“A significant milestone” – Gebr. Heinemann and Imperial Brands celebrate a century of partnership

GERMANY. Leading travel retailer and distributor Gebr. Heinemann and multinational tobacco company Imperial Brands are celebrating 100 years of partnership.

The collaboration between Gebr Heinemann and Imperial Brands Reemtsma (now part of Imperial Brands Group) begun on 28 April 1923, when a first order of German tobacco brands, including Gelbe Sorte and Rote Sorte, was confirmed between the two then Hamburg-based, family-owned companies.

Milestones for Imperial include the supply of Germany’s first duty free store, which opened in Frankfurt in 1958, and Gebr. Heinemann’s first duty free retail operation which opened at Cologne Airport in 1970.

Celebrating the partnership of a century: (From left to right) Imperial Brands President of Europe Region Aleš Struminský, Gebr. Heinemann Co-CEO Max Heinemann and Gebr. Heinemann Supervisory Board Member Claus Heinemann

Both companies raised a glass to their centennial anniversary and the future of their partnership on 28 April.

Imperial Brands President of Europe Region Aleš Struminský said: “Today, we are delighted to commemorate a wonderful accomplishment of a relationship that started with two Hamburg-based merchants 100 years ago, and one which has flourished into a partnership between two key global players in the travel retail and duty free industry.

“Gebr. Heinemann remains one of our most important partners in the sector, and we are very proud to have kept our traditional values of trust, honesty and fairness at the heart of our working relationship over the last century.

“With this in mind, we have approached opportunities and challenges with a shared long-term vision, which makes this partnership both successful and incredibly special.”

Click on the image to see details of the first order confirmation between Imperial Brands Reemtsma and Gebr. Heinemann from 1923

Imperial Brands’ products are sold in around 80% of Gebr. Heinemann’s global retail outlets across different channels, with over 30 of Imperial’s brands featured in around 100 airports worldwide, through Gebr. Heinemann’s wholesale and retail operations.

The partners pointed out that tobacco remains a key driver in travel retail and Imperial Brands’ strong cross-category portfolio can meet the different needs of consumers in locations around the world. Examples include West and Gauloises in Germany, Davidoff cigarettes in Türkiye or locally trusted brands such as Skruf in Norway and Champion in Australia.

“Shared principles of resilience, transformation and evolution have remained pivotal to the partnership’s continued success throughout the years,” the partners added. Solutions to challenges over the years include the creation of the Travel Value concept by Gebr. Heinemann at airports and the Travel Free concept at border stores when intra-European Union duty free ended in 1999.

A more recent example is how the two companies coped with the COVID pandemic, working together “to ensure they both rose out of the pandemic to forge a brighter future for the industry, as well as consumers worldwide”.

Gebr. Heinemann Co-CEO Max Heinemann commented: “As Gebr. Heinemann, we stand for reliable and long-term partnerships. Our 100-year cooperation with Imperial Brands is an exceptional example of this.

“Such partnerships can only work if both sides share the same values and success is not only about achieving individual goals, but also about working to achieve common aims.”

Heinemann said the companies have “leveraged each other’s expertise to create a resilient alliance that has stood the test of time”.

“Looking to the future, I am confident that our partnership will continue to thrive and evolve,” he added.

Both Imperial Brands and Gebr. Heinemann “recognise the incredible developments still to come in the market, from the growing power of digital, to the shifting demands of a more sustainably minded consumer”.

“No matter what the future holds, the strong track record of partnership indicates that success can only be safeguarded by working together,” they concluded.

Click here for our story last week on Gebr. Heinemann’s 2022 performance.

As reported, Imperial Brands will showcase new lines from Davidoff cigarettes at next week’s TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition in Singapore, (Basement 2, 2-C38).

The company underlined the “special role” that Asia Pacific has to play in the global recovery of the travel retail sector. It described the Singapore event as a “landmark opportunity to reunite stakeholders in the region as Asia Pacific continues to forge its path to recovery”. ✈

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