CRUISE: THE AMERICAS


Heinemann and MSC make waves in the Americas


With Heinemann Americas opening its third Carnival Cruise Line duty free store and MSC Cruises learning more about consumers within the various markets in the region, Andrew Pentol assesses the progress of both companies.


A


t the start of the year, Gebr. Heinemann announced it had won retail concessions


on four Carnival Cruise Line ships serving the North American and Australasian markets. Having been in the cruise channel


for 20 years, primarily in Europe having established distribution agreements with the likes of MSC Cruises and Harding Retail, it was looking to capitalise on a growing appetite for onboard retail from US- based cruise lines. The opportunity was also there to transfer its expertise from the airport retail space to the US cruise market. At press time, Heinemann


Americas had opened cruise duty free stores on Carnival Liberty, Carnival Ecstasy and now Carnival Fantasy. Meanwhile, retail activity on Carnival Spirit, the largest of the new cruise shops spanning 424sq m, will be operated by Heinemann Asia Pacific from June. Retail operations on board the four cruise lines will span more than 1,220sq m. This year, cruise passenger


numbers are expected to reach 27.2m according to Cruise Lines International Assocation (CLIA). This amounts to a 20.5% increase over the last five years. With 11.5m of these


MARCH 2018


passengers coming from the US and cruise lines such as Holland America Line ordering new ships such as MS Nieuw Statendam, which is expected to debut this year, it is easy to see why Heinemann Americas is relishing the association with Carnival Cruise Line. Heinemann Americas and other


players in the region, however, may be alarmed by results from the January 2018 CLIA Travel Report. This indicates that only 24% of the 1,605 cruisers surveyed – 90% of which live in the US and 10% in Canada – like onboard shopping and duty free. That said, the survey shows that cruisers find onboard shopping and duty free more enjoyable than expected. Nadine Heubel, CEO, Heinemann


Americas tells TRBusiness: “We are thrilled to have been chosen by Carnival Cruise Line – the world’s most popular cruise line carrying five million passengers a year – to serve as their newest onboard duty free retailer. We value their trust and look forward to continuing this partnership with Carnival well into the future. “The new partnership confirms


our observation there is a growing need for duty free retailers in


this space and represents a wonderful growth opportunity for Heinemann Americas.” With such a strong collaborative


relationship and open lines of communication allowing both parties to share important information, passengers can expect optimum shopping experiences.


‘Exciting innovations’ Over the next year, Heinemann


Americas is vowing to strengthen its presence in the US market with some ‘exciting innovations’ in the cruise retail space. Details are yet to be publicised, but with the likes of Harding Retail, Starboard and MSC no doubt planning to do the same, competition is sure to hot up in the region.


“We are thrilled to have been chosen by Carnival Cruise Line – the world’s most popular cruise line carrying five million passengers a year– to serve as their newest onboard duty free retailer.”


Nadine Heubel, CEO, Heinemann Americas


TRBUSINESS 73


Above: MSC Cruises’ duty free boutiques vary in size.


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