INTERNATIONAL. Welcome to this updated October edition of The Moodie Davitt Magazine, timed to coincide with TFWA World Exhibition, which takes place this week.
We are pleased to share selected highlights from the acclaimed Knowledge Hub programme at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo (11-15 October), which brought together a stellar line-up of speakers from across the travel retail and aviation communities, along with influential figures from beyond the channel, in an unprecedented thought leadership programme.
[Please note: Following the ‘live week’ from 11-15 October, the Virtual Travel Retail Expo remains open for a further six weeks. November is ‘Buyers & Brands Bonanza Month’, with different exhibitors profiled each day on The Moodie Davitt Report.com with links to their stands, special site visits, prizes and other incentives and surprises.]
Elsewhere in this edition – and the two Category Insight supplements that accompany it – we address the digitalisation of travel retail through the eyes of airport companies, travel retailers and brand owners.
For airport company Avinor, in its selection of winning retailers for Norway’s duty free contracts this Summer, Gebr Heinemann-led Travel Retail Norway’s ability to integrate the digital experience into the offer was important as click & collect services and ecommerce play an increasing role in the business.
Gebr Heinemann COO Raoul Spanger comments on the investment behind digital at retailer level, in engaging, communicating and increasing efficiency.
For Heathrow Airport, digital sits alongside space, experience and offer as one of the “four pillars” of its strategy, as outlined by Retail & Property Director Fraser Brown in these pages.
Blending the best of the physical and digital worlds, and communicating stories in ways that resonate with consumers across both, is non-negotiable for our channel, a view we hear echoed by brand owners in our special reports on Luxury Goods and Confectionery & Food, which appear with this issue.
We talk partnership too. We are on location to report on a Trinity initiative that has created a compelling Champagne and Cognac concept at Paris Charles de Gaulle. And we bring you the story behind a groundbreaking, profit-sharing partnership between Lima Airport Partners and Lagardère Travel Retail at Jorge Chávez International Airport.
China – and the critical offshore duty free market in Hainan – features prominently too. We bring you an updated version of our Top Travel Retailers report, which chronicled the rise of China Duty Free Group to become the world’s number one, aided by a booming Hainan business. And we publish an exclusive interview with Xie Zhiyong, Chairman of the Board for Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co (HTDF), one of the most influential figures in Hainan’s tourism and travel retail sectors.
Plus, to coincide with our support of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign this month, we carry a major interview with Executive Chairman William P. Lauder, who underscores the importance of the fight against the disease.
We hope you find this October show edition and our Category Insight supplements stimulating and informative and look forward to seeing you in Cannes in the days ahead.
