ASUTIL honours Teddy Taratuty and celebrates triumph over adversity

ASUTIL’s council honoured London Supply President Teddy Taratuty with its Vida de Triunfos lifetime achievement award yesterday at the conclusion of conference proceedings in Santiago, Chile.

In accepting the award, Taratuty paid tribute to his father, industry pioneer José Taratuty, and cautioned against suppliers seeking to erode the price advantage that is at the heart of the duty free proposition.

The award came on the heels of a stirring presentation by Roberto Canessa, the distinguished cardiologist who was among the survivors of the Uruguayan plane that crashed high in the Chilean Andes in 1972.

ASUTIL’s council honoured London Supply President Teddy Taratuty with its Vida de Triunfos lifetime achievement award
ASUTIL’s council honoured London Supply President Teddy Taratuty with its Vida de Triunfos lifetime achievement award
Roberto Canessa summoned the will to survive against overwhelming odds
Roberto Canessa summoned the will to survive against overwhelming odds

Canessa reflected on humanity’s will to survive, and the value of simple things in life. Alluding to the arduous walk out of the mountains he and a companion undertook, he enjoined the audience to persist in times of hardship: “The important thing is taking the next step.”

This was an apposite message, given the difficulties facing the Latin American industry at present.

Nowhere is that challenge greater than within Grupo Wisa, which faces a bleak future in the wake of the company’s blacklisting by the US Treasury Department.

Grupo Wisa Southern Cone Managing Director Marcelo Montico, who has been in Santiago this week, must preside over the sale or closure of the group’s businesses on the border between Uruguay and Brazil in the next two months.

Adversity prevails in many Latin American countries as well, a reality portrayed by conference regular Carlos Melconian, the Argentinean economist who has now taken the reins of Banco Nación Argentina.

In Santiago, Melconian delivered a typically strident account of the economic direction in Latin America, which he described as “challenging but not chaotic”.

Economically the key influence on regional tourism in the recent past has been strengthening of the dollar, Melconian observed, while politically Latin America has witnessed the waning of populist leadership and a movement towards the centre, promising greater stability.

“Brazil is the issue – it represents over 40% of the region’s GDP,” he said, noting that there has been only one year in the last quarter century when Brazil’s GDP fell and Argentinean GDP did not also decline.

Will the Summer Olympics help Brazil get out of its funk? Two months out from the Games, RIOgaleão Chief Commercial Officer Sandro Fernandes outlined how the company has mobilised to provide “the new airport that Rio deserves”.

ASUTIL board members, from left: José Luis Donagaray, Victor Hugo Bonnet (London Supply), Gustavo Fagundes (Dufry), Enrique Urioste (Neutral), Marcelo Montico (Grupo Wisa), Oscar Garcia Pedrosa (Dufry) and Martin Laffitte (Bernabel Trading)
ASUTIL board members, from left: José Luis Donagaray, Victor Hugo Bonnet (London Supply), Gustavo Fagundes (Dufry), Enrique Urioste (Neutral), Marcelo Montico (Grupo Wisa), Oscar Garcia Pedrosa (Dufry) and Martin Laffitte (Bernabel Trading)
RIOgaleão Chief Commercial Officer Sandro Fernandes
RIOgaleão Chief Commercial Officer Sandro Fernandes

The private consortium formed by Odebrecht and Changi Airport has invested BRL2billion (US$700 million) at Rio, not only in building the airport but also in enhancing services. That includes ambitious goals to reduce minimum connection times and thereby optimise time for shopping.

In a strategic partnership with Dufry, RIOgaleão has doubled the duty free space and introduced variety. “We have 100% control of our passenger flow, totally innovative store design, and the best international and national product mix, so we should increase per passenger spend steadily,” Fernandes said.

Vivianne Nunnes, Commercial Director, Dufry Brazil and Bolivia, complemented Fernandes’ talk with a summary of activities at Rio. Dufry has partnered with the airport and The Design Solution to develop over 10,000sq m in built area, with a key concept of making aspirational luxury accessible, she explained.

Dufry has set out to bring aspirational luxury within reach at Rio, explained Vivianne Nunnes
Dufry has set out to bring aspirational luxury within reach at Rio, explained Vivianne Nunnes

In doing so Dufry has blended a strong Sense of Place with category worlds, and a focus on brands that creates a department store feel. Its Rio stores have dedicated areas for seasonal campaigns, food, white spirits (the Mix It concept) and watches (Timebox), and have added over 75 new brands

From creating Duty Free Express mobile shopping carts to deploying 43 LED screens for communication and promotion, “Dufry has sought to deliver the best of retail experiences for Rio” – and is looking forward to welcoming visitors to the Olympics in August, Nunnes said.

Adding another perspective from Dufry, Cyrille Beauviche, Commercial Director of the Dufry Latin America & Caribbean, presented the group’s thinking for its next-generation store. His opening statement set the challenge: “We are in the middle of a retail revolution but travel retail is not yet a part of it.”

To date there has been reinvention in the industry, but many duty free stores are still uniform, monotonous and predictable, Beauviche said. Retailers need to adapt to young and digitally connected travellers, identifying key points at which they can connect at an emotional level during the passenger journey.

Looking specifically at Lima Airport, Beauviche profiled the present phase one of Dufry’s expansion – increasing its duty free space from 1450sq m to 3025sq m in an investment worth US$7 million.

Cyrille Beauviche enjoined the industry to address a new retail reality
Cyrille Beauviche enjoined the industry to address a new retail reality

At Lima it has already opened new Express and Arrivals stores, the latter being walkthrough with delineated areas for beauty, liquor and promotions. The 2370sq m Departures store, which will open in July, also features distinct areas for core products, including an extension of World Duty Free’s destination merchandise concept, Thinking Perú.

Elaborating on the need for adaptation, Guillermo D’Andrea, Marketing Professor at IAE Business School, spoke to the theme of retail in a world disrupted by digital technology. “Clients are changing, even if executives in boardrooms aren’t willing to follow them, ” he said.

Guillermo1
Clients are changing and retailers must change with them, said Guillermo D’Andrea

Creating a meaningful customer experience will be crucial for the survival of bricks and mortar retail. “If the offline store survives, it will be only because the experience is worth it,” D’Andrea claimed. “The purchase is the souvenir of the experience.”

He challenged airport retailers to pursue points of difference, even if the products that achieve that differentiation don’t themselves generate margin.

In closing the conference, ASUTIL President Gustavo Fagundes, board member Enrique Urioste and Secretary-General Enrique Urioste thanked all those who had contributed to making the past 20 conferences a success.

The Latin American industry now looks to next year’s gathering, almost certainly in Rio de Janeiro, in the hope that better times lie ahead.

Santiago viewed from the Botánico Centro de Eventos during last night's gala dinner
Santiago viewed from the Botánico Centro de Eventos during last night’s gala dinner

The mood was celebratory nonetheless at last evening’s gala dinner, hosted by Dufry in the spectacular Botánico Centro de Eventos, overlooking the Chilean capital.

Dancers
Easter Island dancers entertain during the Dufry-hosted gala event

Further networking time and a closing lunch are on the agenda today, with a social event on Saturday.

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