Princess Cruises to reimagine retail operations with Harding Retail

Princess Cruises is to outsource retail operations onboard all of its ships to new partner Harding Travel Retail.

Working in collaboration with Princess Cruises, Harding will curate and manage the retail operations onboard the cruise line’s 14 existing vessels and its three upcoming newbuilds. According to Princess Cruises, this is the first time a move of “such scale” has ever taken place in the cruise retail sector.

“When Harding approached us several months ago, we knew it would be a partner with true vision, strong cultural alignment, and the proven ability to continue growing our retail proposition,” said Natalya Leahy, chief operations officer at Princess Cruises. “Today’s announcement comes after extensive and detailed discussions about what is best for our guests, our teammates, and our brand partners, and we are confident Harding will carry on the great foundation built by our team.”

Princess Cruises’ existing retail team will join the Harding business.

“I could not be more delighted to welcome the Princess team to Harding to be part of a new team that delivers the best of the best,” said James Prescott, managing director of Harding. “I have been incredibly impressed by the level of professionalism, ability, drive and sheer determination of the Princess team as we’ve worked hand-in-hand on this venture. The values of both businesses are so similar. This is a true long-term partnership with mutually aligned objectives and total commitment and engagement from throughout the organisations, putting data-led, customer centric actions at the centre.”