“Product, promotion and passion are the three Ps of our strategy,” says Joe Harvey as he discusses the ethos of his new agency venture Shannon Retail Innovation.
Like many other members of travel retail industry, Harvey has experienced the devastating impact of the COVID-19 crisis first-hand, when he exited inflight services company Retail inMotion amid a company restructure early this year.
“In a way, the current situation just brought my plans forward,” says Harvey. “The way I see it – if you can’t succeed now, you’ll never succeed.”
According to Joe Harvey, Shannon Retail Innovation was born during a conversation with Duty Free Global’s Barry Geoghegan “over a latte and a cappuccino.” Shannon Retail Innovation aims to seek out and shine the light on up-and-coming, disruptive brands in travel retail.
Over the last few months, Harvey has worked tirelessly, finding with young, passionate entrepreneurs to do just that. Shannon Retail Innovation is a Silver Partner of the upcoming Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo, where it will be showcasing the Jecca Blac, Mohecan, Franklees, Instant Effects, Code 51 and Breathe Happy brands.
In this interview, Joe Harvey discusses the three P’s of his travel retail strategy, the merits of working with dynamic start-up brands and the importance of community in times of crisis.
“Travel retail is a small community and there’s always someone who can offer advice and help,” he says. “To me, I’m repaying the faith people have shown in me, by showing faith in other people. Travel retail is all about friends helping friends. That’s what you have to do in a crisis like this.”
What is the major focus for Shannon Retail Innovation at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo? What brands and products will you emphasise and showcase?
We’ve recently finalised the stand which is amazing. I have to say, when you see something like that for the first time it really is something, as it really fits into the ethos of Shannon Retail Innovation.
At the Virtual Travel Retail Expo, we will be highlighting Jecca Blac who is fabulous young entrepreneur and a very inspiring young woman who proves that there are no boundaries in beauty. The gender-neutral Jecca Blac beauty brand is really appealing to the modern market and uses lot of trans models in the campaign. It also collaborated with acclaimed author Juno Dawson, who wrote ‘The Gender Games,’ ‘Margot and Me’ and ‘This Book is Gay.’
We are also showcasing Irish men’s cosmetics and grooming brand Mohecan, which is coming into the men’s grooming category just at the right time. We’re also launching South African lingerie, accessories and underwear brand Franklees, whose products are bold, colourful and really stand out. We believe there’s a lot of opportunity for Franklees in travel retail, particularly with transit passengers.
We’ve also just signed with skincare brand Instant Effects, which has been quite successful with inflight retail over the past couple of years. We’re working with Instant Effects Founder Richard Mears who has a total of three brands which we will be launching at the expo: Instant Effects, Cult 51 and the Breathe Happy Face Mask.
We don’t know when the crisis will ease and so we believe that the sustainable Breathe Happy Face Mask will become a key product in the new normal – at least in the short to medium-term.
I truly love the people I’m working with and I can’t wait for the industry to meet them at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo.
Shannon Retail Innovation is launching a wide variety of brands into the channel. How do you go about choosing the brands you represent?
We’re named after Shannon, Ireland, which where the duty free industry was started by Dr. Brendan O’Regan in the late 1940s. They were the real innovators for our industry, and I want to honour that.
I want to work with passionate entrepreneurs and innovators. Product, promotion and passion are the three Ps of our strategy. This my vision and what informs every aspect of my business. We believe that customers want something different because there’s a real gap in the market for niche brands.
Shannon Retail Innovation is a new venture – what factors led to its launch and why now?
I’ve been involved in travel retail since 2004, when I started running the Aer Lingus duty free programme from a crew perspective. I then worked with Tourvest Duty Free and also managed crew engagement programmes from Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – then became Head of New Business at Tourvest. I then had three amazing years at Retail In Motion.
I sat with Duty Free Global’s Barry Geoghegan in Starbucks in February when the COVID-19 crisis was gaining traction and the crisis really made me start thinking of a Plan B. We started playing with idea for Shannon Retail Innovation over a latte and a cappuccino — and then four weeks later I was laid off. In a way, the current situation just brought my plans forward. The way I see it – if you can’t succeed now, you’ll never succeed. If you can make it work that’s what it’s all about.
With the name Shannon Retail Innovation, do you plan to emphasise Irish products within the travel retail industry?
Yes and no. We are working with Mohecan and we’re hoping to get involved with a couple of other projects with other Irish companies. However, I don’t want to be known as just an Irish brand. I’m very proud of my Irish heritage, but in travel retail you’ll see that us Irish – we’re everywhere. So yes, our heritage is Irish and it goes back to the very first duty free store, but we are not solely focused on it.
What are your major targets type as you seek to tap into a recovering market?
Our brands are adaptable to all markets and all forms of travelling. That’s important because we don’t want to be pigeonholed into just one channel. My experience is predominantly inflight, but with inflight we don’t know how it will evolve. So we didn’t want to be limited to inflight.
I also didn’t want to revert to working within my comfort zone – so I’m working hard to launch our brands with travel retailers, downtown duty free stores, border stores and cruise operators. I think it’s important that you can adapt to the trinity of travel retail.
How is Shannon Retail innovation adapting to the growing demand for digital?
We’ve been working with an Irish company called Wrkit for two months now. The company runs employee engagement programmes for different businesses in the UK and Ireland. They have a quarter of a million subscribers and offer a lot of things from health and wellness services to discounts and promotions across a wide range of products. We’re also running a programme called ‘Aircraft on the Ground’ which gives brands the opportunity to divest stock through these employee engagement platforms.
What is your advice for up-and-coming brands who are looking to enter the travel retail industry – especially given the current climate?
Talk to Shannon Retail Innovation first!
I’d recommend that brands do their homework and speak to people who know the industry very well. I’ve seen many brands come and go in travel retail, because they have gone into the wrong place and it’s such a shame. Travel retail is a small community and there’s always someone who can offer advice and help. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am without the help of people like Martin, Dermot and Barry and others who have helped me over the years. To me, I’m repaying the faith people have shown in me, by showing faith in other people.
Travel retail is all about friends helping friends. That’s what you have to do in a crisis like this.
How do you view the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the wider industry?
It’s getting scarier and scarier. More and more people are losing their jobs and it’s going to take longer to recover. However, I think when it does bounce back, it will bounce back very quickly. I remember 9/11 and people saying they were never going to fly again, but the industry bounced back. We had SARS but the industry bounced back again too. I think the recovery trajectory for COVID-19 will be very similar.
How do you think the channel can and should engage with travelling consumers to ensure a sustained recovery?
A lot of travelling consumers want to travel again but are limited by quarantine regulations. Governments need to look at these quarantine regulations and think of a different way to deal with the crisis. For example, airlines allowing more flexibility or giving COVID-19 insurance are really admirable and have been really proactive about the crisis.
I’ve been a big advocate for industry collaboration and truly believe that if we all work together, we will succeed. We have to give people a reason to shop. You have to really think outside the box, get the pricing right, and offer something innovative and different. I honestly think that we haven’t looked after the younger market — which is one of the reasons we are working with the brands in our portfolio.
