The Moodie Davitt Roarport The Moodie Davitt Report is providing exclusive daily coverage of Wild Tiger’s Roar Trip, one of travel retail’s boldest CSR initiatives, via our special line extension, The Moodie Davitt Roarport. Via phone and social media, we’ll be with Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam on every stretch of their epic 65-day road trip from Kerala to Cannes and be there to greet them on the French Riviera when they arrive on the eve of the TFWA World Exhibition. We are unlikely to be alone. Duty free retailers: If you’d like to meet Gautom and Paul along the way (see their destination course below) let us know at Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com. |
DAYS 13-15
MYANMAR AND THAILAND.
The Roar Crew has raced into Thailand after an incident-free journey through neighbouring Myanmar. While the roads in Myanmar posed their challenges, the drive once into Thailand was smooth going and less energy sapping. All that driving is tough on the eyes and Wild Tiger Founder & CEO Gautom Menon pays warm tribute to one of the Roartrip’s sponsors, US fashion and accessories house Bravo Fashion, which has supplied the team’s unbreakable Bravo Sunglass Aviators.
After arriving in Thailand, one of the duty free industry’s most buoyant and important markets, intrepid Wild Tiger co-pilots Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam wasted no time in making themselves at home in bustling Bangkok.
According to the Bangkok.com website, Thailand’s capital welcomes more visitors than any other metropolis in the world but it’s a fair bet that the city has never greeted a pair of roadsters driving a tiger-striped car (a Tata Hexa) before. It’s a city of contrasts, with action at every turn, and Gautom and Paul George were geared up for a busy couple of days.
First stop was a meeting with Indian Ambassador, Her Excellency Suchitra Durai. Mrs Durai hails from the same state as the dynamic duo who slipped easily into their native Tamil language.
At King Power International’s impressive headquarters, Gautom and Paul George V were greeted with a rumtastic welcome from King Power Vice President Merchandising (Liquor, Tobacco & Confectionery) Witraporn Limbasuta, Manager Merchandising Department (Liquor) Sira Rangsikanbhum and their team.
They were treated to a tour of the King Power Rangnam shop floor where Wild Tiger has been listed for some time. Gautom happily notes that recent line extension Wild Coco, a coconut-flavoured rum, will hit the retailer’s shelves very soon.
The Roar Crew also bumped into travel retail industry friend and associate, Lukas Coates. Lukas is Purchasing Manager Liquor, Tobacco and Watches for Prestige Supplies.
He’s based out of Bangkok and certainly earns his stripes by looking after Wild Tiger’s business in Southeast Asia. All three plan to meet up again in Cannes during the TFWA World Exhibition at the end of September – the culmination of the epic 65-day Roartrip journey.
And where did Gautom and Paul George stay in Bangkok? At the Lebua at State Tower where, they happily admit, they were “treated like celebrities”.
“We spent the evening on the balcony of our suite which had panoramic views of the city,” Gautom told The Moodie Davitt Roarport. “And, of course, the drink of choice was Wild Tiger.”
Next stop is Chiang Mai in the beautiful mountainous north of Thailand and then across the border into Laos. The Roar Trip continues.
[Note: If you would like to donate directly to the Roar Trip Wild Tiger Foundation cause, the bank details are below. All funds will be remitted to the Wild Tiger Foundation.
Account Name: Roar Trip WTF
Account No: 6766903189
Bank Name: Indian Bank
Branch: Sivananda Colony Branch, Coimbatore – 641 012,
Tamil Nadu, India
IFS Code : IDIB000S075 /SWIFT: IDIBINBBCBE
##RoarTrip, #Roarforourtigers, #KeralatoCannes, #WildTigerFoundation #TigerConservation
HOW TO SUPPORT THE WILD TIGER ROARTRIP
Via the official website – www.roartrip.in
Or:
Account Name: Roar Trip WTF
Account No: 6766903189
Bank Name: Indian Bank
Branch: Sivananda Colony Branch, Coimbatore – 641 012,
Tamil Nadu, India
IFS Code : IDIB000S075 /SWIFT: IDIBINBBCBE
Please encourage your colleagues, friends and family to consider doing so.
En route to Cannes, the daring duo will be meeting up with other travel retailers. Those wishing to ‘meet and greet’ them are encouraged to make contact. Yes, Gautom will be checking his email: gautom@wildtiger.in
EARLIER ON THE WILD TIGER ROARTRIP…
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Day 12: Crossing the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Bridge
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Days 9-11: “For their tomorrow, we gave our today”
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Days 7 & 8: The Tigers Who Came to Tea
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Days 5 & 6: Wild Tigers become Bengal Tigers
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Days 4 & 5: The team earn their stripes but not a tiger in sight
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Day 3: High times in Hyderabad
The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’ Day 2: Wild Tiger roars into Dufry Bengaluru
#RoarTrip, #Roarforourtigers, #KeralatoCannes, #WildTigerFoundation #TigerConservation
ABOUT WILD TIGER RUM: Kerala-based Wild Tiger is India’s first rum to be produced from a blend of molasses and cane spirit. The rum’s velvet tiger print stripe packaging reflects the fact that no two tigers share the same stripe pattern – so the stripe design of the sleeve has been designed and cut to ensure that no two bottles are alike.Wild Tiger made its Indian travel retail debut in February 2016 and is now available in 53 countries.
ABOUT WILD TIGER FOUNDATION (WTF): Wild Tiger Foundation is a CSR initiative by Wild Tiger Rum, which contributes 10% of its profits to the cause. It is a registered non-profit organisation headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India that focuses on the conservation of the tiger and its habitat by raising funds and creating awareness. It was founded in 2015 by drinks entrepreneur Gautom Menon and Coimbatore-based businessman Suprej Venkat.
The primary focus is the conservation of tigers and their habitats within the state of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, specifically Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Wild Tiger Foundation acts as an influencer and an enabler.India had around 100,000 tigers in the mid-19th century. Today it has around 2,200, underlining the urgency of the conservation cause.
