Leading Cruise specialist retailer Harding has rebranded into Harding+ in a move that better reflects it brand, culture and growth ambitions.

The fresh identity, which has a focus on business and cultural transformation, is being revealed at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes.

The branding reflects the key pillars of team and culture, covering innovative partnerships, growth, business strength, vision and insight – all with the Harding people strategy at the heart.

The introduction of the ‘+’ and multi-coloured propeller icon help bring to life the ‘Making every cruise better’ business purpose – a line that features in the new logo.

“The rebrand personifies our mission and desire to always do better, go further and provide a space for the potential of all of our team members to really contribute to our business success and also be able to grow themselves as a consequence,” said CEO James Prescott.

“It’s a spirit already embedded in our culture that we want to shout louder and prouder about, to show how we are the better choice for cruise lines, brands and employees as their partner of choice.”

“The ‘+’ addition is a clear commitment to being innovative in all we do, to boundary pushing and keeping clear sight of our purpose.

“From championing the proprietary cruise guest data model we have pioneered in the past few years to shape the right retail solutions, to pushing sustainability goals further, and becoming increasingly inclusive in all aspects of our people and internal strategy.”

“The new branding also signifies how we stand alongside our cruise and brand partners in being bold, modern and fully focused on how to contribute to the positive return of global travellers to cruising.

“This is not about the status quo, but about thinking ahead, driving action and sharing the values of those we work closely with every day on what now amounts to more than 100 ships across 20 different cruise partners and our 1500 strong team both land and sea of whom I am incredibly proud.”

The rebrand is the result of a five-month research and planning journey involving conversations with cruise and brand partners, as well as internal teams, to understand what Harding meant to them and how the business could better reflect those impressions and needs.

The big reveal comes at an important time for the company, which is anticipating cruise to experience record levels of passengers next year following a period of ‘winning new and extending existing long term contracts’.

The new ‘+’ branding is said to encapsulate the ‘shared ambitions’ and ‘collaborative spirit’ that drives the company’s business relationships.