Not only did Rouge Duty Free open in Trinidad in 2023 – its 9th Caribbean island location – but the luxury and beauty retailer is about to take a giant step forward in Grenada, as it expands its charming flagship in the renowned Port Louis Marina into six new outlets. The Rouge stores will be the key retail element in the new Silver Sands complex at Port Louis Maritime Village debuting in June.
The Port Louis Marina and the undeveloped lands at Mount Cinnamon resort were acquired by Joyau des Caraibes Ltd (JDC), owner of the 5+ -star Silversands Grenada, in 2020.
The luxury developer pledged to invest around $350 million to develop the two sites, with plans including four five-star hotels, a spa, exclusive residential villas, food and beverage outlets, retail and an entertainment hub. The Silver Sands “Luxury District Fashion Boutiques” at Port Louis is now nearly complete.
“In addition to expanding our offerings in the beauty boutique and our liquor store, Rouge will now also have two outlets carrying handbags and sunglasses, one for tobacco and cigars, a clothing boutique and another for accessories,” explains Raymond Kattoura, whose company Duty Free and Travel Retail Group manages the business for Rouge in the Caribbean. “We are negotiating with the world’s top designers with shops at Miami’s Fashion District and St. Barth, and brands that fit in this Luxury Mega Yacht Marina.”
Trinidad
Rouge Duty Free entered into its ninth Caribbean country in December with its acquisition of the Vendôme perfume stores in Trinidad & Tobago.
Rouge took over two Vendôme stores, one each in the Trincity and Gulf City Malls, carrying high-end brands in fragrance and skincare.
Although the current stores are duty paid, Kattoura says that Rouge is entering into duty free by the end of this year, and has plans to open a duty free division on the island.
“We have since signed a contract to open a flagship store at the Falls at Westmall, which will cover nearly 2,000 square feet of space, and we are in negotiations to open in two other malls on the island,” he tells TMI. “We expect to open the Westmall location this summer. We are also waiting for the right space to open in the airport, where we expect to be operating by this fall.”
“With a population of some 1.5 million, we think that Trinidad has been underserved when it comes to perfume and beauty,” he added. “In most of our locations, the Rouge stores have become a leading retail option for the local populations as well as tourists, and we see this happening in Trinidad as well.”
U.S.V.I.
Rouge Duty Free reports that its two stores in St. Croix – the original store in Orange Grove and the Maison Rouge in downtown Christiansted — have been “doing so fantastic,” that Rouge is now opening a third location adjacent to its Orange Grove boutique.
“The new space will allow us to expand into handbags, accessories, beauty tools from Geske, and Montblanc bags, and give us more room for fragrance in the original store,” says Kattoura. “In February we opened a new Spa Cabine for the exclusive Swiss skincare brand Bellefontaine, where we give facials and treatments, which was very well received.”
Kattoura reports that Rouge is also pursuing leads for an additional location in St. Thomas.
In St. Barth, the Creed store operated by Rouge is doing very well, and will be celebrating its first anniversary in June. This is the only Creed store in the Caribbean.
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Grand Cayman
Rouge’s Grand store in downtown Grand Cayman continues to over-perform and the launch of a new Spa Cabine for Bellefontaine was another success. Rouge will be opening a second store in Grand Cayman before the end of the year, confirms Kattoura.
Tulum
At the end of 2022, Rouge also opened two locations in Tulum, on the Mexican Riviera, which is currently one of the hottest destinations in the region. Rouge Duty Free was the first perfumery in Tulum.
The flagship store is located in the heart of the Archaeological district, in Aldea Zama, and carries an extensive selection of fragrances and beauty brands, a vegan skincare line, sunglasses and accessories. The store also features a Beauty Spa Cabine.
The second Rouge Duty Free location is in Tulum Center at the Hunab Lifestyle Center shopping area.
Tourism is expected to boom even further from the opening of the new Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum in December and the launch of the Tren Maya (Maya Train) project, which connects Cancun and dozens of destinations across the Yucatán peninsula, including Tulum.
“We see business in our two Tulum stores picking up since the opening of the new airport in Tulum and the train from Cancun,” said Kattoura. “We expect the new direct flights to the U.S. to bring significant increases,” he tells TMI.
Kattoura also reveals that Rouge will be opening a third location in Tulum in the Hotel Zone before the end of year – it will be a small store in one of the new hotels being built on the beach.
Rouge Duty Free’s promise to become a pan-Caribbean power is already a reality. With the recent Vendôme purchase, Rouge Duty Free is now operating in Trinidad, in St. Thomas and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in Grand Cayman, Grenada, St. Maarten/St. Martin and Tulum, Mexico as well as operating the only Creed store in the Caribbean in St. Barth. With the opening this year of six new stores in Grenada, plus one in St. Croix, one on St. Thomas, one in Tulum, one in Grand Cayman and at least two in Trinidad, Rouge is definitely the formidable player in the Caribbean duty free market.
