Harding wins expanded retail contract for P&O Cruises and Cunard

Iona is P&O Cruises’ first Excel class ship. The new LNG-powered ship, with 5,200-guest capacity, will be the largest ship built to serve the UK market

Global cruise retail specialist Harding has signed a new expanded contract with P&O Cruises and Cunard to operate the retail concessions for all ships across the two fleets through 2027. The contract will span a five year period and follows a 20-year working relationship between the three companies.

The award of this contract makes Harding the UK/Europe’s largest cruise retail organization.

Harding Managing Director James Prescott calls the new contracts “a real milestone in the Harding history.”

The ships covered by the agreement comprise P&O Cruises Ventura, Britannia, Arcadia, Aurora, Azura and new ship Iona which will sail her maiden voyage this summer. The contract also includes Arvia, which is due to join the fleet in December 2022.

For luxury cruise brand Cunard, the contract covers the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria as well as Cunard’s newbuild ship.

 As part of the contract, the Harding internal design team will continue to work in partnership with P&O Cruises and Cunard’s award-winning design teams and architects to design, manage and build retail environments, which will create immersive brand solutions on board the ships.

Design based on insights

Design and brand choice on the new ships were also influenced by a market customer insight survey Harding conducted of 20,500 people.

 Harding will offer an impressive mix of tax and duty free product categories including fine jewelry, watches and fashion, fused with lifestyle and experiential activations, carefully curated for the guest by ship and destination. The Logo concepts for both P&O Cruises and Cunard have been exclusively designed by the Harding Logo teams.

 On board Iona alone, an impressive list of first-at-seas will also launch, including four exclusive stand-alone boutiques, with Mulberry also launching a first at sea, standalone store.

  “We have worked closely with the senior teams based in Carnival House, Southampton, in a total trinity approach to deliver the best products with the right experiences for the guests on board. We are delighted that these two companies have put their trust in Harding here in the UK,” said Prescott.

 Robert Palmer, Carnival UK Vice President On-board Revenue, commented: “Working with one of the leading players in cruise retail to build a strong commercial and branded retail partnership as we resume sailing and enter an exciting period of new ship launches for both our P&O Cruises and Cunard brands is an important milestone.

 “Harding has shown its ability to retail at a branded and experiential level at sea which will undoubtedly continue to give our guests the best and most inspiring holiday retail experience.

 “We look forward to continuing to work with the Harding team in the coming months and years.’’

Harding has central hubs in Bristol, Miami and Sydney and operates with 22 cruise line partners across the globe, including more than 62 cruise ships on which it has 250 forward-thinking shops.