BEAUTY IN ASIA: EUROITALIA EuroItalia: Patience ‘key’ in competitive markets


Behind EuroItalia’s enduring travel retail success is a core philosophy based around nurturing new launches to maximise return on investment, as Luke Barras-Hill discovers.


perform, you don’t take advantage of the potential. It is possible that the fragrance doesn’t perform in the first six months, then it becomes well known and starts growing.” He points to 2001 launch Dolce &


Gabbana Light Blue [EuroItalia held the fragrance licence at that time before it moved to P&G and later Shiseido – Ed] and 2006 launch Versace Bright Crystal as important examples of continued success. “It is very rare to have fragrances


Above: DSquared2 has launched two Wood fragrances into travel retail.


Right: Toy 2 is Moschino’s hotly tipped follow-up launch.


“W


e do amazing worldwide in duty free, it is the first


segment for us as it’s bigger than any continent and growing a lot,” enthuses Gianluca Castagnetta, Export Manager Worldwide at fragrance and cosmetics distributor EuroItalia in an interview with TRBusiness. “There are some duty free regions


that are suffering, for instance in Latin America with the tremendous devaluation in the domestic markets, so the prices are very competitive compared to duty free, which are fixed in dollars. But we keep investing and promoting.” In Asia, it is a similar story. “Last


year was very important,” he continues. “The beginning of the year was a bit scary as China was doing so-so, then from April to May we really started growing.” Underpinning the Italian


company’s momentum is an increased focus on personalisation


“It is very rare to have fragrances that last so successfully for 10 years or more.”


Gianluca Castagnetta, Export Manager Worldwide, EuroItalia


112 TRBUSINESS


across a brand portfolio that includes premium labels such as Versace and Moschino. Launched in January in DF&TR,


Toy 2 is the latest women’s scent from Moschino and it is gaining strong traction in duty free Asia where it sits only second to bestseller Versace Bright Crystal. Without


disclosing


specific details on the performance, Castagnetta says Toy 2’s initial results – particularly in Hong Kong and Korea – have been impressive. Moschino


Indeed, provides


the brand with ‘a huge competitive advantage’ among Chinese consumers due to its established global appeal.


Market inflation warning Asked by TRBusiness how EuroItalia has achieved success in the face of challenging economics, notably in China where some suppliers have delisted due to onerous market conditions, and a saturated fragrances market, Castagnetta replies: “The key is not to inflate the markets with many launches. Historically we’ve only done one launch per year and supported this for the full year. “Today, there are so many. If you don’t give time to the launches to


that last so successfully for 10 years or more, so we believe this strategy is a winning one. Today, markets are too difficult with currency and political problems. You need to be more patient and believe in what you do.” Another important development


has been the launch of Versace Dylan Blue in the Chinese domestic market, with the ripple effects expected to be felt in travel retail this year. At the time of writing


(April) Castagnetta says the introduction of China’s e-commerce law


in January has not had any noticeable impact on sales. Separately,


however, the tight restrictions product


on registration


in the country means EuroItalia is changing tact for its next launch to prevent any


dilution from neighbouring territory sales (products typically enter travel retail four to five months after domestic introductions). “You need approximately


one year in China to get the registration process approved,” adds Castagnetta. “Because of that, we’ve recently


changed our philosophy. From the next launch of Versace we will not launch in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong first. We will wait for the registration in China to launch simultaneously.” «


MAY 2019


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