Mumm Champagne revs up for Monaco Grand Prix

Pernod Ricard-owned Champagne brand G.H. Mumm, the official Champagne for Formula 1, has installed an exclusive pop-up shop in Aelia’s duty-free store at Nice airport in time for this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. Launched on 1 May, the brand space is open to travellers for two months. The educational promotion aims to cover every ritual linked with Champagne, such as the appropriate temperatures as well as the best food pairings, to help travellers discover the perfect way to enjoy Champagne.

Mumm Champagne promotion at Nice airport

Eye-catching product glorifiers showcase a key selection, including Cordon Rouge, Rosé, Blanc de Blancs Mumm de Cramant and Mumm Cordon Rouge Twin Pack. Playing cards emblazoned with the brand’s 100 protocols are available for consumers to interact with, while iPads pre-loaded with a branded app encourage travellers to share the rituals on social media platforms. In addition, travellers can purchase in-store a cooling jacket which echoes the colour and design of the bottle.

“G.H. Mumm is always associated with celebration and toasting to momentous occasions, which is why we’ve timed our pop-up activation to coincide with the Monaco Grand Prix,” said Jenny Shipton, marketing director at Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Europe. “We also saw this as the perfect occasion to invite consumers to engage with our Champagnes Protocoles platform and guide them to make the most out of their most cherished of occasions. G.H. Mumm is already the official Champagne for the F1 and so we are confident this new activation will allow us to further drive visibility and awareness amongst brand fans travelling through Nice airport at this peak time of the year.”

MCM breezes into Taipei

German luxury brand MCM has opened its first store in Taiwan, at Taipei's Breeze Center. The Breeze Center is the city’s first American-style shopping mall combining shopping, entertainment and dining areas in one place. The state-of-the-art, spacious new store is designed with bright colours and offers the entire range of leather goods and accessories.

MCM's brightly coloured store at Taipei's Breeze Center mall

MCM-branded canapes are served at the Breeze Center launch party

To celebrate the opening of the new boutique, MCM held an intimate lunch gathering for friends and VIPs as well as prominent national editors. Afterwards, the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store was hosted by Tammy Kan, president of MCM Business Development & Operations in Greater China, together with socialite and TV presenter Aimee Sun.

MCM's Tammy Kan and socialite Aimee Sun

The guests were then invited to step into the new space and browse the collection while sipping Champagne and tasting MCM-branded canapes.

Here are some of the other VIPs who attended the Breeze Center launch party:

Lawrence Liu

Christine Fan

Fio Feng

Nita Lei

Chivas serves up a sensory experience

Pernod Ricard recently rolled out a Chivas 18 global campaign, Every Taste a New Experience, allowing travellers across Asia to experience the brand’s universe. The airport store activity is notable because it combined sensory, educational and digital elements.

Chivas 18 is a blend made from some of Scotland’s rarest single malt whiskies that are all aged for a minimum of 18 years. The company says that Colin Scott, Chivas Regal’s Master Blender, can detect as many as 85 different flavour notes. The spirit, dark amber in colour, has complex aromas with hints of dried fruits, buttery toffee and dark chocolate.

The activation, which was launched at the beginning of the year, took place in airports across Asia including Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia and ran until May at Seoul Incheon airport. It includes the use of video content displayed via touch-screen devices.

Pernod Ricard also commissioned a Chivas 18 cocktail book – specially for the campaign - designed to offer new ways to enjoy Chivas 18. Cocktails include the Mistral – a trio of drinks that incorporates the classic Collins. Via the in-store touch-screen devices, travellers can select their favourite cocktail while sharing via email its details and recipe with family and friends.

Kyung Min, Pernod Ricard Asia Travel Retail’s marketing manager, commented: “This year, we wanted to bring a dash of excitement to travel retail by introducing new ways to enjoy and appreciate Chivas 18 through our exclusive Chivas 18 cocktail experience and various digital hubs with which consumers can interact to really get under the brand’s skin.

“Cocktails are another way of enhancing Chivas 18’s unique flavours – through different ingredients and combinations, which awaken different senses in each consumer.”

Copenhagen Airport celebrates MaxMara store

Copenhagen Airport has become the first European airport to open a store for Italian fashion brand MaxMara.  The 65sq m shop – with a striking façade more than six metres high - offers ready-to-wear and accessories.

The new store concept, designed by Duccio Grassi Architects, features soft shades and organic materials such as wood teamed with stone and metal. The shop offers “a genuine sensory experience”, the airport operator said, starting from the window display, in which the traditional mannequins are replaced by a permanent video installation designed for real and virtual shopping.

The MaxMara store at Copenhagen airport

An essential aspect of the project is the lighting. “The design of a new simple, linear lighting system guarantees an impressive result for areas that, by the very nature of their location, never benefit from natural light," said the firm.

Lise Ryevad, director, airport sales at Copenhagen Airports, enthused: "We look forward to offering our travellers a touch of Italian zest as they travel through Copenhagen airport. We consider it crucial that we can always offer exciting experiences to our passengers, and we are certain that MaxMara's new shop and its stylish designs will help us do just that."

MaxMara has more than 2,300 stores worldwide, including a network of 380 sales outlets in China, extending from Beijing and Shanghai to Qingdao, Shenyang and Old Hangzhou.

The brand is set to open of six travel retail stores during 2014, reaching a total of 50 such stores within the next five/six years, concentrated mainly in Europe, Asia and the US. Already confirmed for opening are stores in Madrid (two Weekend MaxMara outlets), Malaga and Munich.

With an average of 62,000 passengers a day, Copenhagen is one of the 15 busiest airports in Europe.

Pop-up shop opens in Paris for Johnnie Walker

Diageo has opened a pop-up boutique for its flagship Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch whisky in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport’s departures area. Scents of honey and citrus fruits fill the air of the BuY Paris Duty Free boutique, while a tasting bar with brand ambassadors guide travellers on a journey of discovery through Johnnie Walker Blue Label’s flavours.

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label pop-up store at Paris CDG airport

The first section of the curved, three-sided store features a striking wall of oak barrels. Presented on each barrel is the story of the rare casks selected for the whisky. The second wall reflects the craftsmanship that goes into the product, while the story of the blend’s character is told through a video animation in a third zone at the centre of the installation. It describes how Blue Label is produced in limited quantities and is the result of a tradition of blending expertise that dates back almost two centuries, evoking the character and flavour of a traditional 19th century blend - 1867 Old Highland Whisky.

Travellers who purchase Blue Label in the boutique can have the bottle engraved with a personal message, free of charge.

A wall inside the store tells the story of Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Steve White, global marketing director of Diageo Global Travel and Middle East, said: “This pioneering multi-sensory boutique follows the success of the outstanding Johnnie Walker Blue Label galleries in London, Miami and Singapore Changi. Through this launch and the other installations planned for airports around the globe, we are strengthening our commitment to innovation in travel retail by delivering a unique luxury shopping experience.”

The pop-up store officially opened for business on April 11 and will welcome global travellers until May 30.

MCM opts for serenity in Tokyo flagship store

German luxury brand MCM has debuted in the Japanese market with the opening of its first flagship store in the upscale Ginza district of Tokyo. The "serene and radiant" store - with its highly distinctive circular kaleidoscope frontage - is designed with both people and their pets in mind.

MCM Ginza's kaleidoscope and circular frontage

MCM's signature brass plates are featured in the Ginza store

The entrance of the 300sq m boutique, located on Chuo-Dori Street, is based on a kaleidoscope design and a circular windbreaker, giving the store a distinctive look. The sub-entrance at the back facing Gas-Dori Street has been designed with special consideration for the customers’ pets, with facilities such as dog-leash holders.

Inside the boutique, grey stone is used in the interior design, along with MCM’s signature gold brass plates. The contemporary ambience seeks to exude a feeling of stillness and movement, as well as serenity and radiance.

The Heritage and Gold lines are on display in Ginza

The store is divided into two sections. The first room houses the Heritage monogram bag range and high-end Gold line, alongside the women’s collection. The second area houses men’s, unisex and ready-to-wear, and the bridge that connects these two rooms displays the Heritage line and backpacks, one of MCM’s most popular collections. A VIP room provides a specialist bespoke shopping experience for exclusive clients.

A Japan limited-edition collection unique to the MCM Ginza flagship store is also introduced.

The women's and men's apparel collections

Visit www.mcmworldwide.com

Absolut partners with film director Baz Luhrmann

Pernod Ricard has unveiled Australia’s first limited-edition Absolut vodka – Absolut Oz – in partnership with world-renowned Australian film director Baz Luhrmann. The bottle, subtitled A Baz Luhrmann Production, aims to capture the essence of Australia and transport travellers to its beaches.

The limited edition launch is supported by airport store promotions, including tastings, running in Nuance Australia stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airports from 28 April until 8 June.

The vodka is a blend of orange, eucalyptus, rosemary, clove, cardamom and grapefruit. Luhrmann has created four cocktail serves as a toast to four of Australia’s most famous beaches: Tamarama Beach, Bells Beach, Cable Beach and Avoca Beach. The Tama-Glama cocktail can be sampled in Nuance Australia stores during the promotion.

Absolut Oz limited-edition vodka

Luhrmann said: “Absolut Oz is a distillation of the unifying truth that we are all equal under the sun. While creating the drinks which feature and celebrate Absolut Oz, we reflected on that moment when the sun dips below the horizon and, as we say in the movies, the magic hour is upon us.”

Julien Hemard, managing director at Pernod Ricard Australia, added: “To be able to mark Australia’s very first limited edition with a figure like Baz is a huge accolade that we know Australia and the rest of the world will be just as thrilled about as we are. We envisage this being that added ray of sunshine to travellers’ trips whether they’re going to Australia or somewhere much closer to home.”

Absolut Oz, which retails at A$32.95 for a one-litre bottle, features a neck tag with story notes, images and recipes for each of the four cocktails created by Luhrmann - The Tama-Glama, The Hells Bells Beach, The Cable Beach ‘Stairway to the Moon’, and The South Avoca Elevator.

Absolut Oz joins other editions celebrating global destinations including Absolut London, Absolut Brooklyn (NYC), Absolut Mexico and Absolut SF (San Francisco).

Bacardi steps up whisky launches for connoisseurs

Bacardi is stepping up its presence in the lucrative single malt whisky category in travel retail with the launch of exclusive products for the channel.

From April, Glen Deveron, Royal Burgh Collection launches globally, following its success in selected European markets in 2013. It is joined by the relaunch of Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt Scotch whisky, including the introduction of an 18yo expression, exclusively available in global travel retail.

Aberfeldy 18yo single malt whisky

“Bacardi has an amazing opportunity with single malts,” enthused Bacardi Global Travel Retail managing director Mike Birch. “Our distilleries produce sublime whiskies. Single malts are enjoying a massive surge in popularity right now as collectors and connoisseurs seek out the new and the rare. We’re leveraging that power with a strong innovation pipeline for the category, gathering pace to craft a range of superb travel retail exclusives. Building on our success in white spirits, we are equally ambitious as a major player in the whisky category and our recent launches are testament to the energy and drive we’ll be injecting.  We’re confident the Aberfeldy range is set for success.”

Aberfeldy 18yo is a travel retail exclusive

Aberfeldy Single Malt features a striking new bottle design and packaging in deep black and pure gold. The travel retail range comprises three variants: 12yo, 21yo and – exclusively available for travellers – the 18yo.

The striking packaging designs aim to reflect the hand-crafted nature of Aberfeldy Single Malt, the birthplace of John Dewar and its water source, with the Pitilie Burn – a source of alluvial gold – represented by the use of gold on the label and secondary packaging.

The bottle also prominently displays the Royal Warrant, held by John Dewar’s & Sons since 1893. It remains the only Scotch whisky distiller to continuously hold a Royal Warrant since the time of Queen Victoria, supplying the royal household for over 120 years.

Davidoff flagship store opens in Frankfurt

Davidoff has opened a flagship store in Frankfurt featuring a cigar lounge “where clients can savour pleasures and relax”.

Davidoff's new flagship in Frankfurt

Located at the heart city centre on Schillerstrasse, the 50sq m flagship store and its quiet cigar lounge were designed in accordance with the Swiss cigar brand’s international design concept "Davidoff of Geneva – since 1911”. Like other Davidoff flagships, the shop incorporates a walk-in humidor.

The exclusive interior design features fine timbers and natural materials in earthy tones, reminiscent of the colour of the cigars, creating a contemporary, warm environment imbued with copper tones.

The in-store cigar lounge

“We would like to offer our clients new, innovative opportunities for relaxation and enjoyment and provide top quality in combination with top service and the best conditions possible,” said Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, CEO and president of Oettinger Davidoff AG, which has been involved with the production and import of cigars for over 100 years.