There’s something that’s goin’ round, that’s shutting our borders down
It’s a bad time for our sick and our old
CNN’s nightly lullaby, tells of hundreds more that’ve died
I shut off the TV and think all alone, how long can this go on? – Jeff Orson, Pray
Welcome to In Crisis – Travel Retail Voices, our podcast series in which we speak to industry executives around the world to see how they and their businesses are coping with the COVID-19 crisis.
Today’s episode features Frederik Westelinck, Partner at Blue Storks & Co-Founder at La Boucle in Brussels, Belgium. Blue Storks is a dynamic young enterprise, founded just six years ago. It has since grown into what the company claims is the biggest travel retail agency for fashion & accessories, with listings in over 150 airports, onboard 100 cruise ships and ferries and 135 airlines. The company’s rise and rise seemed irresistible. And then along came COVID-19.
How is Blue Storks dealing with this unprecedented calamity? Martin Moodie caught up with Frederik by phone in Belgium to see how he and the company are faring.
Previously on In Crisis – Travel Retail Voices
May 14: Christine Keeling, Long Haul Spa
May 12: Kevin Chiang, Ever Rich Duty Free
May 2: Robbie Gill, The Design Solution
May 2: Michael Ripfl, Umdasch, The Store Makers
April 29: Heidi van Roon, Spark Business Services Group
April 25: Rüdiger Behn, Waldemar Behn
April 23: James Prescott, Harding Retail
April 22: Eugene Barry, Dubai Airports
April 21: Lal Arakulath, Kreol Group
April 21: Scott Collier, Toronto Pearson International Airport
April 20: Lisa Bauer, Starboard Cruise Services
April 17: Dan Cappell, Ontario International Airport
April 13: Gautom Menon, Wild Tiger Beverages
April 13: Sarah Branquinho, Duty Free World Council
April 10: Sinead el Sibai, Dubai Duty Free
April 7: Jonathan Holland of Jonathan Holland & Associates, Singapore.
April 7: Rob Wigington, Executive Director at the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association, US.
April 7: José Luis Donagaray and Inés Sisto Patron, ASUTIL
April 5: Stewart Dryburgh, Nestlé International Travel Retail,
April 4: Pier Giuseppe Torresani, Masi; and Steve Corrigan, long-time duty free drinks executive
April 2: Founder of Duty Free Global, Barry Geoghegan
April 1: Vice President of Miami-based Essence Corp, Patricia Bona.
29 March: William Grant & Sons President Asia Pacific Doug Bagley
29 March: PMA Canada National Director – Duty Free Jeff Orson
27 March: Paul & Shark Global Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli
26 March: King Power Traveler President Rakhita Jayawardena
25 March: Public health expert Dr. David Heymann
24 March: King Power Group (Hong Kong) Group Chief Executive Officer Sunil Tuli
22 March: The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie
21 March: China Duty Free Group President Charles Chen
20 March: Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin
