Page 38 - Travel Markets Insider October 2021 Final

INSIDER

Border success leads to more brands
And since Essence Corp. is a Master
Distributor for travel retail for some major
groups with popular brands, the new stores
have been very welcoming. Essence Corp.
represents in this region Interparfums,
whose main brands include Montblanc,
Coach, Jimmy Choo, Lagerfeld,
Montblanc, Kate Spade; Interparfums New
York, with brands including Ferragamo,
Oscar de la Renta, Abercrombie & Fitch
and Anna Sui; and EuroItalia, with Versace
and Moschino, as well as Victoria’s Secret,
Bath & Body Works and Rituals.
Additionally, some of the other
groups that Essence Corp. distributes for
the Caribbean have asked the company to
handle the Brazil border as well: Puig –
with brands including Carolina Herrera,
Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier; as
well as Shiseido and Hermès.
“They have trusted us because
we have a very strong relationship and
partnership,” said Bona. “We were also
one of the first to the market. The first store
opened in 2019 and we have been active
on the borders since that time. We have a
supervisor who is located in Brazil, and
she takes care of this market and has been
doing constant market visits, even during
COVID. Domestic travel in Brazil really
never stopped during the pandemic,” he
explains.
Another plus - Essence Corp. is
sharing its expertise with the new operators
to help develop the beauty category within
the new border stores.
“The Brazil border has been a real
highlight and we are meeting with and
developing the relationships with the
new operators. We are helping to educate
them along the way when it comes to
category management, merchandising,
brand adjacencies, turning sales, and how have been able to scale the distribution stores are really well-done.
to manage luxury,” said Bona. “Plus, we by adding more brands to our portfolio – “Cell Shop Duty Free in Foz de
specifically the Puig brands,” he added. Iguaçu is one standout and Bah Free
Shop in Uruguaiana is another. These are
Beautiful new stores probably the two flagships now on the
Bona reports that many of these new border. They are more typical of an airport

Above: Like many of the new border shops, Liberty Duty Free, also in Foz de Iguaçu, Brazil, is
located in popular malls surrounded by many other shops that appeal to local shoppers. The new
stores have eagerly welcomed the Essence Corp. brands.

Left: Essence Corp. and its brands are investing in many high-profile billboards in the border towns
with free shops, like this one for Cell Shop Duty Free.

October 2021 38