Lacoste Unveils New Store in Singapore’s Changi Airport

Lacoste Barcelona

Travel Retail continues to be a major part of Lacoste’s strategy with Asian airports being key sites. This week, Lacoste announced it has opened a 130 square meter store in the new Jewel Changi Shopping Complex at Singapore Changi Airport. The new airport shopping complex opened on April 17, 2019 and has 280 stores.

“We are thrilled to open this store at Jewel, Changi Airport, Singapore, which further enhances our presence in Asia,” commented Jan-Louis Delamarre, CEO Asia Pacific & Global Travel Retail.

You can read more about Jewel Changi at TR Business.

Lacoste’s New Head of UK and Ireland Is Jamie Givens

Lacoste BarcelonaAccording to Fashion United UK, Lacoste has confirmed the appointment of Jamie Givens as their new Chief Executive for the UK and Ireland:

Givens, who joins Lacoste from Levi’s, where he has spent 8 years in various senior positions in sales and marketing, has been tasked with accelerating the growth of the UK and Ireland business, whilst further strengthening Lacoste premium casual wear positioning, said the brand in a statement.

Lacoste added that Givens brings with him a “solid brand development expertise across various markets and channels,” as he has previously held both regional and global responsibilities across wholesale, retail and marketing for brands including Dockers, where he was commercial director for the UK, Benelux and Scandinavia, Tigi and Dim.

As Fashion United notes, this appointment follows that of British designer, Louise Trotter as Lacoste’s Creative Director

Lacoste Reduces Planned Layoffs In Catalonia

Last year, Lacoste purchased its Spanish distributor, the Basi company, which had been selling Lacoste since 1962. In May, the company changed its name to Lacoste Iberica SAU. At present, Lacoste Iberica employs 436 workers of which 225 are in Barcelona. As a result of the purchase, Lacoste decided it made more sense to distribute directly from France and announced in early October that they would be laying off all the workers in their Catalonian warehouse, many of the administrative staff, as well as reducing store personnel. These initial plans affected 135 workers.  Now, after negotiations with the Unions, Lacoste has reduced the layoffs, although they are still significant.

Lacoste Barcelona

Overall, about a hundred employees of the firm, which represents more than 40% of the workforce in Barcelona, will still be affected. Specifically, the Barberà del Vallès warehouse, where there are fifty-eight employees, will be closed. In addition, the Outlet store in Barcelona, ​​where seven people work, and the offices in Badalona, ​​with thirty-five employees, will be shuttered. 

Lacoste Reopens Buenos Aires Store After Renovation

On October 19th, Lacoste reopened its renovated store located on the first floor of the Unicenter Shopping Center in Buenos Aires. The work took three full months during which Lacoste completely remodeled the space to match the rest of its stores across the world.

Lacoste Buenos Aires

Expanded to around seventy square meters (approximately 700 square feet), the store has a  minimalist feel due to its increased lighting, white tones, and heavy use of light wood and glass in its counters and displays. 

Currently, Lacoste has about twenty stores in Argentina, twelve of which are located in Buenos Aires, mainly in upscale shopping centers.  The other stores are in places like Cordoba, Rosario, Tucumán, Chaco and Jujuy, etc. Lacoste also operates in the nearby countries of Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Lacoste Opens New Store at Shila IPark Duty Free Store in Seoul, Korea

As part of its continuing expansion in duty free shopping areas, Lacoste has opened a new store within Shilla IPark Duty Free in Seoul, Korea.

Shila IPark Lacoste store

Lacoste CEO Asia Pacific & Global Travel Retail Jean-Louis Delamarre touted the new store as an enhancement of their Asian presence in travel retail. Travel retail has become a key part of Lacoste’s strategy, and they now have around one hundred and seventy stores within the category