Harding has extended its retail contract with P&O Cruises and Cunard to 2027.
As part of the contract, the company’s internal design team will continue to work in partnership with P&O Cruises’ and Cunard’s design teams and architects to design, manage and build entire retail environments on board their ships, building on the success in designing the ‘Iona’ retail spaces.
For P&O Cruises, in addition to the existing three ships, the contract includes two new flagships; ’Iona’ due in service in May, 2020 and her sistership due in 2022. For Cunard, the contract includes its new ship arriving the same year.
The contract follows a 20-year working relationship between Harding and cruise line partners, and encompasses eight of P&O Cruises and Cunard ships amounting to more than 6,000 sq m of retail space.
Much more than just places to buy goods, Harding said that it will offer a mix of tax and duty-free product categories from fine jewellery and fine watches to own-label fashion, fused with lifestyle and experiential activations.
Supporting retail activations will include a huge selection of worldwide brands from Dyson and Apple to Jo Malone and Tom Ford. On board ‘Iona’, the list of first-at-seas will include Liberty of London, The White Company and Georg Jensen, with Mulberry also launching a first at sea, standalone store.
James Prescott, Harding Managing Director, commented: “This is a real milestone in the Harding history and I am delighted to confirm our partnership with Carnival UK across both P&O Cruises and Cunard.
“We have worked closely with the senior teams based in Carnival House, Southampton, in a total trinity approach to deliver the most commercial arrangement and the best products with the right experiences for the customer and destination. We are delighted that the Carnival Corp has put its trust in Harding here in the UK.”
Robert Palmer, Vice President On Board Revenue at Carnival, UK, added: “We are delighted to have signed this industry-leading contract with Harding.
“Working with one of the leading players in cruise retail to build a strong commercial and branded retail partnership, as we enter an unprecedented period of new fleet launches for both our P&O Cruises and Cunard brands, is an inspiring milestone.
“Harding have shown that their agility to predict and mirror changes in land-based retail at a branded and experiential level for our guests at sea, undoubtedly gives our guests the best and most inspiring holiday retail experience.
“We are looking forward to continuing to work with the Harding team in the coming months and years,” he added.
