By
Alex Smith |
Travel retail specialist Harding partnered with Virgin Voyages to create the retail offering onboard the cruise line’s first ship, Scarlet Lady.
The ship features more than 550 square metres of retail space and the two companies collaborated throughout the project on everything from initial concept stages to visual merchandising. The experience has been specifically targeted at the cruise line’s passengers through guest surveys, focus groups, brand roadshows and partnership discussions.
“Bolstered by Harding’s global presence, we’re looking forward to working closely with the Virgin Voyages team as we embark on Scarlet Lady’s maiden voyage and as we look to curate more innovative retail experiences,” said James Prescott, managing director of Harding. “We are also looking forward to the launch of both Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady in the near future, where we are curating further enhancements relevant to Sailors.”
More than 50 brands will be available for the first time on Scarlet Lady, including Vivienne Westwood, Davines, Kat Maconie and MAC Cosmetics. A vinyl store and karaoke studio are among the new outlets to be created for the ship. A total of 1,000 copies of a limited-edition red vinyl of The Sex Pistols LP will be available in the store at launch, with 30 per cent of the sales going to marine conservation organisation Ocean Unite.
Harding and Virgin Voyages have also committed to reduce single-use paper and plastic through the supply and distribution chain onboard. This will mean that guests will only be given bags when they require one, and if they do, they will be provided with turtle or paper bags. Reusable bags will also be available from the Apolis brand, the production of which provides Fair Trade-certified wage to workers in Bangladesh.
“Harding have been a fantastic partner and really helped us out the boundaries of the retail offering on cruise ships,” said Sally Barford, senior director of project management office and design projects at Virgin Voyages. “We challenged the team to help us curate a bold and refreshingly different collection of brands that offer our Sailors the flexibility and diversity of the high street at sea.”