Yam (fifth from left), Kamarudin (centre), Malaysia Airports’s Group chief executive officer (CEO) Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin (fifth from right) with Malaysia Airports Niaga Board of Directors, former CEO and chairman during the Eraman Brand Refresh Launch on Sunday night.
KUCHING: Malaysia Airports Niaga or better known as Eraman, the retail arm of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (Malaysia Airports) is taking bold steps to rebrand its duty free and duty paid retail stores as well as food and beverage (F&B) outlets to be bigger and better.
This is in line with the parent company’s Commercial Reset Strategy initiative that will see Eraman playing an integral role through an expansion in its outlet spaces.
During the Commercial Reset, Eraman will also realign its product categories and revamping its stores’ concept designs on top of enhancing guest experience through experiential marketing and digitalisation.
The rebranding exercise for Eraman after 25 years in the business is aimed at enhancing Eraman’s brand presence and awareness amongst local and international travellers.
The initiative is indeed a significant and strategic one because it will make Eraman superior and different from the competition.
More importantly, it will help position Eraman as the most preferred airport travel retail and duty-free player in Asia Pacific by offering the most complete shopping experience through excellent customer service.
Eraman chairman Datuk Seri Michael Yam commented that the organisation has seen significant growth over the years not only in terms of sales growth but also in terms of creating unique experiences in the world of airport duty free in Malaysia. Following this, Eraman is forging ahead this year to solidify its presence by refreshing the brand.
He continued to say that the Perfumes and Cosmetics category is one of the growth drivers for Eraman and it saw commendable growth in 2018.
“This was no doubt contributed by our many new initiatives last year. We had opened four dedicated monogram concept boutiques under the Perfumes and Cosmetics category; M.A.C, La Mer, Tom Ford and Jo Malone in Kota Kinabalu International Airport,” he added.
“We also opened three new stand-alone Perfume and Cosmetics boutique stores for leading beauty houses; M.A.C, Jo Malone and Gucci at Departure and Arrival Hall of KL International. The Gucci boutique store is the first boutique store in South East Asia that has been introduced in the airport.”
Other initiatives which had contributed to Eraman’s growth include the tactical campaign with Maybank Cards that resulted in 45 per cent year-on-year growth in the months of February and March 2018. On top of that, the Eraman Shopping Extravaganza #25AmazingYears Contest launched in July 2018 which offered prizes totalling RM1.2 million had also attracted more than 200,000 entries from Malaysia, China, India, Singapore, Europe and India.
Also present at the event was the Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar who said that the government is also supportive of such initiatives as airports are major gateways into our country – contributing to a lasting first impression for foreign visitors.
“We already possess world-class infrastructure at our airports. On top of which, the variety in international and local retail brands offered at our airports are the envy of our regional counterparts.
Further enhancements to duty-free stores, redesigning of brand awareness elements and engagement with travellers are strategic steps that will provide a quantum leap in making Malaysia a first-world country.”
Operating in five international airports and one domestic airport in Malaysia, Eraman Duty Free outlets offer a wide range of world class and exclusive products such as chocolates, perfumes and cosmetics, liquor, fashion and accessories as well as tobacco products that are sourced globally.