INTERNATIONAL. MSC Cruises is extending its luxury portfolio through a partnership with multi-brand watch concept TimeVallée. The first TimeVallée boutique on any cruise ship opens this month onboard the new MSC Seascape vessel.
It offers over 30 high-end brands including Cartier, Baume & Mercier, Hublot, IWC, Mont Blanc, Panerai and Tag Heuer. The look and feel of the space replicates that of other TimeVallée shops on land and, said the partners, “offer the same unique service, complete with extensive brand storytelling and know-how”. TimeVallée offers guests dedicated brand experiences in different areas of the boutique, hosted by its brand ambassadors.
MSC Cruises SVP Onboard Revenues Brandon Briggs said: “The beauty of luxury shopping at sea is that cruise guests have plenty of time on board. Since cruises are most often at least seven days long, guests have the ability to return throughout the cruise, revisiting their desired purchases and savouring the luxury experience. As we evolve our ships, we have understood the importance of evolving our retail spaces along with them; creating larger retail spaces that are more tailored to customer needs, which is why TimeVallée’s multi-brand but in-depth approach was a perfect fit for our guest experience.”
TimeVallée International CEO Michael Guenoun added: “We are delighted to partner with MSC to open TimeVallée at sea for the first time. We are bringing the utmost luxury experience for watch lovers to discover a unique luxury retail concept where client can discover and browse through the most sought-after fine watchmaking brands.”
Founded in 2014, Geneva-based TimeVallée now has 34 stores, each offering an immersive fine watches experience.
The Naming Ceremony for MSC Seascape will take place in New York City on 7 December. The new ship will offer two different seven-night itineraries, stopping at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Nassau in The Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, or calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.
Interview – ‘an immersive luxury experience’
MSC Cruises Head of Luxury Watches & Jewellery, Paolo Quacquarini told The Moodie Davitt Report about how the cruise company is elevating its retail offer and experiences with new concepts such as TimeVallée.
What is the significance to MSC of this first-at-sea partnership with TimeVallée?
Paolo Quacquarini: Since 2016, we have made a real push to develop our luxury shopping spaces on board. We’ve been proposing monobrand boutiques – shops offering a dedicated single-brand experience – and diversifying our brand catalogues on board, to include more and more high-end brands available across watches and jewellery.
Working with TimeVallée was a natural next step for us, given their incredible offering, their close relationships with revered Maisons and their legitimacy built through a holistic approach and their partnership with FHH (Foundation High Horology).
We really feel that this first-at-sea TimeVallée boutique will offer guests an immersive luxury experience that they cannot find anywhere else in the world. Unlike boutiques on land, guests will be able to visit and revisit this shop at any point throughout their cruise, allowing them to discover new facets of the experience with each visit.
How has the TimeVallée concept, design and offer been adapted for the needs of travellers at sea? How well matched is this concept with the audience onboard MSC Seascape?
The look and feel of our shop will be identical to that of other TimeVallée shops on land, as we felt its brand identity was already a perfect fit for the onboard experience. The boutique will propose world-famous brands Baume & Mercier, IWC, Cartier, Mont Blanc, Hublot, Panerai and Tag Heuer, providing a multi-brand destination that we feel is unparalleled on the market.
One of the main differences with the boutique at sea will be that guests may find the shop less intimidating than other downtown luxury boutiques.
Unlike high-end locations on land, there will be no doorman seemingly guarding the entrance, but instead the space will be open onto the Times Square shopping area onboard, allowing guests to flow seamlessly from one area to the next and making luxury more approachable for everyone.
We are constantly searching for new ways to wow and engage our guests, and we’re confident that TimeVallée’s elegant signature style will appeal widely. Given that MSC Seascape will homeport out of Miami, we are pulling out all the stops to make the ship a destination in and of itself, to appeal to wide range of guests.
The Maisons listed above, while they are known internationally, are particular favourites for the American market. With successive ships, we will cater to the audience in which they homeport as well. For instance, MSC Euribia will sail out of Europe, so we will focus on brands like Bulgari and Ulysse Nardin, which are particularly popular in that part of the world. For MSC World America, we will rethink the entire space, making it +50% larger, with many more surprises in store.
Please tell us more about the role and importance of the luxury watches category to the MSC retail business?
While we’ve seen growth across all luxury retail categories, the overall bestseller by quite a clear margin remains luxury watches. As we have developed our offerings over the years, we have slowly grown to include an impressive 23 luxury brands on board, most of which are high-end watches.
What is your wider vision and approach to curating the luxury offer onboard MSC Seascape?
Along with the TimeVallée concept, we are also introducing the luxury jewellery brand Messika on board for the first time, in the Deck 8 Jewellery boutique. The brand is well-recognised worldwide but is a particular favourite for the American audience.
Overall, while our guests onboard MSC Seascape will only represent 60% of the total passengers, we have tailored our offerings to feature the international brands that are most popular in the United States. In this way, American guests will find their favourites, but all guests will find recognisable and qualitative brands with a wide appeal.
What other first-at-sea concepts are you introducing to MSC Seascape?
In addition to Messika, a key development in our luxury jewellery offering, the ship is full of innovations, unique to this class of ship. One of my favourite spaces onboard is Le Cabaret Rouge aft lounge that was launched last year on MSC Seashore and is back on MSC Seascape, which is very elegant and features impressive sea views, along with impressive entertainment.
The speciality dining space on Deck 8 is also a wonder, with a teppanyaki, sushi, seafood restaurant and a classic steakhouse all in one place. It also features an impressive, walk-through wine cellar. I could happily enjoy every evening trying out the different restaurants.
Can you outline details of the wider retail offer onboard MSC Seascape?
The Times Square space on Deck 6 has been imagined as a fluid, integrated space, where guests can flow seamlessly from the duty free shop, to perfume & cosmetics, to the fashion boutique, to TimeVallée and more. It offers a shopping experience like nowhere else at sea.
In addition to this area, guests will also find the MSC Logo Shop, fine jewellery and fashion jewellery, as well as fashion watches and sunglasses up on Deck 8.
Cruising has experienced a strong rebound since the pandemic. What are the biggest shifts you are seeing in terms of shopper behaviour and how is MSC adapting?
We’ve certainly seen that guests want to enjoy themselves and are buying more than ever. Years cooped up at home has left guests willing to invest in more pricey items, to get the most out of their cruise experience. When they come onboard, there’s a kind of wow effect following the pandemic.
In addition to this, people are more open to investing in timepieces, because they feel a certain security in placing their money in a quality purchase that will only gain in value.
