Fashion brand Oscar de la Renta is set to open a duty-paid store in Punta Cana. This will be an evolution of its existing retail format targeted at a travel, destination lifestyle. The 100m2 (1,076sq ft) shop will have a “soft” opening at the five-star Tortuga Bay resort on 1 November.
As reported, the strategy is to develop a model, which the company can roll out to travel-retail markets both duty-free and duty-paid worldwide.
Oscar de la Renta CEO Alex Bolen told Duty Free News International Online: “Whereas at our Oscar de la Renta shops in New York or London you will find cocktail dresses and ball gowns, at our store in the Dominican Republic you will find kaftans, sandals and totes. We think this has huge potential for us and it is a market we are excited to tap into”.
Bolen explained that the new store can be half the size of a typical Oscar de la Renta shop because they don’t require all the space needed to hang ball gown and need the larger fitting rooms.
“The branding will not be different as it is still an Oscar de la Renta store and the merchandise can be found in the other outlets. The format will be finely tuned to balance the right mix of shoes and bags with beauty and apparel. Home and gift products will also be an important part of the model as it is a category the company has earmarked for development,” he said.