The Carnival Fantasy cruise duty free store opening followed those on Carnival Liberty and Carnival Ecstasy.

Heinemann Americas has expressed its satisfaction following the opening of its three retail concessions on board Carnival cruise vessels.

The company is operating concessions on Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Liberty, having secured the concessions in January.

A fourth concession will open on Carnival Spirit, based in Sydney at the end of May.

This is the largest of the new cruise ships and will be operated by Heinemann Asia Pacific.

Retail operations across the four cruise ships will span more than 1,220sq m.

Nadine Heubel, CEO Heinemann Americas told TRBusiness: “We have been extremely pleased with the openings.

HUGE QUEUES

Nadine Heubel, Managing Director of Heinemann Americas.

“We had huge queues of passengers and were really able to engage with them and create a unique experience.”

In terms of purchasing trends, she added: “Everything is more or less what we expected. When you open a new location, you are obviously watching the trends very closely.

“With 140 years’ experience in this business and lots of openings and transitions we know how to react.”

Reflecting on the evolution of the Heinemann Americas business in general, Heubel remarked: “We were established in 2013 and when we started it was about building relationships, getting our foot into the market and understanding it.

“So far, we are reaching the ambitious goals we have set. Today, we have a warehouse where we supply more than 7,000 articles encompassing many brands.”

When it comes to the Americas side of the business, the main focus is on supply, according to Heubel. “Right now, we don’t operate stores in American airports. We have our Turkish joint-venture partners ATU. They operate the store at Houston Airport.

SUPPLY PARTNER

“As Heinemann Americas, we act as a supply partner for them. All goods are purchased and distributed to ATU from us.”

The company is also working in Paraguay with Golden Duty Free, one of two operators at Asuncion International Airport. “We are their supply partner,” she remarked.

“For our partners, our role is to purchase the products and distribute them to the location. Around this, we also offer services like category management and training.”

Looking to the future, Heubel concluded: “Maybe one day we can operate dedicated Heinemann stores in the Americas.

“In the short-term, our objective is to continue growing our presence here [in the Americas] and looking at opportunities where we can add value where it makes sense from a long-term healthy growth perspective.”

Heinemann Americas has opened retail concessions on four cruise lines including Carnival Ecstasy.