse

With the opening of its new stores different, but we will come back.” has purchasing power,” he notes.
in St. Croix, family-owned Rouge Duty Kattoura admits that the Rouge stores
Free now operates a dozen properties in were not affected as badly by the pandemic St. Croix – a smashing success
the Caribbean – in St. Thomas, Grenada, as many other island retailers. Rouge opened its first St. Croix store
Grand Cayman and St. Croix -- reaching “Except for our Grenada airport in Christiansted in Orange Grove Plaza.
this milestone sooner than expected since it stores, which were closed for a short period The luxury shop had a soft opening last
first started in the region in 2015. of time, our local business grew. Since December, followed by a gala “red-carpet”
“Our goal in the next three-five years we focus a lot on the local customers, we inauguration at the end of March. The
is to be at 30 Rouge Duty Free stores,” saw an increase in traffic. Our walk-in store has the largest fragrance and skin
says Raymond Kattoura, whose company customers more than tripled. We think this care assortment on the island, along with a
Duty Free & Travel Retail Group Inc. was because so many people were working luxurious MontBlanc corner boutique, and
helps manage the business for Rouge Duty from home, they discovered us. When they a Furla handbags leather corner as well.
Free. Kattoura works with Marco Bordoni, were at their 9-5 jobs, they didn’t have It also houses a spa cabin for exclusive
who heads up the Caribbean and North a chance to see our stores. This was the skincare brands Valmont and Cellcosmet.
American business for his family’s Buenos segment that we gained and I think that it “From day one of the soft opening this
Aires-based Perfumerias Rouge. made a big difference.” store has been a huge success. We were so
Kattoura tells TMI that Rouge is well Further helping the Rouge business, encouraged by this success that when we
on its way to reach this ambitious goal, he says that due to the travel restrictions in heard of an opportunity to open another
as it has several new properties opening place, many local residents were spending location in the heart of Christiansted’s
soon, as well as several others that will be their money at local stores, doing much downtown Historic District, we grabbed
announced next year. more local shopping. it,” he said.
“These are solid investments. We “This was a surprise for us, but it Located on the city’s famed Company
are not gambling,” he says. “We study shouldn’t have been because our Rouge Street in the former Sandal’s mansion,
the market, see a need, and we invest. I stores have always focused as much on the company is taking the Spanish-style
know the Caribbean well, with its ups and locals as on tourists. And we do it very historic site and renovating it into a Rouge
downs; we are used to these challenges. It’s well, I think,” he explained. “Since the Maison concept.
nothing new. We had terrible hurricanes in tourists were missing during COVID, we “This is something St. Croix will be
the 80s and 90s, and later, and the region were compensated very well from the local able to use for tourism as well as for locals.
always bounces back in a year or so. The populations.” We are converting the large backyard into
islands come back stronger, and the same “We cater to duty free and local, and a very nice, hip, café, serving light food,
with the cruise industry. COVID was the local segment of the Caribbean market coffee, wines. Upstairs on the second level
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