Marine City Duty Free inks distribution deal with Orobianco

By Trbeditor | Tuesday, 6 June 2023 15:54

Italian leathergoods brand Orobianco has joined Marine City Duty Free's portfolio.

Marine City Duty Free has signed a contract with Orobianco to distribute the Italian leathergoods brand in global travel retail.

Launched in 2020, Marine City Duty Free is a specialist agency created by former Tallink Duty Free buyer Aire Kraas. Its portfolio includes Nora Norway, Buckley London and Marmara Sterling jewellery; Siena hand-made hair accessories; and Mums With Love, a new vegan skincare and bodycare brand. Orobianco represents its first foray into the luxury bags category.

"I started Marine City Duty Free not long after I left Tallink at the end of 2019," noted Kraas. "In my 13 years as a buyer I came across a lot of brands, and I understood what would make or break them in travel retail.

"With that knowledge in hand, my aim with Marine City is to find interesting and creative products that will appeal to travel retail buyers and, most importantly, to their in-store shoppers."

Orobianco's collection of unisex crossbody bags will be the focus for the travel retail channel.

She added: "Orobianco will be an excellent addition in the channel. It is a rarity in the accessories segment in that everything is made in Italy, and the brand stands out for the skilled craftmanship in each and every product. Right now, in a post-pandemic market, there has been a rush to quality, with luxury brands like Orobianco seeing high demand."

Orobianco, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016, is well known in key Asian markets such as Japan. As a 100% Italian-made label, all Orobianco products are produced using locally-sourced components and made ‘on demand’.

Within the travel retail channel, the focus will be primarily on unisex crossbody bags, which appeal to a broad range of travellers and are more accessibly priced.

Former Tallink travel retail category manager Aire Kraas founded the Marine City Duty Free agency in 2020.

"We have a lot of flexibility in terms of both order volumes and customisation of styles and sizes, depending on what retailers want," Kraas explained. "[I’m confident that] buyers will be impressed by the quality of both the materials and designs."

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