FaSoLa Shops has opened a Chanel P&C shop at Narita Airport T1 – the first operator to open a specialist single P&C branded shop in Japan.

 

NAA Retailing Corporation’s FaSoLa Shops division opened the new North Wing store on October 1, with the Chanel outlet now located in the same space as FaSoLa’s former T1 Cartier boutique, which closed earlier this year.

 

“We have chosen Chanel for a luxury single brand perfume and cosmetics shop. We have chosen perfume and cosmetics as we have recently opened a multi-brand luxury perfume and cosmetics shop in Narita Airport Terminal 2,” explained Norifumi Uesugi, Director of Product Division II in NAA Retailing Corporation’s FaSoLa Shops Merchandising Department.

 

Talking exclusively to The Business recently, he said: “We think the perfume and cosmetics market is still growing. Also, Chinese and other passengers are buying perfume and cosmetics and the amount [they buy] is growing.”

 

The timing of the Chanel perfume and cosmetics shop opening is important because Chanel will discontinue supplying perfume and cosmetics to the world’s airlines for inflight duty free sales at the end of this year.

 

With its inflight sales channel closed, Chanel will be looking to increase its duty free sales through airport and downtown duty free shops.

 

OTHER BRANDS MAY BENEFIT

Meanwhile, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region is an important market for Chanel and the company’s decision to end inflight sales means that airlines worldwide will be looking to plug the impending hole in their inflight sales offer when Chanel shortly disappears from the product list.

 

[Left: Norifumi Uesugi, Director of Product Division II in NAA Retailing Corporation’s FaSoLa Shops Merchandising Department]

 

“Chanel is our number one perfume and cosmetics brand, but they will finish inflight sales at the end of December. That was a real shock for us,” commented Daisuke Fujioka, Senior Inflight Sales Merchandising Manager in All Nippon Airways Trading Co Ltd’s Cabin Products Development Department, talking exclusively to The Business.

 

“Lancôme is second and Christian Dior third. With Chanel out we are planning new brands and special promotions,” he said.

 

See exclusive interview in the October issue of The Travel Retail Business-Ed.