L’OCCITANE Group appoints Adriana Nicolae as General Manager APAC Travel Retail

L’OCCITANE Group has appointed Adriana Nicolae as General Manager APAC Travel Retail. Based in Hong Kong, Nicolae brings over two decades of experience in travel retail and brand management to the role.

Nicolae joins L’OCCITANE from DFS Group, where she held several senior leadership positions over nearly seven years. Most recently, she served as Director, LVMH & Asian Brands, Global Merchandising.

Her tenure at DFS also included roles such as Head of Asian Brands Portfolio and Head of Prestige & Wellbeing Portfolio.

At DFS Group, Nicolae led portfolio strategy and global agreements, brand investments and development projects. She monitored KPIs for over 50 brands and grew market share, ranking and productivity in terms of distribution, sell-in & sell-out, sales force, animations and customer experience. Notably, she helped guide DFS Group’s Hong Kong global teams on opening topics for La Samaritaine.

Prior to her time at DFS, Nicolae built a strong foundation in the fragrance and cosmetics sector with roles at Pyd (Perfumes y Diseño) and Parfums Christian Dior. At Pyd, she led the launch of Starck Paris fragrances as France Sales Manager.

As Key Account Manager at Parfums Christian Dior, Nicolae was responsible for building P&L structures, negotiating annual agreements and adapting Dior’s global strategies to regional markets.

Her travel retail career began at Lagardère, where she spent more than a decade in progressively senior roles. As International Perfumes & Cosmetics Buyer, she negotiated commercial terms for a €100 million portfolio, developed exclusive launches, and helped launch innovative marketing activations.

Earlier roles at Lagardère included Trade Marketing Associate Manager and Team Leader at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.