Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail (Mars ITR) has partnered with the Mars Retail Group and DFS Group in a customised promotion to celebrate the reopening of its flagship M&M’s store in Shanghai, China.

Situated in the Bailian Shimao International Plaza, Nanjing East Road, the Shanghai M&M’s Chocolate World first opened in 2014 and remains the only Asian outlet.

As reported, Mars ITR, which has reaffirmed its commitment to The Travel Retail Awards as a Platinum Sponsor for the 2019 version of the event, is meeting the demand for celebration in confectionery GTR this festive season with two red and yellow M&M’s tins.

STORE RE-OPENING

To celebrate today’s (5 December) 1,600sq m store re-opening, Mars Wrigley ITR offered all DFS customers traveling to Shanghai from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) airports yesterday (4 December) a special M&M’s promotion. They also received an invitation to attend today’s re-opening.

Hostesses positioned outside the DFS stores at both airports (LAX Tom Bradly International Terminal and SFO Terminal A) handed out free pouches of M&M’s to passengers, along with a leaflet communicating the Shanghai store opening.

In addition, a coupon offering discounts on M&M’s products inside the DFS store provided an additional incentive to drive shop penetration and sales conversion.

While Shanghai passengers could not be individually targeted, Mars Wrigley and DFS were confident the majority of relevant consumers could be reached directly through the promotion (which was timed to coincide with Shanghai flights).

“This is a significant development for us, working with other Mars Wrigley Confectionery business units and DFS to create a 360-degree promotion that brings travel retail and domestic operations together,” said Christophe Bouyé, Sales Director Mars ITR.

“The agreement of DFS to partner with us on this project has enabled us to deliver truly memorable moments for travellers and is evidence of the travel retailer’s commitment to providing unique experiences that can be enjoyed by all of its customers.”

FUN EXPERIENCE

Mark Sullivan, DFS Group Managing Director North America commented: “DFS is committed to providing our customers with an airport journey that is enjoyable and memorable. We are delighted to be working with Mars Wrigley ITR and Mars Retail Group on this activation, providing a fun experience for passengers in our airport stores.”

According to Mars ITR, the newly remodelled Shanghai store represents the best in design, technology and product personalisation.

The store itself features a ‘Great Wall of Chocolate’ with 167 tubes of M&M’s totalling more than one million M&M’s in an assortment of milk chocolate, peanut, almond and limited edition speciality flavours.

It also features two floors, separated by a colour-changing staircase with more than 100 coordinating lanterns. A Personalised Printer allows guests to create and print personalised messages and icons on M&M’s chocolate candies, while a Mood Analyser enables guests to unveil their ‘inner M&M’, turning them into an M&M’s avatar.

GIFT WRAPPING STATION

Guests also have the option to save and share their personal M&M’s avatar on social media. In addition, the store also has a gift wrapping station and allows mobile payment options via Alipay, WeChat and Apple Pay.

M&M’s has flagship stores in New York, Orlando, Las Vegas and London, all featuring the Red, Yellow, Ms. Green, Ms. Brown, Blue and Orange characters.

Along with the chocolate candy, M&M’s World stores offer a range of merchandise including apparel, kitchenware, bedding, jewellery and glassware. They also stock seasonal items and specially-designed M&M’s branded products that reflect the personalities of the cities they are located.