MSC Cruises is to introduce MSC Splendida in China (Shanghai) on May 18.

News of the planned deployment was first revealed in 2016 when it was announced MSC Splendida would follow MSC Lirca, which serves the North China market out of its homeport in Tianjin.

As reported by TRBusiness early last year, MSC Splendida will sail from Shanghai to destinations in Korea and Japan after being refurbished in November 2017. Passenger capacity will be 4,000, double that of MSC Lirca.

There will be nine shops offering perfumes, cosmetics, Korean products (especially Korean cosmetics), luxury watches & jewellery, fashion accessories, liquor, tobacco and confectionery alongside some MSC exclusive ranges.

SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT

Speaking to TRBusiness recently Adrian Pittaway, Head of Corporate Retail for MSC Cruises said: “This is a real step forward and a significant development. While a lot of other cruise liners are retreating out of China, we are actually developing and building our presence there. It is the right thing to do in the long-term.”

Pittaway, who cites the June launch of MSC Seaview, sister ship of MSC Seaside as another key development in 2018 – MSC Seaview will have around 600sq m of retail space – is already looking ahead to the deployment of its latest vessel (MSC Grandiosa) next year.

MSC Grandiosa is due to set sail from Genoa, Italy on 16 November 2019 and cover the Western Mediterranean in its first season. It is the fifth ship our of 12, planned to be built by 2026 as part of a €10.5bn ($13bn) investment plan.

Pittaway (left) said: “Grandiosa is going to allow us to reinvent a little bit of our retail concept because we will have nearly 1,000sq m of retail space. We are going to focus on the categories where we are strong and those we want to develop into as well.”

Further lifting the lid on the planned retail offer, Pittaway says there will be a strong focus on perfumes and cosmetics, its number one category.

He added: “Our MSC Logo gift-shop will be based on a much more dynamic and technological approach, while our luxury offer will be spearheaded by four separate shops in the La Piazetta (Italian square) area.”

The design of the shops on Grandiosa is an investment in flexibility and adaptability depending on nationality, according to Pittaway. “It is not as though it has been designed as a Mediterranean ship. It is designed as a shopping ship.”

With the retail offer set to comprise 200 brands, the aim is to sell brands how they want them to be sold. He explained: “We spend a lot of time with the industry at the annual events in Cannes and Orlando in order to achieve this and have simple and direct relationships with each brand.

“We began working with many of our suppliers 10 or 15 years ago. Long-lasting partnerships are extremely important especially being an in-house [retail] operator.”

See the May edition of TRBusiness for the full interview with Adrian Pittaway, Head of Corporate Retail for MSC Cruises.