ASIA Duty Free & Travel Retailing Magazine

TFWA AP 2013

p. 22 Beauty Contest p. 70

MAY 2013 • VOL 17, NO 2

On top down under p. 60Prestige Supplies

acceleratesp. 16Asia'sother giant

ASIA_TFAP13_AS/GU/AM Template 13-04-19 3:26 PM

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Asianawakenings

4 ASIA DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING MAY 2013

Letter from the Editor

hina recently relaxed visa restrictions forarrivals in Beijing and Shanghai for trav-elers transiting to other countries. Thenew 72-hour no-visa policy came at theend of 2012 without much fanfare, but it’s

a big move. Not only does it make inbound travel eas-ier, but it will also enable major international events

to be held in China, a destination that event organizers have shied away from up untilnow. In this issue guest writer Alexander Glos, CEO of i2i Group, offers his view onwhat this new step means.

Shortly after the no-visa window announcement, TFWA, in partnership withAPTRA, hosted an industry conference in Beijing. “China’s Century” wrapped upMarch 7 and offered 372 delegates from 200 companies a close look at how the dutyfree and travel retail industry is faring in this fast-changing nation. By all accounts, excit-ing times are ahead.

“We are only at the beginning of the air travel boom in China,” TFWA PresidentErik Juul-Mortensen told attendees. “Aviation analysts predict that passenger numbersin China—domestic and international—will quintuple to reach around 1.5 billion by2030. The question is, are international brands ready for this huge opportunity?”

China does get a lot of attention, and yet the nation’s vast duty free and travel retailpotential is still more or less inaccessible thanks to a dense labyrinth of rules and reg-ulations, in addition to political uncertainties. But there’s another rising star in Asiathat has yet to get its share of the spotlight: India.

India’s government has been busy removing obstacles to investment and economicgrowth, with particular focus on the aviation sector. The positive benefit for the coun-try’s duty free and travel retail business—which has a long way to go to reach full poten-tial—is clear. The Nuance Group and Delhi Duty Free Services, India’s two top dutyfree retailers, have already shown the kind of success that can be realized in this mar-ket, even amid an economic downturn.

To support and develop the industry’s potential in India and across Asia, The AsiaPacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) continues to produce invaluable researchand information while also engaging in strong advocacy. At TFWA Asia Pacific in Sin-gapore, APTRA President Sunil Tuli will give attendees a snapshot of the campaignsthe association and its global counterparts are pursuing, whether it’s around publichealth warnings on duty free products, taxation issues, product display bans or heavy-handed inbound allowances that could strangle sales.

A detailed development of Tuli’s talking points will be presented at the TFWAindustry association working lunch on Monday May 13. Attendees will also work onaction plans for the year ahead.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Asia Duty Free. The industry in the region is certainlyrife with new developments, and I’m looking forward to discussing all the happeningswith you during the conference and exhibition portions of TFWA AP.

Kind regards,

Hibah [email protected]

CAsia Free & Travel Retailing (ISSN 1360-9548) is

published annually by Global Marketing Company

Ltd., 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2

Canada. It is distributed in the following countries,

states, regions and territories on the Asian continent

and in the Pacific Rim: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan,

Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam,

Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macao,

Malaysia, Maldive Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, New

Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Philippines,

Saipan, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka,

Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily

reflect the views and opinions of the publisher or

editor. May 2013, Vol. 17, No. 2. All rights reserved.

Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without

written permission from the publisher. © 2013 Asia

Duty Free & Travel Retailing.

Asia Duty Free & Travel Retailing26 Pearl Street

Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2 Canada

Tel: 1 905 821 3344; Fax: 1 905 821 2777

www.dutyfreemagazine.ca

PUBLISHER

Aijaz [email protected]

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

EDITOR

Hibah [email protected]

ASIA ASSOCIATE EDITOR

P. [email protected]

CONCESSIONS, LIQUOR, & TOBACCO EDITOR

Ryan [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Melissa [email protected]

ART DIRECTOR

Patrick [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

Andrew BrooksClaire Malcolm

ADVERTISING SALES

ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER

Kim [email protected]

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER

Deepa [email protected]


16

MAY 2013 • VOL 17, NO 2

LS TRAVEL RETAIL ASPAC

In the knowArmed with promotions and consumer knowledge,LS Travel Retail Asia Pacific is well positioned inChina

APTRA

APTRA takes high-profilestance Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association offersindustry group a chance to show what it can do

BEIJING CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTCO., LTD.

Above and beyondRenovations and service changes anchor BeijingCapital International Airport’s growth strategy

IN BRIEFVictoria’s Secret available in HKIA � Langkawi airportrevenues set to surge after upgrade � Asian airportstop rankings for service quality – again � Lion Air placeshuge order for new planes � Changi Airport works withGolden Myanmar Airlines

TFWA

TFWA gears upIn advance of this year’s TFWA Asia PacificExhibition & Conference, we speak with TFWAPresident Erik Juul-Mortensen about thesuccessful China conference held in Beijing earlierthis year along with what’s in store for the TFWAAP trade show

CONFERENCE REVIEW: TFWA/APTRA CHINA

The dragon awakesChina’s burgeoning duty free market in thespotlight at landmark TFWA/APTRA conference

PRESTIGE SUPPLIES INC.

Asia and beyondPrestige Supplies Inc. carves out a strong footholdin Mongolian duty free, setting its sights on theCambodia-Vietnam border and further expansion inAsia and Africa

SPOTLIGHT ON TFAP EXHIBITORS

Fresh products lead the wayProduct innovation, retail savvy and marketexposure give these brands a leg up in duty free

SKINCARE REPORT

Beauty contest Skincare is one of the biggest-selling categoriesamong travel retailers in Asia. With existingmarkets developing and new ones opening up, itsimportance will only grow as brands and retailerscompete for increased spend

42

52

48

46

44

56

60

62

70


SHILLA DUTY FREE

Korea moveAs The Shilla Duty Free rubs up against theboundaries of its home market, it's looking to courtnew customers and create new ventures abroad

INDIA ROUND-UP

Asia's other giant Forget getting into China. For international travelretailers, India is a more promising market for thosewilling to put the work in

AUSTRALASIA ROUND-UP

On top down under As Chinese travelers flood in, the prospects forretail at Australian and New Zealand airports haverarely looked brighter

GUEST WRITER

No Visa for China and megashopping to comeMove to boost travel to or through China is goodnews for duty free

DFS

Experience makersWhile breaking new ground with the developmentof its first off-airport store, leading luxury retailerDFS hasn't forgotten its 50 years of experience

NUANCE-WATSON

Rising to the occasionDespite recent challenges, Nuance-Watson staysfocused on new opportunities and future growth inAsia

XI'AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Makers of changeWith a new commercial strategy and sense ofplace, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is on itsway to success

16

12

22

28

30

36

40

Contents


Project4_Layout 1 13-04-23 2:32 PM Page 1

YVES ROCHER

Harnessing nature’spowerYves Rocher recently introduced itsbotanical innovations to travel retail and isalready seeing signs of success

BEAUTY NEWSLancôme’s new Hypnôse Palette addsprofessional effect � Collistar thrives at 30

POLAAR

Arctic advantage Polaar’s unique selling points position thenew brand for success in travel retail

SUNGLASS NEWSMaui Jim bulks up for Asia � Red Bull’s RacingEyewear collection gears up for the travel retailmarket

ROYAL LONDON

Royal recognitionRoyal London’s prestige reputationpromises success in travel retail

LA PERLA

A sophisticated foundationFor lingerie brand La Perla, success in travelretail comes down to a sophisticatedproduct offering

MISAKI

Fashion forwardPearl jewelry leader Misaki enjoys rapidgrowth in travel retail

ARTÉ

Arté advancesPremium Spanish gem house continues tobuild on a century-old artisan reputation

GODIVA

Market drivenWith innovative novelties and an eye forcultural trends, Godiva builds a strongpresence in the Chinese market

JELLY BELLY

Aiming higherJelly Belly gets its travel retail push into high gear in Asia and around the world

CONFECTIONERY NEWSFerrero builds its footprint in Asia � Giant Barsand Brookside to make Asia debut at TFAP

DIAGEO

All points east Premiumization proves to be the way to Asian consumers’ hearts

Contents


82

80

78

7674

73

88

86

84

9492

90


Mr ELEGANT “Aeroplane“ KR12-61/LE

Cufflink keyholder, black leather loop with metal ring for keys and a cufflink closure, motif: Aeroplane

Visit us at TFWA Asia PacificBooth No.

H25

Contents

DISTILLERIA BOTTEGA

A sparkling successDistilleria Bottega showcases Bottega Rose Goldat TFWA AP in hopes of continuing the success ithas enjoyed in Asia with perennial favorite BottegaGold

GULF BEVERAGES

A taste for something newWith positive market penetration, 2013 is the yearof product diversification for Gulf Beverages asconsumer trends in India point to new tastes andbrands

ASIAN-INSPIRED COCKTAILS

A taste for the EastAsia Duty Free brings readers the best in cocktailsthat take their inspiration from the East

BROWN SPIRITS REPORT

For all tastesThis year’s TFWA AP exhibition features a numberof innovations in brown spirits that are proofpositive of the continued vibrancy of thesubcategory

THE EDRINGTON GROUP

Innovation is the watchword Regional demand for limited editions driving creativeagenda for legendary Scotch whisky producer withpremium flavors headlining brand appeal

LIQUOR NEWSSailor Jerry drops anchor in Sydney Airport withNuance Australia � Tequilera Corralejo to showcaseportfolio in Singapore � SPI Group promises aflavorful TFWA AP � Genagricola exhibits Tenuta S.Anna fine wines and Proseccos for the first time atTFWA AP � Prowood offers two exquisite spirits fromFrance and Armenia, expands portfolio with newofferings � Constellation Brands sees success withInniskillin tri-pack, plans launch of duty free exclusiveIcewine range in late 2013 � Ron Botran committedto Asia duty free channel, exhibits high-end rumportfolio at TFWA AP � Mouton Cadet named OfficialSupplier of Wine to the Ryder Cup for 2014 and 2018� Armagnac Janneau exhibits for the first time at theTFWA Singapore � Labouré-Roi brings the best ofBurgundy to TFWA AP � Bombay Sapphire East andGrey Goose Cherry Noir receive Asia premieres �Global Drinks Finland brings purity to the forefront �Lateltin showcases new products and special editionsin Singapore

STG

Dynamic brands in adynamic regionSTG launches WØ Larsen pipe tobacco in Asiaduty free and focuses on staff education as ameans of capturing an ever more refined Asiantraveling consumer

NEW & NOTABLEAbsolut Denim � Face Matters Anti-Aging Elixir �Super Stick Solaire

96 108

116

117

98

100

102

106

ASIA_TFAP13_AS/GU/AM Template 13-04-23 11:04 AM

Shilla Duty Free


Korea move"But Chinese visitors to South Korea are still a very small por-

tion of the total number of Chinese outbound travelers. We thinkjust 4% of all Chinese outbound travelers come to [South] Korea,so there's still opportunity for growth. The biggest obstacle forChinese travelers coming here is getting a visa. We have high visarestrictions for Chinese, so our government is trying to make it eas-ier. And even as the Chinese government has made some changesto its policies on luxury goods [part of an anti-corruption clamp-down on the widespread practice of luxury gift-giving, which Bei-jing links to graft], there's still room to grow the number of Chi-nese travelers coming here."

The ranks of Chinese visiting South Korea haveswelled so much that they outnumberedJapanese visitors for the first time in Feb-ruary, according to data from the Korea

hink of the name Samsung, and the first thing that prob-ably comes to mind is a slick smartphone. It's a fact,however, that the sprawling South Korean mobiles-to-machine-tools conglomerate is the force behind what'sarguably the country's standout travel retailer, TheShilla Duty Free.

Shilla and its larger rival, Lotte Duty Free, part of another hugeconglomerate, dominate South Korea's travel retail scene so com-pletely that the government has recently taken steps to promote smallerretailers. But far from resting on its laurels, Shilla has redoubled itsefforts to expand, both at home and abroad, and it's far from com-placent about its market position.

"We don't know what the future holds," says Shilla Executive VicePresident Head of Duty Free Division Jason Cha, "but we need torenew our license every five years, so we still need to win conces-sions from Korean airports. There's a lot of pressure.

"As far as the number of licenses is concerned, [South] Korea ispacked already - it's full," he says. "And the government wants toimpose some restrictions on the number of licenses for big com-panies such as Lotte and us. They want to give licenses to small andmedium-sized companies."

Cha is more than ready to face whatever challenges the businessenvironment may throw at Shilla, however, and in spite of a slightslowdown this year, the retailer put in a stellar performance in 2012,chalking up a sales surge of 26.5% worth a cool US$1.7 billion.

Cha attributes the recent softening in demand that the companyhas seen to a decline in business from Japanese customers.

"It's not a big thing, but I think the problem of the weak yen isthe main trigger for the current situation," he explains. "The yen isgoing lower, so duty free goods have become more expensive for Japan-ese travelers."

However, he says that soaring sales to Chinese visitors to South Koreahas more than offset the slowdown in sales to the Japanese, who wereuntil recently Shilla's biggest customers.

"Last year we enjoyed about 88% growth from Chinesecustomers compared to 2011, and the Chinese segmentis still growing at a rate of around 30% [annually].

TJason Cha says theSouth Korean duty freemarket is very wellcatered to, and thatShilla is looking forfurther growth inSoutheast Asia

Shilla was the first retailer to open a Louis Vuittonstore in an airport, at Seoul's Incheon International

As The Shilla Duty Free rubs up against the boundaries of its home market, it's looking to court new customers and create new ventures abroad


Global travel retail excellence

www.worlddutyfreegroup.com

A4_ADVERT_FINAL_VAN.indd 1 20/02/2013 15:07

Shilla Duty Free


Tourism Organization. They're Shilla's biggest cus-tomer segment, and they're prompting the retailerto make changes to its offer.

"Compared to Japanese and Koreans, Chinese trav-elers are really big buyers of luxury watches and jew-elry,” says Cha."That's one big difference. The Japan-ese are very focused on luxury leathergoods like Her-mès, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but the Chinese arefocused on brands such as Omega, IWC and Breguet.So we've allocated more space to luxury watches andreduced the space given over to fashion items."

And Cha says Chinese travelers are definitely cus-tomers worth courting.

"One thing we've found is that if they come once,they'll come again. The repeat rate is quite high -about 40% - so we maintain our customer records andwe contact those customers regularly to give them infor-mation about our stores. We apply customer rela-tions management and keep contact with them viaemail, Facebook and Twitter."

Shilla has also established its own online presence specifically tar-geting Chinese travelers: a Chinese-language pre-ordering websiteto boost their interest in the retailer's offer before they even get throughSouth Korean immigration control.

Cha says he's expecting two airport retail concessions to come upfor renewal in South Korea soon - one at Gimhae, near the coun-try's second-biggest city, Busan, and the other on the popular touristisland of Jeju, off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula.

He says the contract in Gimhae is likely to be of five years' dura-tion and that the retailer and airport operators are still yet to holdfurther meetings about it.

Shilla and Lotte were both excluded from the running for arecently re-tendered duty-free concession at Seoul's Incheon Inter-national Airport that was open only to smaller companies, butShilla says it wasn't attractive in any case.

"[The airport] will start another process or KTO [the incumbentKorea Tourism Organization] will retain the current space," says Cha.

He says there were no takers in both tender exercises because theminimum annual guarantee (MAG) the airport operator was ask-ing for was too high.

And Shilla is also looking beyond its home country's borders forexpansion - specifically to Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. It'sdue to open four perfume & cosmetics stores at KLIA2, the low-cost

carrier terminal that will serve Kuala Lumpur once construction iscomplete. Additionally, it operates a Bottega Veneta outlet and a Pradashop at Singapore's Changi Airport, where it will bid for what Chadescribes as "a very big concession for P&C and liquor & tobacco".

"We also participated in the retail tender for [Bangkok's] DonMeaung Airport, but it failed," he says. "But if there's anotherchance, we'll go again."

Cha says that Shilla's well-established and high-profile positionat South Korea's biggest airport has put it in a strong position toexpand in Southeast Asia.

"We get a lot of exposure through Incheon airport, which isquite a successful airport, so all those customers from the Asia-Pacificregion who travel to South Korea already know our name.

"The traveling population [in the region] is [predominantly] Chi-nese, Japanese and Korean - that's it," he explains. "About 95% ofour revenue comes from just those three countries, so when we expandour business overseas, the customer mix is still the same. Whereverwe go, wherever we do business outside Korea, still those threecountries are the biggest portion of our business, and that's why westill have room to grow in Southeast Asian markets."

As The Shilla Duty Free gears up for the next phase of its growth,travelers in those markets seem likely to be seeing a lot more of the travelretailer with the might of the Samsung business empire behind it. c

Cosmetics are an increasingly important part of Shilla's offer,and South Korean beauty brands are gaining recognition

Shilla is a household name in South Korea,thanks in part to its downtown presence


India Round-Up


or years now, the international business commu-nity has been keenly focused on the rise of China.So too has the travel retail community. Yet theChinese duty free market remains largely impen-etrable, walled away behind layers of restrictions,

red tape and uncertainty. Asia's other rising giant, however,has attracted rather less attention, despite its enormouspotential and fast-changing commercial landscape.

In recent years, India's government has been knocking downbarriers to trade, development and investment - arguablynowhere more so than in the aviation sector - and in doingso has created fertile conditions for growth in the country'schronically under-exploited travel retail market.

It's a paradigm shift perhaps best exemplified by the stun-ning success of the country's two premier duty free retailers,The Nuance Group India and Delhi Duty Free Services(DDFS), both of which have blazed a trail in Indian travel retailand set new standards in the industry, despite an economicslowdown in the country.

Nuance India Country Head Anir-ban Chowdhury says: "The slowdownhasn't affected us. Every year wehave only improved our perfor-mance and it was the same lastyear. We have grown [sales] fasterthan passenger growth."

His opposite number atDDFS, Chief Executive SteveO'Connor, says that the economicheadwinds and the fall in the valueof the rupee have hit passenger traf-fic through the national capital'shub, but that sales growthhas continued apace.

"It looks as if therewould have beenzero growth in pas-senger numbers

FForget getting into China. Forinternational travel retailers, Indiais a more promising market forthose willing to put the work in

BY P. CONVERY

DDFS's world-class offer at Delhi's T3 is said bymany to have raised the bar for travel retail in India

Nuance India has been refining itsbusiness model and retail offer in

Bangalore for five years, and isbeginning to expand its presence


India Round-Up


[over the past financial year], but our sales have grown by doubledigits over the last year. Our ATVs [average transaction values] haveincreased and people are spending more. And in research we did inrelation to the rupee fall and the economy, we found that [among]the people who make up the 25% of our repeat customers, the vastmajority haven't been impacted by the rupee. They're wealthy andit hasn't concerned them at all. There's been no impact."

And it's from this strong base that both companies - the mainforeign operators in India's travel-retail sector - are positioning them-selves for further growth, DDFS at the capital's airport and Nuancenationally.

DDFS opened an additional 70 square meter arrivals shop inDecember last year, and will open a 110 square meter electronicsshop in arrivals in May that will be geared towards TV sales.

O'Connor says: "Lots of Indians fly to places like Thailand andbuy TVs and bring them back, and our objective is to capture thesepeople coming back."

DDFS is also developing its existing stores, particularly an out-let located at the junction of Delhi Terminal 3's two piers thatopened last September.

O'Connor says: "All passengers go through the main shop in depar-tures, so we want to do something in the other store that's uniqueand different ... we're looking at major brands, but product lines wedon't have at the main shop. Something more high-profile, and witha lot more interactivity with the brands."

In February, Nuance India won the right to retain its retail con-cession at Bengaluru International, its expanding home airport inBangalore, and it has since been busy planning an upgrade to theoutlets it has been deftly running for the past five years.

"In terms of space, we'll have almost the same," says Chowdhury."All of our existing stores will be relocated to the new terminal, andthe number of stores has actually been reduced, but we've added apier shop, and we have won an exclusive contract for electronics.Including electronics, we'll open five shops."

And after five years of what Chowdhury describes as a learningprocess at Bengaluru, Nuance has set its sights on concession winsfurther afield. In January it was awarded the fashion, luxury andlifestyle duty free concession for T2 at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shiv-aji International Airport, and Chowdhury says more contracts arethere for the taking.

"There are so many opportunities in India now," he explains. "Thereare many RFQs [requests for qualification] that have been sent outfor airports such as [the newly opened terminals at] Chennai andKolkata, so the entire landscape for us - and also for our competi-tors - will have changed in the next year or so. In terms of scale andrevenue, it'll all be very different even six months from now.

"Chennai is a big city with the third-largest airport in the coun-try after Delhi and Mumbai. It's in an economically thrivingstate and it's attractive, [with] big demand for domestictravel, which always translates into demand in internationalbecause the same people are traveling. And if they're con-suming, they'll buy because duty free represents value. Fromthat point of view, Chennai is a very attractive place forany player to be.

"Kolkata doesn't have a very large airport,but it has a lot of leisure travelers. For a playerlike us that already has an operational baseset up in India, any airport is attractive,but Kolkata and Chennai - because of thescale and the proximity of the two citiesand the potential for growth - [are] veryattractive. There are several smaller air-ports that we're also tracking, and inthe near term, Cochin could comeup with a tender because it's get-ting a new terminal."

“There are many RFQs [requests forqualification] that have been sent outfor airports such as [the newly openedterminals at] Chennai and Kolkata, sothe entire landscape for us - andalso for our competitors - will havechanged in the next year or so.”

Anirban Chowdhury, Country Head, Nuance India

Destination merchandise is animportant part of Nuance India's offer,helping to establish a distinct identity


Interlude_MarchTFWAChinaConference2013_A4_Portrait.indd 1 06/02/2013 11:58

India Round-Up


The opportunities may be plentiful andattractive, but the operating environment inIndia can be challenging on a day-to-day level.O'Connor says DDFS was forced to suspendits popular whisky tastings more than a year agoafter the local tax office began demanding thepayment of excise taxes on each bottle it opened.

"In all the years I've been in duty free in dif-ferent countries, I've found that when it suits var-ious government entities, you're 'not in the country' technically. Butwhen it suits them, you 'are in the country' and you have to abideby the local rules," he says. "It's a constant conflict, although to befair, if they have an issue with it, we have to come up with a solu-tion that keeps them happy and meets their requirements, and that'swhat we're working on."

At the end of the day, success in India, like anywhere else, comesdown to doing the job well. DDFS and Nuance have amply provedthemselves in that respect, and neither retailer is sitting on its hands.

"One of the things we're going to do with travel agents going for-ward is to try to link up to target passengers with the right profiles,to be more creative in interacting with our passengers," says O'Con-nor. "We also have our own loyalty program in place, and ... we havea link between the information we have and the customer, so nowwe can target them, looking at what they buy and how and oftenthey come through. We're looking the lifetime value of our customers."

Chowdhury says: "What we really want to concentrate on at

this moment is service levels, and in terms of store design, at everyairport we are in we're trying to provide a sense of place and try-ing to be as efficient as possible.

"My inkling is that there'll be opportunities every year for the nextfive years, and [our growth] depends on how we'll be able to cap-italize on those. The main issue is for players to get a mix of largeand smaller airports. [Retailers] that don't have a larger airport willfind it a little difficult in the initial stages to operate in smaller air-ports, but I think it'll offer good economies of scale in the long term.[Companies] that are concentrating on the basics and getting theiract right I would say will grow at a very attractive pace."

India's minister for civil aviation said in March that the coun-try is on track to become the world's third-biggest air travel mar-ket by 2020. The country's top duty free operators - and any otherretailer that cares to join them in what's currently a sparsely pop-ulated field of international players - appear to be in a prime posi-tion to capitalize on that enormous opportunity. c

“Lots of Indians fly to places likeThailand and buy TVs and bringthem back, and our objective is tocapture these people coming back.”Steve O’ Connor, Chief Executive, Delhi Duty Free Services


YR_elixir_duty_free_210x297.indd 1 12/02/13 18:42

Australasia round-up


t's almost half a century since Australian writer Donald Hornecoined the phrase "the lucky country" to describe his home-land, but it's a description that still fits today, and applies alsoin many ways to Australia's smaller neighbor, New Zealand.

As Europe and the US enter their sixth year of economicturmoil following the financial crisis, Australia, and to some

extent New Zealand, have ridden out the storm relatively unscathed,thanks in no small part to their strong links with booming Asia.

Australasia's Asian connection - in particular the Chinese dimen-sion of that relationship - has also been a lifeline for travel retail-ers on both sides of the Tasman Sea, and industry insiders know it.

"Massively important" is how Auckland International AirportChief Executive Adrian Littlewood describes the mainland Chinesecustomers that patronize the airport's retail stores, pointing out thatthey have become the airport's second-biggest passenger segment, upfrom the fourth-biggest just 12 months ago. In 2012, Chinese arrivalsinto Auckland grew by more than 33%.

Andrew Brodie, Brisbane Airport's General Manager of Termi-nal Retail & Commercial, says the Chinese are "an extremelyimportant customer segment for all retailers at [the airport's]international terminal, as they are one of the highest-spendingpassenger [groups]."

Melbourne Airport Manager of Retail Strategy Deborah Pricesays: "China's importance to Victoria and Australia cannotbe underestimated," noting that Chinese visitors are nowmore numerous than travelers from the UK, and are thesecond-biggest segment among Australia's internationalvisitors. Melbourne Airport welcomed 16.6% more vis-itors from China in 2012 than it did the previous year,making them the fastest-growing passenger group.

Philippe Boyer, Chief Executive of The NuanceGroup (Australia), says: "Australia's major internationalgateway airports are seeing double-digit growth in

Chinese passengers in most cases. Where we're operating dutyfree, we have seen growth in business from tour groups as well asan increase in the number of independent travelers."

Behind the increase in the number of Chinese visiting Australiaand New Zealand is an expanding network of air routes between theChinese mainland and Australasian gateway cities, with direct flightslinking Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland to a growing num-ber of first- and second-tier Chinese cities including Beijing, Shang-hai, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

And as the Chinese pour into Australia and New Zealand, air-port operators and retailers are increasingly adjusting their facili-ties and offers to cater for them, notably with Chinese-language sig-nage and promotional material.

I

On top down underAs Chinese travelers flood in, the prospectsfor retail at Australian and New Zealand air-ports have rarely looked brighter BY P. CONVERY

As the Chinese pour into Australia and New Zealand, airportoperators and retailersare increasingly adjustingtheir facilities and offersto cater for them

Once Brisbane Airport's retail overhaul is complete, theairport will boast a light and airy shopping environmentcovering 2,400 square meters in its international terminal


TRAVEL RETAIL DEPARTMENT: [email protected] RETAIL DEPARTMENT: [email protected]

AsiaDF&TR_LaPerla_LPSS13-02_May_2013.indd 1 21/01/13 09.14



for A$168,000 (US$176,000) in our Sydney store."More broadly, says Boyer, destination merchandise is a key

category, and one whose importance is growing."To us and to the airports at which we operate, it's a key method

of really achieving differentiation within the offer compared withother airports and downtown markets," he explains. "Chinesepassengers are obviously a key target segment here, as authentic-ity and quality are very important influences on their purchasingbehavior. But gifting and impulse are still key drivers of spend amongall customer segments and destination merchandise can be astrong driver of this. Product that's produced locally - and by thisI mean at city, state and even country level - has a credibility andappeal that is quite different from major global brands that are alsosuch an important part of our offer."

Enjoy a glass from one of our “Great Estates”. Small print along bottom of image – please visit us at booth P30

ENJOY A GLASS FROM

ONE OF OUR

“GREAT ESTATES”

please visit us at booth P30

"At Melbourne Airport, we have led the way on customer service forour Chinese passengers, with announcements and way-finding signagein Mandarin," says Price. "Many of our frontline customer service staffhave also undergone cultural training to assist in making our Chinesevisitors feel welcome and some of our staff are now also learning Man-darin. We've also introduced facilitation of groups of Chinese visitorswhere a Mandarin-speaking staff member will assist groups through thedeparture process from check-in, through to security and customs pro-cessing. Our retailers are also selected for their focus on providing ourChinese passengers with products that [they] aspire to have."

Other airports have undertaken similar initiatives, marking Chinesefestivals such as the Lunar New Year and running promotions that tieinto those events.

Nuance's Boyer says: "We issue a Chinese buying guide and a Chi-nese [Lunar] New Year catalogue. Both feature special offers tailoredto the Chinese consumer, particularly in the areas of health and well-being, skincare, wine and liquor. They receive targeted distribution aswell as being in-store, and are of course printed in Chinese.

"We've continued to grow our range to include products we knoware popular with Chinese passengers, particularly at the premium endof the market in the liquor and wine categories. They are attracted tolimited-availability or travel retail exclusive products that representan investment - for example Penfolds Bin 620 Coonawarra CabernetShiraz 2008, which can only be purchased at Nuance stores in Australiaor at the Penfolds cellar door, and which is priced at A$1,000 (US$1,042).We also have one of only 12 Penfolds ampoules in the world, available

Melbourne Airport Manager ofRetail Strategy Deborah Price issteering the airport's retail to bemore responsive to the needsand tastes of Chinese travelers




Amid the growth in passenger traffic from China and elsewhere,airport operators have been quick to spot the opportunity to boosttheir retail revenues, and have embarked on ambitious new upgradesto their terminals.

Melbourne Airport completed a redevelopment of its interna-tional departures area at the end of 2011, with more space and bet-ter-focused retail, and it plans to spend A$10 billion (US$10.4 bil-lion) over the next decade on a continuous improvement program.

Brodie says Brisbane Airport's international airside retail area isalso in line for a major overhaul.

"The project will create a world-class airport retail environ-ment," he says, "including walk-through duty-free concepts forarrivals covering approximately 800 square meters and departureswith approximately 1,600 square meters, a retail layout that includesa new design for the specialty retail and food & beverage tenanciesthat will be uniquely themed as Bris-bane/Queensland to ensure that the ter-minal provides the passenger with asense of place."

He says construction is set to getunder way in little over a year.

In Auckland, a new domestic termi-nal is being planned to accommodatenewer, larger aircraft and gates at theinternational terminal are beingupgraded to better handle large planessuch as Airbus A380s.

The abundance of positive devel-opments in Australia and New Zealandhas given retailers and airport opera-tors alike plenty to cheer about, yetthere have also been challenges, perhapsmost significantly the tightening ofanti-tobacco legislation in both coun-tries, which has seen the introductionof the world's first plain packs in Aus-

tralia and a similar move contemplated across the Tasman.Retailers at every airport have seen their cigarette sales tumble

as the restrictions have begun to bite.Littlewood says tobacco sales at Auckland Airport have suffered,

but is reluctant to say by how much."The impact on departures sales has been noticeable, as Aus-

tralia is the top destination for outbound traffic from Auckland," hesays. "But we work closely with our two duty-free retailers - DFS andJR Duty Free - to minimize the impacts while ensuring continual com-pliance with new display and presentation requirements. Both retail-ers have introduced new configurations of products, such as two-packs of cigarettes to meet Australia's 50-stick inbound duty-free limit."

Boyer says Nuance has responded positively to the challenge."We've revisited the design of all our stores and we work hard

with all the stakeholders to ensure that we are compliant with thelegislation," he explains. "We accept that this is theenvironment in which we now operate, and we arealways seeking new ways to grow and develop our busi-ness in other categories."

It's that kind of pluck and pragmatism that has kepttravel retailers in Australia and New Zealand ahead ofthe game as they ride the wave of arrivals from Chinain particular and Asia more generally. And as the Chi-nese passenger surge shows no sign of abating, thoseretailers and airports look set to reap the rewards of theirdedication to remaining at the industry's forefront formany years to come. c

In 2012, Chinese arrivals intoAuckland grew by more than 33%

A strong food & beverage offer is a keypart of Melbourne Airport's identity

Brisbane Airport is embarking on an ambitious revamp ofretail in international departures, due to commence in 2014

Nuance Australia Chief Executive Philippe Boyersays Australian destination merchandise has anappeal that's all its own to travelers from Chinaand elsewhere in the region


Guest Writer


There is also a review of regulations pertaining to duty-freeshopping in town. Since most airlines permit the printing of board-ing passes 24 or 36 hours in advance, an outbound tourist with aboarding pass and passport can shop at an in-city duty free loca-tion prior to departure, show the receipts at departure and leave thecountry having benefited from the duty-free price in the city.

Airport and duty free professionals in China reportthat the initial challenge is building retail spaceat these airports, which are relatively new butdid not plan for the kind of retail space com-monly found at global transit airports.According to these observers there ispotential to double duty free sales in thenext year. Within the coming year, extendedretail space would be available, and dutyfree sales at these airports will probablyquadruple compared to last year's salesnumbers.

Everyone is already familiar with the impactof Chinese global shoppers, but now thatimpact will be felt in China as Chineseduty free companies try to capturetheir share of their home market. Air-ports will aggressively seek dutyfree companies with global knowl-edge to co-develop this potentialwith them, no doubt in a minor-ity position—but 49% of some-thing this big is a good deal bet-ter than nothing.

Alexander Glos, CEO of the i2iGroup China, has resided in Chinafor more than nine years andleads a diverse tourism market-ing and sales consultancy inChina with offices in Beijing,Shanghai and Hong Kong.Visit www.i2i-m.com. c

ate in 2012, China quietly introduced a 72-hour no-visapolicy for visitors arriving at Beijing and Shanghai andtransiting to other countries. This is a radical change forChina’s inbound tourism. The change was introduced ini-tially to encourage meetings and other incentives to

travel into China. Most of the large international summits and congresses, espe-

cially those that attract several thousand delegates, have avoided Chinaup to now because of the visa requirements. Their business has largelyfocused on venues in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Japan.Most organizers felt that conference delegates would not go to thetrouble and cost of applying for a visa to visit an internationalcongress for only 48 hours. Now it's possible for visitors to stay inChina up to 72 hours without a visa.

The second motive for this change was aggressive lobbying byChina's international airlines. These carriers have been unable tocapitalize on international transit and onward-bound businessbecause visitors had been required to obtain a Chinese visa just totransit at a Chinese airport.

Beijing Capital Airport was the second busiest airport in the worldlast year, moving almost 90,000,000 passengers—but only 100,000of those were international transit passengers. This is a small num-ber compared to the international transit passenger business inTokyo, Incheon, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. Chinese internationalcarriers, locked out of the global transit passenger business becauseof Chinese visa requirements, will now be able to sell tickets fromNew York to Singapore with a stop in Beijing or Shanghai.

This will dramatically open up duty free business at the airportsin Beijing and Shanghai. Presently, duty free shopping in these air-ports is relatively limited, certainly compared to the market lead-ers in Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai. Yet Chinese outbound andinbound international tourists are the most aggressive interna-tional travel shoppers in the world. This unique combination willcreate an explosion in duty free shopping at these airports, poten-tially both outbound and inbound as well as transit.

L

No Visa for China andmega shopping to comeMove to boost travel to or through China is good news for duty free

BY ALEXANDER GLOS, CEO, I2I GROUP


its new gifting range!launches...

DFS


Ahead of the gameFrom 1955 to 1995, the Japanese economygrew to become the second largest in theworld, second only to the US. Japanese trav-elers helped to develop major luxury brandssuch as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Gucci and Her-mes. “We were basically building shopswhere Japanese travelers were traveling to,filled with luxury brands to satisfy the Japan-ese consumer,” says CEO Philippe Schaus.Under founder and shareholder RobertMiller’s guidance, DFS learned to adapt andfound that stereotypes are meaningless andthat cultural respect is of utmost impor-tance. This knowledge gave the companywhat it needed to become an industry leader.“The DFS of today is really based on the foun-dation of that business in the 1960s and1970s,” says Schaus. “This is a business built

on customer understanding.” As traveler restrictions were lifted, high

domestic tariffs and duties combined tomake purchasing high-end and luxuryproducts overseas an ideal proposition. By2000, nearly 18 million Japanese were trav-eling overseas. Their appetite for high-endbrands was legendary and their spendingwas enormous.

All of this was good news for DFS at thetime, but today it's the Chinese traveler thatneeds to be understood, as nearly 80 milliontravel overseas. The destinations and spend-ing routes of the Chinese traveler are fun-damentally different from the behavior of theJapanese traveler of 40 years ago. “The speedof maturity [with the Chinese] is also mindboggling,” says Schaus. “When I talk of matu-rity, I also talk about the ability to see beyond

ince 1961, luxury retailer DFSGroup (DFS) has worked to bringluxury to travelers, creating a senseof place while improving eachtraveler’s experience. Beginning

with a small concession at Hong Kong’s KaiTak International Airport, DFS has becomethe world’s leading luxury travel retailer,operating in 10 countries and across threecontinents with 14 downtown Gallerias andin 18 international airports. In the 1960s, theDFS business model was centered on theJapanese traveler and the retailer focusedon providing this group with a comfort-able and familiar environment and appro-priate product and gift opportunities. Thisformative experience with the Japanese hasput DFS in a good position to do well withChinese travelers today, over 50 years later.

SExperience makersWhile breaking new ground with the development of its first off-airport store, leading luxury retailer DFS hasn't forgotten its 50 years of experience BY MELISSA SILVA

HNDF's store at Mission Hills Haikou willrepresent a total investment in Hainan of morethan 10 billion RMB (US$1.59 billion)


THE RICHARDS GROUP JOB #: 11-0026-PTR CLIENT: Patron TRIM: 210 mm x 297 mm LIVE: 184 mm x 272 mm BLEED: 223 mm x 310 mmCOLORS: 4C/? PUB: TFAP (Asia Duty Free) RELEASE DATE: March 2011 FOR QUESTIONS CALL: Kelley Cowles 214-891-5823 INSERTION DATE: 2011

Perfectionhas a darker side.

An extraordinary blend of Patrón tequila and the pure, natural essence of the finest coffee.

simply perfect.patronspirits.com

The perfect way to enjoy Patrón is responsibly. © 2011 Patrón Spirits International AG, Schaffhausen, Switzerland. 35% Alc./Vol.

110026PTR_210x297_XO_TFAP.indd 1 4/1/11 3:16 PM

DFS


price, discount and purchases. Maturity naturally is the ability to appreciate the qual-ity behind brands—the craftsmanship andheritage.”

One size doesn't fit allOnce DFS was aware of the vast and increas-ing number of Chinese travelers, the retailersoon came to understand that although lux-ury will always exist and thrive, bespokeservice and luxury products are not enough.What was needed more than ever was amore personalized experience for consumers."It's clear to DFS that the experiential ele-ments must be enhanced and developedmassively, both at the airport stores anddowntown retail stores," says Schaus. "Thisis if we are to maintain a high level engage-ment for our customers in this high paced,short attention-spanned world."

In order to provide a more personalizedexperience, DFS needed to further under-stand the Chinese consumer profile, whichis highly diverse and far from uniform."China probably has the highest diversity ofcustomers of any country in the world,"says Schaus. "When you look at the PSC(DFS’ Platinum Services Club) customer,one size doesn't fit all—you have to be flex-ible. It's about sophistication." Part of beingsophisticated as a retailer, according toSchaus, is maintaining sophisticated mar-keting campaigns and events, which is whyDFS has organized events for its customersaround the world, including Asia and Chinaspecifically.

Recently, DFS held an event in Macau, itsfourth "Masterpieces of Time" exhibition,showcasing 31 of the world’s preeminentluxury and watchmaker watch brands, which

attracted customers from all over Asia and pro-vided them with "a strong element of energy,discovery and learning." Schaus says the eventwasn't about selling watches; it was aboutcreating sophistication, educating the customerand creating a personal experience.

"It's about bringing in visual merchan-dising concepts which are powerful," saysSchaus. "We have a concept right now called‘Passage to Paradise’ in our stores which isvery powerful. Then it's about how we trainour staff, and we have been putting in enor-mous effort for the last three years intomoving from transaction mode into rela-tionship mode."

Coming homeIn addition to the realization that the Chi-nese consumer requires a personalized andsophisticated shopping experience, DFS alsorecognized the need to bring the Chinese con-sumer home. With a large portion of Chi-nese consumers spending overseas, DFS feltthere needed to be a significant focus ondriving international travel retail into Chinafrom abroad. "We know from recent reportsthat China will become one of the world's

three international travel destinations by2020," says Schaus. "Let's offer these inter-national travelers a sophisticated shoppingand entertainment experience in China."

This goal led DFS to work together withHainan Provincial Duty Free Company Ltd(HNDF) and Mission Hills Tourism TownCenter in Haikou, China to build an off-air-port store. Set to open by December 2013,the new downtown retail space not onlymarks a major milestone for the offshore dutyfree retailer, but also an expansion of itspartnership with DFS.

"We're a big believer in offshore dutyfree in providing great value to the con-sumer as well as keeping the shopping athome, so allowing the Chinese to travelwithin China and get the same value theywould get from traveling abroad," saysMichael Shriver, COO DFS. "A significant

“It's clear to DFS that the experiential elementsmust be enhanced anddeveloped massively, bothat the airport stores anddowntown retail stores.”

Philippe Schaus, Chief Executive Officer, DFS Group

The retail component, which opens end of the yearwill total 10,000 square meters and will include 21retail categories of duty free commodities


C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

DFS


DFS believes HNDF's store will driveinternational travel retail into China from abroad

DFS recognized the need to offer international travelers asophisticated shopping and entertainment experience inChina, as the country is becoming one of the world’s top

three international travel destinations

percentage of the mainland Chinese lux-ury purchases are made overseas, so this isan opportunity to bring them home."

Established in 1992 and known for its pris-tine golf courses, Mission Hills decided in2009 that it wanted to become a favoritetourist destination in Hainan and offer morethan just golf to its visitors. By offeringactivities such as hot springs—the resorthas a total of 168—and in the future a themepark, and having several five-star hotels andan array of food and beverage outlets, Mis-sion Hill hopes to attract a range of visitorsfrom the elderly to families. In addition, bybeing only 10 minutes from the mainlandairport and only 10 minutes away from thedowntown area of Haikou, Mission Hills isin a prime position as the first destinationand last stop for visitors to Hainan.

"Hainan Provincial Duty Free is veryexcited that we will be opening our first off-airport store within the year,” says Zhang YiQing, General Manager of HNDF. "We arealso proud to have DFS Group working withus on this new project. After successfullyoperating our airport stores for the past yearwith support from DFS, we are confident thattogether, we can create a truly world class dutyfree shopping experience that will not onlydelight our customers, but contribute totourism generally in Hainan." Also helpingto encourage tourism is the new interna-tional terminal at Haikou Airport that is setto open in the next few months.

Due to the unique duty free policy exclu-sive to Hainan Province within China, non-resident shoppers are able to make duty free

purchases of up to 8,000 Yuan (US$1,277)twice a year, in line with the expanded limitannounced by China's Ministry of Financein November 2012. By expanding into down-town retailing, HNDF will make it evenmore convenient for shoppers to enjoy shop-ping beyond the airport. "We are excitedabout working with HNDF and MissionHills on this new project to bring even moreChinese customers and tourists the highquality shopping experience we deliver totravelers around the world," says Schaus.

HNDF's store at Mission Hills Haikou willrepresent a total investment in Hainan ofmore than 10 billion RMB (US$1.59 bil-lion). The space will occupy 100,000 squaremeters when completed. The retail compo-nent, which opens end of the year will total10,000 square meters and will include 21 retailcategories of duty free commodities.

To infinity and beyondAlthough one of DFS's main goals is to pre-sent an opportunity for customers to learnand make personal discoveries, the retaileritself has learned plenty through its manyprojects and experiences, its most recentbeing Mission Hills. "We have learned thatyou have to constantly adapt in all marketstowards your customers, and you have toadapt over time,” says Schaus. "And for that,you need a long-term vision and we areblessed at DFS to have a long-term vision."

Although Mission Hills is its currentfocus, DFS will soon be entering a new phaseas a company, a group and a brand aroundSeptember of this year, when Schaus says abig surprise and major events are to beexpected. Until then, DFS's ongoing focusremains the same: creating a memorableand diverse experience for customers. c


to touch your heartFrédérique Const ant and Nicole Faria share one passion: Supporting the International Children’s Heart Foundation. We will donate the cost of a life-saving heart scan for each Frédérique Const ant Double Heart Beat watch sold.

Contact . + 41 22 860 0440 www.frederique-const ant.com

Made by hand

Asia-2012-October-v11 9/30/12 3:43 PM Page 61

Nuance-Watson


Perfumes & cosmetics, confectionery, electronicsand fashion remain Nuance-Watson's top categories.High-profile, internationally renowned brands con-tinue to be the bestsellers in perfumes & cosmeticsas well as in confectionery. In electronics, bestsellersare led by technological trends and innovations; salesin the category last year were championed by Appleand Samsung, riding strong consumer interest ininternet-related products and tablets.

On the consumer front, Nuance-Watson has noticedthe brand-conscious nature of mainland Chinese con-sumers, who differ from other nationalities like West-erners and Southeast Asians who tend to look for morechoice and variety. “Nowadays, airport passengers arebecoming increasingly internationally savvy and knowl-edgeable; their preferences and tastes are getting moresophisticated and also more receptive to high qualitynovelty brands,” says Alessandra Piovesana, RegionalManaging Director of Nuance-Watson Asia. "Therefore,our merchandising strategy has always involved anoptimally balanced brand and assortment portfolio."

While offering international brands, Nuance-Wat-son also introduces up-and-coming brands that are supported bystrong marketing activities, providing the operator with the flexi-bility to adapt to rapidly changing passenger profiles and evolvingtastes and trends. "Our ultimate aim is to enrich and satisfy customersof all nationalities, ages and income levels," says Piovesana.

Asian travelers continue to support Nuance-Watson's overall per-formance in the region. While the main contribution comes frommainland Chinese travelers due to the strong RMB value, travelersfrom other Asian countries such as Southeast Asia, South Korea andIndia also show increased spending. "We believe Asia’s travel retailmarket will continue to hold firm and sustain growth in the yearsahead," Piovesana says.

The power of promotionMost of Nuance-Watson's promotions involve active brand part-nerships. The length of the promotion periods varies depending onthe nature of the products and promotional offers and themes.

espite losing its two core categories—airside general mer-chandise and perfumes & cosmetics concessions—atHong Kong International Airport (HKIA) last year,Nuance-Watson has maintained substantial businesswith 17 licenses at the airport. The operator sustained

a solid sales performance in 2012 with new launches in partnershipswith vendors, enabling it to ride the growth it achieved with pas-sengers and spending.

The two airports in Asia where Nuance-Watson operates—Sin-gapore Changi and HKIA—achieved record-breaking traffic num-bers in 2012. Singapore Changi set a new record in passenger traf-fic with a total of 51.2 million passengers in 2012, an increase of 10%over 2011. Flight movements grew by 7.6% to 324,700 comparedto 2011. As for HKIA, according to the Airport Authority Hong Kong,there was a 4.7% rise in passenger traffic during 2012 with 56.5 mil-lion passengers. Annual aircraft movement reported an incrementof 5.3% to 352,000 with nine new airlines in 2012.

D

Bestsellers in the electronicscategory for Nuance-Watson

are led by technologicaltrends and innovations

High-profile, internationally-renowned brands remain thebestsellers in perfumes & cosmetics for the operator

Despite recent challenges, Nuance-Watsonstays focused on new opportunities andfuture growth in Asia BY MELISSA SILVA


DISCOVER THE ORIGINAL

Nuance-Watson

"Seasonal-driven or festive celebration promotions could span upto one or two months, whereas limited offers like exclusive pre-launches would have a shorter period in order to encourage pur-chasing," explains Piovesana. "Each promotion serves a differentobjective or purpose, whether it is to drive sales, traffic, aware-ness… our ultimate objec-tives are to enhance cus-tomers’ shopping experi-ence and satisfaction, aswell as to add value to ourpartners and the airport."

Besides the newlylaunched shop-in-shop“iConcept” at Sound &Vision Enriching Lifestores at HKIA, Nuance-Watson also plans to carryout a renovation at TheAtrium in the VenetianMacao-Resort-Hotel laterthis year. An expansion ofretail space will enable theoperator to bring in more brands and products and restructurethe store zoning in order to present more offerings and animproved shopping experience. "Given Macau is a popular touristattraction with world-class gaming facilities, it appeals to highspenders from mainland China and other parts of the world," saysPiovesana. "By upgrading the shop environment, we aim to max-imize business productivity and stay competitive in the mall."

Nuance-Watson has new launches in the pipeline, plannedjointly with its vendors across different categories. However thecompany cannot disclose details in advance of the launches.Piovesana says at Nuance-Watson, one of the company's core prin-ciples is to surpass customer expectations by constantly creat-ing and refreshing choices that are seen as being unique acrossthe industry. "Therefore, we constantly explore and develop ini-tiatives to invite our brand and vendor partners to bring in pre-miere launches and exclusive offerings, value-added and per-sonalized services, joint promotional events, etc.," she says. "Ourgoal is to continuously satisfy our customers’ growing interestsin exclusivities and uniqueness, and at the same time raise pen-etration and conversion levels."

Planning for future growthAlthough Nuance-Watson doesn't have plans to launch any newshop-in-shop concept in Q3 2013, the operator plans to continueworking with airport authorities to explore potential opportu-nities that will improve the shop appeal and environment to fur-ther enrich the shopping experience.

Following the success of Taste & Delights, which opened atHKIA last November, Nuance-Watson will be opening two con-fectionery specialty stores at KLIA2 in Sepang, Malaysia this month."The two store concepts embrace a variety of choices and dis-tinctive offerings," explains Piovesana. More information will bereleased closer to the launch date.

Nuance-Watson always aims to maintain a considerable pres-ence in strategic airport hubs. In addition to its current licensesat Changi, HKIA and KLIA2, the operator plans to continue lever-aging its expertise to explore opportunities as they arise and ulti-mately expand its travel retail portfolio in Asia. c


Fashion remains one ofNuance-Watson's topcategories in Asia


Huntingworld_AD_Huntingworld_AD 13-02-15 11:22 AM Page 1

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport


Makers of change“The perceptionshould be that at theairport you can enjoy,shop and dine.”

Wolfgang Weil, Deputy General Manager Operations, Xi'an Xianyang

International Airport

Seeing resultsAfter four years, Weil believes Xi'an Xianyang has a commercial strat-egy which integrates space planning, retail planning and the intro-duction of concession-based contracts. "It took us one and a halfyears to establish a dedicated commercial department," explains Weil."Chinese airports are dominated by administrative departments.Administration runs the show, but that's a more than 10-year-oldapproach. Airport management is not about administration— it’sabout customer orientation and satisfaction, and it can be about deliv-ering excitement."

For three years now the airport has had a dedicated commercialdepartment, and although it's not perfect, it's close. "We haven'treached 100%, we might be 75% or 80%," says Weil. Most impor-tantly, Weil feels Terminal 3 is now a state-of-the-art facility, mea-suring 250,000 square meters, holding 22 million passengers andfeaturing 66 retail outlets. "I think that compares to other airportsaround the world," he says.

Although significant changes have been made over the last fewyears, Weil strongly believes there is more that needs to happen, specif-ically amongst the planning authorities at Xi'an Xianyang andother airports in China. "The terminal designers and planningauthorities must put the future operator’s and passengers' demandsfar more into consideration when it comes to planning terminals,"Weil says. "So many airports and terminals are under planning andconstruction. It's not rocket science; it's just about real bench-marking with the industry’s best practices."

Weil feels it would be helpful if retailers and brands become moreinvolved, because he believes all parties want the best from the cus-tomers—their money. "The airports, the brands and the retailers in

or Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, change is goodeven if it isn't easy. When Wolfgang Weil, Deputy Gen-eral Manager Operations, first visited the airport in2008, it was evident that changes needed to be made, butmaking them happen would not be a simple task.

At the time Samsonite was the only international brand that wasbeing sold in the airport's commercial area. This discovery wasworrisome for Weil, since Xi'an was then handling 12 million pas-sengers annually .

"We found Terminal 1, which was built in 1991 with a two mil-lion passenger capacity, had a mere six retail and four food and bev-erage outlets," says Weil. "Terminal 2, which opened in 2003 and han-dled nine to 11 million passengers, had basically the same infra-structure. An airport filled with passengers had no commercialstrategy—definitely not international standards."

The first step in Weil's plan for change was to tell all the airportstakeholders that there had to be a new understanding of the air-port's "master plan," meaning that terminal design has a directimpact on the commercial layout. Next, Weil hired The DesignSolution, a UK-based consulting company that focuses on retail plan-ning and retail design. "The first thing we addressed was architec-ture," says Weil. "Chinese airports are built without having commercialconcepts in mind. People who plan Chinese airports must be edu-cated more to take commercial concepts and philosophies intoconsideration."

A sense of place is becoming increasingly important for air-ports everywhere, so Weil and The Design Solution worked onbuilding one at Xi'an, taking into account the rich forms and col-ors that characterize Chinese culture. Eight large red Chinese-stylechandeliers were soon added to the commercial area, with a viewto improving the shopping environment.

"People should feel comfortable in the airport," Weil says. "Chi-nese airports are designed to get the passengers from the means oftransport that comes to the airport, quick to the gates, sit down anddon't move until you're called onto the airplane. People neverthought about feeling comfortable at the airport." Weil feels thereare many steps that can be taken to make the atmosphere enjoyableand comfortable, which in turn will help passengers relax—and ulti-mately shop. "The perception should be that at the airport you canenjoy, shop and dine," Weil says.

F

Terminal 3 at Xi’an XianyangInternational Airport measures250,000 square meters, holds

22 million passengers andfeatures 66 retail outlets, such

as Hugo Boss and Bally

Eight large Chinese-stylelanterns were added to thecommercial area in Terminal3 to create a sense of place

for passengers

With a new commercial strategy and sense of place, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is on its way to success BY MELISSA SILVA


the local Chinese markets have to be frank with themselves and haveto say 'we are still a little behind our benchmarks in the region andon a global scale,'” Weil says. “We have to jointly develop by sittingtogether and learning from the best, educate and help each other."

Although in Weil's opinion China is not a place for innovation,which makes it a challenge to introduce new concepts, he believesthe task isn't impossible. "It's possible if it's truly explained to thepeople," he says. "But it takes more time."

Another aspect that Weil wishes to look further into is qualitycontrol. "We have an outlet that was supposed to be a four-brandoutlet for bags," says Weil. "The retailer that won the concession slicedit into four pieces and one of the shops is 2.5 meters wide by 9 metersdeep. I haven't heard any complaints from the brand, but I don'thave to explain it for the experts—it doesn't work. The brandsshould be a little more pushy." Ideally, Weil believes brands need tohave the same focus on growth as the retailers and the airport."Chinese retailers are not used to conversing with the brand, lettingthem know this and this doesn't work."

The customer is keyAs is the case in airports everywhere, the customer is key, and Weilhas noticed that 3% of the passengers in China’s airports hold"VIP" status and exhibit strong spending habits—but have zero expo-sure to any commercial offers as they are handled in separate facil-ities without any commercial areas. "All these people who have afar above average income are ‘neglected’ by the airports in China,if it comes to commercial offerings," he explains. “So what shouldthe airports be doing? We’ll do customer surveys for VIP passen-gers as we do in the regular terminals and offer the products and

services they are asking for.” In addition to thinking in a more cus-tomer-oriented fashion, Weil feels there needs to be a change in theairport's tendency to think only for the short term.

With Xi'an's Terminal 3 now open, things are moving moresmoothly at the airport. Terminal 1 and 2 were originally designedto handle 11 million passengers and the airport had 21 million pas-sengers in the facility in 2011. "So that was well beyond capacity,"says Weil. "It worked, but it was full." The year prior, the two ter-minals handled 18 million passengers, which according to Weilwas crowded but not uncomfortable. "Now with Terminal 3 open,we brought 11 million passengers out of the Terminal 1 and 2 com-plex into Terminal 3, which helped a lot," he says.

Weil believes the work on Terminal 3 was done very well, eventhough there are still more aspects that need to be addressed. "I thinkwe are 85% where we would like to be—a lot of little things have tobe fine-tuned," he says. Looking ahead this year, the next challengefor Weil and his team is the upgrade of the ‘old-style’ Terminals 1and 2. "We did a lot of modifications over the last few years, but itwas more add-ons, because we were too busy to make a majorchange," he says. "That is what we are trying to do this year—makea plan to upgrade the Terminal 1 and 2 facilities in terms of com-mercial experience comparable to Terminal 3. There are limitationsdue to their respective footprints, but that's the task for this year."

With 2011 being the first year the airport handled 20 million pas-sengers, Weil expects that Xi’an will surpass 30 million passengersin 2015, which requires continuous hard work and ongoing improve-ments. "We want to be in the lead when it comes to commercial inno-vation and concepts for Chinese airports," he says. "We are not thereyet, but we are working hard to get there." c

Contact us for our Innovative Travel Retail Solutions

David Ferreira [email protected] Lens Cross Aspheric Lens

Aspheric Lenses

Aspheric lenses are thinner and lighter than conventional lenses with a wider field of vision

An Eye For DetailsCross Readers


LS Travel Retail ASPAC


In the knowArmed with promotions and consumer knowledge, LS Travel Retail Asia Pacific is well positioned in China BY MELISSA SILVA

company must ensure it presents attractive offers. "Chinese shoppershave an exceptional awareness of price comparison that manifests intheir decision process," says De Place. "Across the categories, they areattracted to achieve a GWP or discount on a beauty purchase for exam-ple, so we ensure that every store always has a promotion underway."

De Place has also found that Chinese shoppers can be persuadedto buy when approached in the right way by the sales team offer-ing accessories and smaller items at lower price point strategy.Offering unique and differentiating services such as engraving orembroidering on-the-spot can also help turn reluctant browsers intoshoppers. This is especially effective at Chinese domestic airports.

LS travel retail ASPAC also believes that it's essential to welcomethe Chinese traveler by showcasing best selling products on ded-icated fixtures supported by a strong presence of Mandarin-speak-ing ambassadors. "We need to transform them from browsers intoshoppers," says De Place. "We invest very strongly in the quality ofour sales team, expanding with Mandarin speaking ambassadors,and we ensure that these people are positioned strategically ineach store."

Through LS travel retail ASPAC's ISO certified training pro-gram, OSCAR, the company embeds a level of service when deal-ing with groups of Chinese travelers. "Our staff will discreetly iden-tify who has a strong influence on others and we focus more atten-tion on this unique person using detailed product knowledge andsales skills," says De Place. Sales staff will quickly identify the labelsthe shopper is wearing from their watches, handbags and jewelry.

A lasting impressionFollowing LS travel retail China's successful 2012 year end, whenit opened fashion stores in Terminal 3 at Xi'an Xianyang Airport fromSalvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Coach and Kent & Curwen, LS travelretail ASPAC recently announced a fashion and luxury contract atShenzhen Airport’s new domestic Terminal 3. Set to open late thisyear, the 1,700 square meter contract is the next step in the com-pany's successful expansion in Asia and specifically China.

"This is a lucky Chinese century and we must not forget that weare privileged to have the opportunity to serve these travelers,"says De Place." When we serve them, let us ensure that we give themthe retail experience that makes them feel that 'yes, this store, thisassistant, this brand, this product, gives me exactly what I want.'"

LS travel retail ASPAC plans to keep growing, with expansion intothe luxury beauty category. As the company continues to take advan-tage of the opportunity presented by Chinese consumers, De Place saysthat to stay successful "we must begin where our retailers have alwaysbegun: know your customer." c

ike many operators in the Asia region, LS travel retail AsiaPacific (LS travel retail ASPAC) understands the signif-icant opportunity the Chinese traveler offers the travelretail market. With a 71% increase in 2012 of mainlandChinese travel overseas—up from 53% in 2008—and a

58% increase in duty free shopping by Chinese global shoppers inthe third quarter of last year, LS travel retail ASPAC is working dili-gently to reap the benefits of this newfound opportunity.

Formerly known as Lagardere Services Asia Pacific, LS travel retailASPAC maintains a leading position in travel retail with stores atairports and major transport hubs in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia,Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, China, New Zealand and New Caledo-nia. The company's portfolio of retail brands covers core duty freeand luxury items, specialty, gifts & souvenirs, books, news & con-venience as well as a growing presence in food & beverage.

LS travel retail has recognized that 56% of Chinese travelers pre-fer known luxury brands, while 69% will pay a premium for well knownpopular brands. In addition, the company together with Aeroportsde Paris, observes that Chinese traffic in Paris Charles de Gaulle Air-port (CDG) has remained stable over the past 2 years and that Chi-nese basket spend is six times higher than that of the average consumer."Over the years, we have built upon an in-depth understanding of theChinese passenger, our Chinese customers share the same coredemands we see among other passenger nationalities: across the cat-egories they want a great retail experience backed by great service, butespecially the luxury categories," says CEO Emmanuel De Place.

Catering to the consumerDe Place believes the Chinese traveler profile is unique and more com-plex than any other, and that their behavior differs depending on wherethey travel. "They're traveling more frequently, and their choice offinal destinations is evolving each year," he says. "And with each jour-ney, their needs and expectations of travel retail are changing."

According to De Place, the world's largest concentration of Chi-nese travelers at a single international destination outside of AsiaPacific is CDG. Between 2011 and 2012, sales growth at the airportexceeded 40%. "The French airport is the number one destinationfor Chinese passengers," he says. This is likely due to the fact thatChinese travelers feel a sense of prestige when bringing luxuryproducts home from Paris.

These expectations mean LS travel retail ASPAC has to ensure lux-ury products are always on hand, while also taking note of Chineseconsumer trends, such as the increasing importance of digital com-munication, especially social media. With Chinese travelers using mobiledevices while in stores to compare prices of luxury goods online, the

L

At the end of 2012 LS travel retail China's openedfashion stores in Terminal 3 at Xi'an Xianyang

Airport from Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss,Coach and Kent & Curwen


.com

DRINK WITH CARE. STOLICHNAYA® Premium vodka. 40% Alc./Vol. 100% Grain Neutral Spirits. © 2013

13_00418_ACCESSORY_BottleOnly_A4_1L.indd 1 08.04.13 09:45

APTRA


of the industry-wide self-regulatory code of conduct for alcoholsales. The training program is already attracting strong interest fromliquor suppliers, ten of whom have stepped forward already to pledgeover 50% of the development costs.

The RRTP will involve physical train-the-trainer sessions, wheresuppliers explain the importance of responsible retailing to retailstaff, as well as an online training module so all teams, most of whomwork on shifts, can obtain the course certification. The programis intended to ensure that alcohol sales in duty free and travelretail are conducted in a legitimate, responsible and customer-friendlymanner.

APTRA will also be taking its research and training programs outon the road. They and consultancy firm KPMG, together withAPTRA’s research partner m1indset, will embark on a seminar tourof key markets in Asia during September and October to commu-nicate the principal findings of recent research studies and toexplain how stakeholders can, and should, engage in the campaignto safeguard the industry. KPMG will contribute invaluable learn-ing from its own Chinese luxury traveler study as well as the latesttrends in customs and taxation issues around the Asia Pacific region.The venues will include Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, NewZealand and Taiwan, with APTRA members and relevant stakeholdersin each location being invited to participate.

With this kind of membership benefit in clear view, many Asia-Pacific companies have already joined APTRA—but recently theirranks have been swelled by some new members based outside Asiawho have strong business links with the region. The latest of theseis Tourvest Duty Free of South Africa, which manages the inflightretail programs of 11 airlines.

Applications from other such companies are invited. Further infor-mation about membership, the Responsible Retailing Training Pro-gram, the Seminar Tour, current campaigns, challenges and threats canbe found at www.aptra.asia or by contacting [email protected]. c

he Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) is forg-ing ahead with research, information and advocacydesigned to support the development of travel retailacross Asia and the Pacific region—and the organiza-tion isn’t afraid to shout about it.

APTRA will be very visible at the TFWA Asia PacificConference & Exhibition, with presentations in the plenary sessionand a special industry associations’ workshop on Monday May 13as well as a stand in the exhibition hall itself from May 14-16.

APTRA President Sunil Tuli will address TFWA conference del-egates on the challenges faced by the industry and how industry asso-ciations are working to counter threats and drive the business for-ward. A key theme of his presentation will be that a challenge or athreat which emerges in one country or region can spread likewildfire to other parts of the world.

Tuli will summarize the campaigns on which APTRA and its coun-terparts around the world are currently working, including publichealth warnings related to products sold in duty free, taxationissues, product display bans and overly restrictive inbound allowanceswhich threaten the future development of duty free sales.

The advocacy themes introduced by Tuli will be developed in muchgreater detail during the TFWA industry association working lunchon May 13 when action plans will be formulated for the coming year.

As suppliers and retailers well know, to sell to the customer youhave first to know who they are and what makes them tick. Tuli willalso touch on the results of research undertaken on behalf ofAPTRA members into the shopping behavior of traveling con-sumers in the Asia Pacific region.

APTRA will be present throughout TFWA Asia Pacific with a standat P25 in the exhibition hall to showcase this research work anddemonstrate the new Responsible Retailing Training Program(RRTP) currently under development.

RRTP is a training initiative designed to implement the principles

T

APTRA takes high-profile stance

Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association offersindustry group a chance to show what it can do

Sunil Tuli,President,

APTRA


AIGNERMUNICH.COM

Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd.


Hang. “The commercial ambiance will feelmore relaxed and look more attractive,” headds. The airport’s total commercial area isover 68,000 square meters and features 181retail stores including designer brands, watches,jewelry, perfume & cosmetics, liquor &tobacco, books and gifts. BCIA’s retail busi-ness has already increased by 23%, and thesechanges will likely cause this figure to rise.

Zhang feels the addition of high-endbrands will attract more “high-quality” pas-sengers to the airport. As a result, Zhanghas diversified BCIA’s brand offering to pro-mote business development. “We have adirect bid process and we have improved theaccess of quality brands,” he explains. “Max-imizing commercial value is not just aboutrevenue, but is also about per capita con-sumption and brand value.”

In addition to the changes underway inTerminal 2, BCIA has plans to also transformTerminal 3 domestic this year with 22 newstores for a total of 4,788 square meters ofcommercial space. In addition BCIA willimplement a trade promotion plan this Junethat will see an additional 2,000 square metersof books, clothes, jewelry, gifts, and liquor &tobacco stores. And with contracts ending atTerminal 3 in June, BCIA will launch a newtender sometime between now and June.

“We have contacted some foreign com-panies and foreign brands... more and moreforeign companies and brands want to enterthis market,” says Hang. “Sometimes they

think Chinese culture isn’t ‘deep’ and is dif-ficult to understand, but we feel we have tobe willing to be open to foreigners and theforeign market.” Hang feels meeting face-to-face with foreign companies will be advan-tageous for the airport. “We may have dif-ficulties progressing because sometimes it’shard to understand each other, but I thinkwe have the same goal—to make moneyand explore our business potential.”

To keep pace with change, BCIA sub-stantially altered its traveling visa require-ments in January of this year with the intro-duction of the 72-hour visa-free transitallowance to stimulate international routesand transit passengers. “Passengers are themost precious asset of an airport,” saysZhang. “Your customer is your startingpoint—you must provide a joyful experienceto be profitable.”

Looking ahead, Zhang plans to main-tain BCIA’s management philosophy, whichis designed to meet the diverse needs of pas-sengers through international, branded andspecialized commercial service. “We endeavorto realize commercial value maximization inthe process of creating an enjoyable experi-ence for passengers.” With terminal reno-vations still underway, an estimated 85 mil-lion-plus passengers for this year and theopening of Beijing Daxing InternationalAirport scheduled for 2015, BCIA may haveits hands full, but the company understandswhere its priorities lie. c

s operator of one of thebusiest airports in the world,with passenger volumeranked second worldwide in2011 and 2012, Beijing Cap-ital International Airport

Co., Ltd. (BCIA) focuses on maximizingresults for its retailers and passengers. VicePresident Wei Zhang believes an airportmust improve the quality of its environ-ment to maximize commercial revenue andsuccessfully create an enjoyable service expe-rience for passengers.

With this belief in mind—and in responseto an influx of passengers—BCIA launcheda large-scale renovation of Terminal 2 inter-national and domestic at the end of 2012,which will see the addition of a businessarea, lunch rooms and more business roomsand commercial areas when completed.

“Terminal 2 was built in 1999, so we haveto change the design of the whole terminal,”says Zhang Hang, Director, MarketingDepartment. “Firstly we will expand thecentral area, so after security passengers willfeel more relaxed.” Because the terminal hasto be used during the renovation process, theestimated completion date could be as lateas 2014 or possibly the beginning of 2015.

In addition to improving the atmosphereat Terminal 2, BCIA is also improving the ter-minal’s commercial area. “We will invite moreluxury brands and also introduce some localbrands that represent Chinese culture,” says

A

Aboveand beyond

Renovations and service changes anchor Beijing CapitalInternational Airport’s growth strategy BY MELISSA SILVA


NEW TRAVEL RETAIL EXCLUSIVE

10335_AD_AOD3_ASIA_A4_V1.indd 1 18/04/2013 16:50

State-owned airport operator Malaysia Airports has finished ren-ovating and expanding Langkawi International Airport in a movethat it says will give a significant boost to revenues at the touristisland's air gateway.

Faizah Khairuddin, Malaysia Airports Senior General Managerof Commercial Services, says: "We have increased the total retailand F&B space in this airport by 5%. This is expected to gener-ate additional revenue of 15% - roughly M$7.6 million (US$2.45million) - in the coming year."

Malaysia Airports says it has remodeled the airport as a "world-class leisure airport", introducing new concepts and brands to appealto a cross section of international tourists. Products were also re-aligned to offer travelers a more diverse yet focused experi-ence. The airport is now host to new international and local namessuch as Casa Impian, Gloe, Fila & Shock Proof, Marrybrown andPlaza Premium Lounge.

Khairuddin says: "Working together and with the support of ourbusiness partners, we have incorporated the leisure concept in the[airport's] overall design and ambience. We have re-aligned our prod-ucts and retailer mix [and] streamlined outlet locations. "

Malaysia Airports is celebrating Langkawi International Airport's

new commercial model with an 11-day entertainmentand promotional campaign, with travelers given asnapshot of Malaysian hospitality and culture in theform of traditional dances, games and shows.

Travelers can also take part in the "HappyBoxPassport Challenge". For every M$50 (US$16) atraveler spends at the airport, they will be given astamp in a HappyBox Passport. Upon collectingthree stamps, they will be given the opportunityto try to crack the digital code to a HappyBoxand win prizes such as shopping vouchers orproducts.

Airports in Kuching, Miri, Mulu, Labuanand Lahat Datu have undergone similarrevamps, and renovation and terminaldevelopment is in progress at KualaLumpur International, Penang, KualaTerengganu, Kota Bahru, Ipoh, Bintulu,Sibu and Tawau airports.”

Langkawi airport revenues set to surge after upgrade

Faizah Khairuddin, Senior General Managerof Commercial Services, Malaysia Airports

Industry & Retailer News


In BriefAirports in Asia-Pacific have once again swept the board in AirportsCouncil International's annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards.

Singapore Changi scooped the honor for Best Airport with annualpassenger traffic over 40 million passengers, Seoul Incheon toppedthe league among those with 25-40 million, Seoul Gimpo was namedbest in the 15-25 million passenger segment, Japan's Nagoya wonin the 5-15 million category, and Inner Mongolia's Hohot won in the2-5 million bracket.

All of the airports with annual passenger traffic of more than 5 mil-lion were in Asia, and among those with more than 40 million, Bei-jing, Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou were ranked sec-ond-, third- and fouth-best after Changi.

ACI World Director General Angela Gittens says: "This is an excit-ing time for airports. As airports and their operators increasingly

accept the positive correlation between passenger satisfaction andairport revenues, we see more and more airports striving to meet,and in some cases exceed, the levels of customer service that theirpassengers expect from their favored product and service providers.

"Airports that deliver superior customer service stand apart from thecompetition and superior customer service remains one of the most impor-tant differentiators in the increasingly competitive airport industry.

"I am delighted to see longstanding favorites take home ASQ awardsas it is testament to the growing and accepted wisdom in the airportcommunity that maintaining customer service excellence is centralto a winning business strategy. I am equally excited to see other air-ports rank for the very first time this year, which stands to prove thatit is never too late to adopt a winning customer service orientationto which the ASQ program is fundamental."

Asian airports top rankings for service quality – again

Terminal 3 of ChangiInternational Airport,

Singapore


In Brief

Changi Airport works with Golden Myanmar Airlines


Changi Airport Group (CAG) announces the arrival of a new carrier, Golden Myan-mar Airlines, at Singapore Changi Airport. The carrier will operate daily services con-necting Singapore via Yangon to Mandalay, the financial capital of Myanmar.

The new service by Golden Myanmar Airlines further enhances Changi Airport’sposition as a key gateway to the region.

CAG’s Senior Vice President for Market Development, Lim Ching Kiat, says, “Weare extremely delighted to welcome Golden Myanmar into Changi’s family of airlines.This is a significant milestone for us given the tremendous growth opportunities forbusiness and leisure travel between Singapore and Myanmar. We are confident thatthe additional flights will make it easier for people to travel between the two coun-tries and we look forward to working closely with the airline to realize the growth poten-tial that exist in the two markets.”

Golden Myanmar Airlines will operatedaily services connecting Singaporevia Yangon to Mandalay, in Myanmar

Lion Air places hugeorder for new planesIndonesian carrier Lion Air has placed a sec-ond record-breaking order for new aircraft,with a deal for 234 A320 planes from Airbus.

Lion Air co-founder and Chief ExecutiveRusdi Kirana signed the Airbus order with Air-bus President and Chief Executive FabriceBrégier in a high-profile ceremony at theElysée Palace in Paris, with French PresidentFrançois Hollande in attendance.

The deal follows its signing of Boeing'sbiggest-ever order - for 230 737 jets - in thepresence of US President Barack Obama.

Jakarta-based Lion Air will take deliveryof 60 standard A320s, 109 new fuel-effi-cient A320neos and 65 larger A321neos. Ina single-class layout the A320 can seat upto 180 passengers and the A321 can accom-modate up to 236.

Kirana says: "The fuel-efficient A320 fam-ily will enable Lion Air to achieve the lowestpossible operating costs and continue tooffer the most competitive fares in the Asianregion. This landmark order will ensure thatthe Lion Air Group will continue its expan-sion with one of the most modern andadvanced fleets in the world."

Lion Air is expected to distribute the newplanes between its three main carriers - LionAir, Batik Air and Malindo Air, a newly launchedlow-cost carrier based in Kuala Lumpur.Lion Air currently boasts a fleet numberingaround 90 aircraft, but its latest order takesthe tally of planes on order to more than 540aircraft.

Brégier says: "This announcement marksour first order from Lion Air - one of Asia'sfastest-growing and most successful low-costcarriers. The news underscores the market-leading position of the A320 family, which con-tinues to attract new customers for both thecurrent and new engine options. We verymuch look forward to welcoming Lion Air asa major new operator of Airbus aircraft."

Lion's Airbus order is worth more thanUS$23 billion at current list prices.

Specialty retailer of lingerie and beauty productsVictoria’s Secret plans to open its first Beauty& Accessories store in Hong Kong Interna-tional Airport (HKIA). The store will be openedin partnership with DFS Hong Kong Limited.

The new space is scheduled to open May16, and will offer customers access to an assort-ment of best-selling Victoria's Secret beautyproducts including the well known prestige fra-grance Victoria’s Secret Bombshell, which wasthe recipient of the FiFi Award. Also on offer willbe the newest launch fragrance Fabulous, inaddition to the brand’s popular scented VSFantasies body care range.

Victoria’s Secret’s unique collection of acces-sories is sold exclusively through the Beauty &Accessories concept stores and are designedto appeal to customers who are looking for gift-giving opportunities as well as self-indul-gence purchasers. For glamour-oriented customers on the go, the Beauty & Acces-sories locations offer a wide range of Victoria’s Secret branded cosmetic cases, bagsand totes, scarves and sunglasses, as well as luxury small leather goods and high-tech,styled business accessories and luggage.

For frequent flyers that need to stay organized, travel wallets are on offer in styledcoated canvas and Saffiano genuine leather. VS Jet Set passport covers come in arange of stylish colors and finishes including a pink pearlized patent leather, rose goldgraffiti or a hand-painted nude with pink stripe. An assortment of glamour and cottonpanties will also be available in a wide range of styles, colors and prints.

The new HKIA outlet will take design cues from the airport’s own contemporary archi-tecture and design, with a modern-look façade and designed storefront. The store inte-rior features accent elements such as black cherry fixtures, lit focal walls, a gallery of blackand white imagery and a video wall featuring Victoria’s Secret Supermodel video footage,showcasing products “in an environment that’s sexy, sophisticated and forever young.”

Victoria’s Secret available in HKIA

Victoria’s Secrets new space will offeran assortment of best-selling Victoria's

Secret beauty products including itsnewest launch fragrance Fabulous


You can never be too generous

Visit us at

FNa D35,

taxFree asia

siNgapore

CoCktails aNyoNe?

TFWA


“Growth overall has sloweddown a bit in Asia but itremains the region with thegreatest untapped potentialacross all categories.”

Erik Juul-Mortensen, President, TFWA

TFWAgears upIn advance of this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition, we speakwith TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen about the successfulChina conference held in Beijingearlier this year along with what’sin store for the next trade show

Our popular One2One meetings servicefacilitated 112 meetings and the refresh-ment breaks, lunches, opening cocktail andgala dinner provided ample opportunity tonetwork in delightful surroundings.

ADF: What are you expecting for the nextconference?EJM: At the Management Committee meet-ing in Rome in late March it was decided thatthe industry conference on China wouldfor the moment be a bi-annual event and thenext such industry association event is there-fore due to take place in early 2015. This willallow time to build a strong program withworthwhile content every bit as challengingand interesting as this year.

In the intervening year, 2014, we mayconsider running an event of some sort inanother part of the world. The MC hastasked the TFWA executive team with assess-ing the value and potential of such an event

Asia Duty Free: Did the TFWA/APTRAChina conference that was held earlier thisyear, meet your expectations overall?Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President:TFWA and APTRA were delighted by theoverwhelmingly positive reaction to ourindustry conference on China. We wereapplauded from the start by virtually every-one for taking the initiative and organizingthe first industry association event in China.We have been most gratified by their reac-tions during and post-event.

We were pleased, and not a little relieved,when the number of registered delegatestopped 300 and in the end we welcomed anastonishing 372 people from 200 companiesaround half of whom were ‘locals’ from Asia.

We are grateful to our excellent line-upof speakers, many of whom traveled half-wayaround the world to take part. The contentof their presentations was without exceptionfascinating. The logistics of an inauguralevent such as this are daunting but with thehelp of our partners in Beijing, in Singaporeand elsewhere we believe we achieved whatour members had asked us to provide: highvalue content from experts in the field andthe chance to meet and do business with keystakeholders in China.


TFWA

in various locations. Their report will bepresented to the MC at the next meeting inJune 2013.

ADF: What type of feedback did you receivefrom delegates?EJM: As soon as delegates got home theyreceived an invitation to complete an onlinesurvey and the response rate was goodenabling us to draw solid conclusions.

86% rated the content as good, very goodor excellent in terms of the quality of infor-mation and 91% said the conference met orexceeded their expectations. All the speakersscored well, as did the conference venue, thesocial events and the organization. There weresome problems with accommodation in oneof the four hotels used which will be addressed.

In conclusion, nearly everyone – 96% ofrespondents – said that the conference shouldbe repeated and that the preferred timeframe was every two years.

We are very gratified by the positiveresponses we received and we have takencareful note of all the comments made.These contributions will have a profoundeffect on our planning of future events.

ADF: Can you tell me what you have plannedfor the TFWA Asia Pacific exhibition and con-ference? Will there be any notable changesfrom last year? What special events do youhave planned?EJM: Planning for TFWA Asia Pacific Exhi-bition & Conference 2013 is well advancedand we are delighted that the positive trendsin evidence last May—high demand forstands and excellent visitor figures—seem tobe continuing this year. You will notice thatwe have changed the name of the event, asthe One2One meeting service is now wellestablished as an integral part of the event anddoes not need to be included in the title.

However, the most exciting change thisyear is that TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition &Conference will move to a brand new venue:the Marina Bay Sands Expo & ConventionCentre. The move was forced upon usbecause the rebuilding work at the usualvenue, Singapore Suntec, will not be com-pleted in time. We are work-ing extremely hard toensure that the incon-venience caused bythis move is kept toa minimum andwe are confidentthat the event willachieve its usualhigh standards.

try in the region can sustain growth in 2013?EJM: Growth overall has slowed down a bitin Asia but it remains the region with thegreatest untapped potential across all cate-gories. It is also worth noting that the demandfor premium and super-premium goods ismore marked here than elsewhere.

ADF: Can you tell me about sponsors whohave already signed on?EJM: Singapore Airlines is the official car-rier; Interparfums will partner with us on thetraditional golf tournament; many of ourwine & spirits colleagues will supply theTFWA Asia Pacific Bar; and a host of othersponsorship and advertising agreementshave been drafted or are in the pipeline.

ADF: Have there been any notable changesof post within the TFWA?EJM: John Rimmer took over as Confer-ences, Research and External Affairs Direc-tor at the end of March, following the depar-ture of Michael Barrett, and will, I am sure,cope admirably with the challenge of fol-lowing a class act!In addition, Ana Homawoo has been pro-moted to IT Director, having successfully ledthe IT department for almost ten years.Although working mostly behind the scenes,the IT team at TFWA has played a major rolein our recent successes and is a very strate-gic component of the TFWA permanentstructure going forward.

All our best wishes to Ana and John intheir new positions, and indeed to Michaelfor his future plans. c


Demand for exhibition space has been greaterthan ever: over 240 exhibitors are confirmedon nearly 8,000 square metres of exhibi-tion space which is a new record. Thisdemand from major international brands toparticipate is testament to the rapid growthof our industry in Asia Pacific.

ADF: Who are the confirmed speakers for theAsia Pacific conference? What topics will bediscussed?EJM: The theme of the 2013 TFWA AsiaPacific Conference on Monday May 13 is“Striving for Perfection.” We have invitedspeakers both from the industry and fromthe broader commercial world so we canexpect a stimulating program. We will beoffering two fascinating workshops afterthe plenary: “Perfect Journey,” exploringhow store design, terminal layout and com-mercial branding can engage the travelingconsumer, and “Perfect Pitch” on how part-nerships and sharing skills can create the per-fect consumer proposition. After the lunchbreak we will offer “e-Perfect,” on harness-ing technology and new media to ensurewe are at the top of our game, or “PerfectionPersonified,” which will show how ‘thehuman touch’ remains central to customerservice. The afternoon workshops will be fol-lowed by a closing plenary to draw the var-ious threads together.

ADF: How do this year’s confirmed exhibitorscompare to last year’s?EJM: Last year we accommodated 236exhibitors by spilling over onto the mezza-nine level. Roughly a quarter of all exhibitorswere fragrance & cosmetic companies, withjewelry & watches and wine & spirits account-ing for 17% each and fashion, accessories &leathergoods occupying 14% of stands. Theconfirmed total is currently 241, alreadymore than the same stage last year, withproportions by category fairly constant.

ADF: Can you give me your opinion of theduty free business in Asia in 2012? Are thereany categories or regions that are outper-forming right now? Do you think the indus-


company name date

name

mailing address

city province/state

country postal code/zip

area code phone area code fax

email

credit card number

Pay m e n t i n U . S . f u n d s m u s t a c c o m p a ny t h i s s u b s c r i p t i o n c a r d .

� SIGN ME UP! I would like to re-ceive a subscription to magazine

� One Year US$200.00

� Two Year US$400.00

� Enclosed is a cheque or moneyorder made payable to GlobalMarketing Company Ltd.

� Bill me

( ) ( )

date

expiry datey ym m

Asia Duty Free & Travel Retailing magazine26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, ON Canada L5M 1X2Tel: 1-905-821-3344 Fax: 1-905-821-2777email: [email protected]

Please fill out this form and fax to 1-905-821-2777 or email [email protected]

Subscribe to Asia Duty Free & Travel Retailing Magazine and itsmonthly eNewsletter to keep you informed of the latest news.Simply fill out and return this subscription card to the followingaddress, or fax with your credit card details to +1 905-821-2777

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

� � �

signature

SUBSCRIBE TO ASIA DUTY FREE MAGAZINE ONE YEAR – 4 ISSUE AND 12 ENEWSLETTERS

US$200.00TWO YEARS – 8 ISSUES AND 24 ENEWSLETTERS

US$400.00

AS_SubscrptnAD[a4]form_Layout 1 13-04-19 2:24 PM Page 1

Conference Review: TFWA/APTRA China


Thedragon

awakes

of BCIA, outlined various measures which will stimulate traveland retail, including a new 72-hour visa-free transit policy, extendedretail areas in the terminals and a reformed bidding process enablingBCIA to approach high-end brands on a one-to-one basis in orderto secure the desired product mix for their passenger profile.

Charles Chen, Vice President of China Duty Free Group, reportedan increase in annual revenue at CDFG in 2012 of 30% over 2011—higher even than the growth rate of 21% for Asia-Pacific as a whole.During the Golden Week in February, the Sanya Duty Free storeachieved revenue of US$24 million and on Valentine’s Day alone salesexceeded US$4.8 million, a 230% increase over last year. He identifiedcruise ships, the new high speed rail and the purchasing behavior ofChinese people as future opportunities for growth.

Taking exception to the common description of China as an emerg-ing market, DFS CEO Philippe Schaus said it is today a highlydeveloped market with great potential. He said that DFS was builton the wave of outbound Japanese tourists in the 60s and is nowadapting to the new Chinese consumer. “When we look at the PRCcustomer, one size does not fit all,” he said. “You have to be flexibleand meet their growing sophistication.”

By 2020 China will be one of the top three inbound travel

he industry conference on China, organized by TFWAin partnership with APTRA, closed on a high note onMarch 7 in Beijing after two days of detailed analysis ofthe development and potential of the duty free andtravel retail trade in the country.

Rui Chenggang, Anchor and Director for the CCTVBusiness Channel presented a powerful, frank and fascinating sum-mary of the business and political landscape in China, designed toaugment the industry’s understanding of the Chinese consumer.

In total 372 delegates from 200 companies attended this indus-try association event, which was titled “China’s Century: The FastPace of Change in China Duty Free & Travel Retail.”

In his welcoming address, TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensenset the scene with a summary of the aviation market in China andthe opportunities open to travel retail. “We are only at the begin-ning of the air travel boom in China,” he said. “Aviation analysts pre-dict that passenger numbers in China, domestic and international,will quintuple to reach around 1.5 billion by 2030. The question is—are international brands ready for this huge opportunity?”

APTRA President Sunil Tuli added his welcome and echoed theoptimism about the opportunities ahead, but cautioned that the entireindustry should be alert to dangers that maythreaten any one category and should worktogether to protect the interests of all.

Dong Zhiyi, Executive Chairman of theBoard of Beijing Capital International Air-port, official host of the event, said that his air-port, which is already the official gateway toChina, has ambitions to become the numberone airport in the world.

His colleague Zhang Wei, Vice President

T

Many companies supported the conference;Furla sponsored the lunches during the event

China’s burgeoning duty free market in the spotlight at landmark TFWA/APTRA conference


destinations, according to the World Tourism Organization, hesaid. Schaus then took the opportunity to announce that DFS willpartner with HNDF (Hainan Provincial Duty Free Co. Ltd.) at theoperator’s first off-airport store at the Mission Hills Tourism TownCenter in Haikou, Hainan Island, which will be a center of shop-ping, leisure and entertainment.

Slowing but still strongIn a commentary on the evolution of the Chinese economy, JamesKynge, Editor of China Confidential, identified three factors whichwill influence the future development of China: urbanization, whichis a key policy of the new administration—by 2025 there will be about25 cities in China with a population of over 500,000; the expand-ing middle class which will double in size by 2020; and reforms designedto combat negative effects of growth such as corruption and envi-ronmental degradation. Kynge said that although the growth rate isslowing the country still offers enormous potential.

The pursuit of excellence in duty free was addressed by Retail

Consultant Mark Riches in a session chaired by Doug Newhouse,Editorial Director of The Travel Retail Business. Riches said airportshave to get the basics right, including knowing the customer, mak-ing shopping easy, providing great service and giving the retail areaa strong sense of place.

China’s aviation landscape and its commercial potential were ana-lyzed by three experts in the region. Peter Harbison, ExecutiveChairman CAPA – Centre for Aviation summarized China’s avia-tion policy and its impact on airlines; Wolfgang Weil, Chief Oper-ations Officer, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport illustratedhow current commercial development strategies are being put intopractice; and John Woodhouse, Head of Business Development, China& East Asia, AerRianta International offered the retailer’s perspec-tive and warned that there is still much work to be done to ensurepassengers understand the retail offer.

Sunil Tuli, Managing Director (Duty Free) King Power GroupHKG, described his company’s 30-year history in China and saidthat the first opportunity seized by this entrepreneurial companyin 1979 is dwarfed by the scale of opportunity in China today. Headvocated that travel retailers should take careful note of how Chi-nese consumers have evolved and cater to their needs.

In a compelling case study Freda Cheung, CEO Canada, World DutyFree Group explained how Vancouver Airport has boosted the influxof visitors from China by implementing a dynamic marketing planand a commercial offer which is tailored specifically to the needs ofthis group of high fliers. The airport has achieved extraordinarydaily sales with just 6,000 passengers which exceed the previous dailyrecord set with 8,000 passengers during the winter Olympics 2010.

Emmanuel De Place, CEO, LS Travel Retail ASPAC ended hisengaging address on reaching China’s consumers, in which heemphasized that “a generic experience—the ‘cookie-cutter approach—will simply not work,” with the announcement that his companyhad just been awarded a 1,700 square meter luxury and fashion con-tract at the new domestic Terminal 3 at Shenzhen Airport whichwill open later this year.

Heading up the second day of the conference, in an absorbing pre-sentation titled “From Revolution to Evolution,” Andrew Wu, LVMHGroup President, Greater China discussed how Chinese consumershave emerged from decades of material deprivation to enter an eraof domestic consumption in the space of just one generation.

A panel of three expert researchers explored the nature of theChinese consumer at home, abroad and on line. Andrew Stockwell,VP Asia Pacific, Forrester Research described the “age of the con-sumer” in which empowerment of the consumer will revolution-ize the way brands and retailers will operate. Viveca Chan, Founderand CEO of WE Marketing Group explored the concept of ‘dai gou’or buying for self-indulgence versus ‘shai’ where the shopper buys

Viveca Chan, Founder and CEO of WEMarketing Group explored the concept of

buying for self-indulgence versus where theshopper buys to impress, and the impact

these traits may have on travel retail

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman CAPA –Centre for Aviation summarized China’s aviation

policy and its impact on airlines


Conference Review: TFWA/APTRA China


President Erik Juul-Mortensen recently reviewed TFWA events and future plansTax Free World Association (TFWA) announces that the next ‘China’sCentury’ Conference will take place in 2015, following positive feed-back and internal discussion after the inaugural event in BeijingMarch 5-7. The likelihood is that it will continue as a biannual eventwith TFWA looking at holding other regional conferences in emerg-ing and emerged markets in the intervening years. Both Indonesiaand Russia were mentioned as possible venues.

The announcement was made at a press briefing at the LancasterLondon hotel, UK, where TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen plusmembers of the TFWA Board and permanent staff also revealed newbranding for the organization and progress on the formation of a TravelRetail World Council.

TFWA announced very positive results for 2012, against thebackdrop of a duty free and travel retail industry now worth someUS$49 billion (according to Generation). Growth occurred in allregions except Europe, which remained flat, with Asia Pacific the mostimportant region for sales (up 16.3% in 2012).

This growth, said Juul-Mortensen, contributed to the success oflast year’s 17th TFWA Asia Pacific event in Singapore. Visitor num-bers were a record high of 2164, with 919 companies exhibiting. TheTFWA World Exhibition in Cannes in October 2012 saw a total of 6074visitors, with 4260 key buyers, landlords and agents attending.

TFWA’s first China’s Century conference was voted a success with372 attending delegates. In addition, 17 Chinese airports and 71 oper-ators and retailers attended the event.

to impress, and the impact these traits may have on travel retail.Finally, Garry Stasiulevicius, MD, Counter Intelligence Retailoffered a detailed analysis of Chinese customer motivationswhen shopping in duty free specifically.

From his in-depth research into the purchasing motivationsof the wealthiest members of Chinese society, known as the‘Xingui’ or new aristocracy, Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman andChief Researcher of the Hurun Report, drew some compellingconclusions about the implications for luxury brands.

Looking at luxuryRepresentatives of some of those luxury brands took part in apanel discussion about how they are adapting their approach.Francis Gros, Group Travel Retail Director, Luxottica in thefastest growing category, sunglasses, talked about designingsunglasses to suit Asian faces; CS Lam, Travel Retail Regional Direc-tor, Asia Pacific, Godiva International described limited edi-tions destined for Chinese markets; and Patrick Bouchard,Global Travel Retail Managing Director for Puig outlined someof their fragrance and cosmetic products adapted specifically forthe Chinese consumer.

Further expert opinion on the concept of luxury in China wasprovided by a panel including Christian Blanckaert, Professorof Management, ESCP Business School, who considered that Euro-pean brands would continue to drive the luxury market in theforeseeable future but that the Chinese luxury brands wouldemerge gradually. Among the observations made by Davidoff CEOHans-Kristian Hoejsgaard was that shopping for luxury goodscan be intimidating so the retail environment and education areimportant. Head of Wine, China for Christie’s Simon Tamshared insights on China’s high-end wine buyers and said thatthe biggest difference between the wine cellar in Europe and thatin Beijing is that in Europe there is dust on the bottles; in Chinafine wine is bought to be given and/or consumed.

The final member of this panel was Muriel Zingraff-Shariff,BAA’s Director of Retail Concessions, who said that exceptionalservice, including personal shoppers, has contributed to the air-port’s success in selling to the traveling Chinese consumers. Likemany other speakers she also emphasized that Chinese shoppersare dedicated users of the internet, and that BAA itself hasresponded with a ‘Heathrow Boutique’ reserve and collect service.

In his closing remarks Erik Juul-Mortensen thanked all thoseinvolved in organizing the event, including the moderators John

Rimmer, Michael Barrett and Trevor Lai, the sponsors and the part-ners. He reported that 112 meetings were organized through theOne2One appointments service, which puts airports and opera-tors in touch with brands and distributors.

The opening cocktail was held in the stunning Tai MiaoImperial Ancestral Temple on Tuesday March 5 and the gala din-ner on Wednesday was staged in the Golden Hall of the BeijingHotel with an artistic performance of “The Moving ForbiddenCity” by Hu Xiaodan.

The partners supporting the event were Diamond and GalaDinner sponsor King Power Group (Hong Kong); Diamondsponsor Patrón Spirits; Platinum and lunch sponsor DFS; Goldsponsor Puig; Silver sponsor Sunglass Hut; lunch sponsor Furla;coffee break sponsors Chivas, Ferrero, Perfetti Van Melle andToblerone; and other sponsors Colorful Licenses International,Kipling and Lacoste. c

The gala dinner was staged in theGolden Hall of the Beijing Hotel with anartistic performance of “The MovingForbidden City” by Hu Xiaodan

TFWA-organizedpress briefing at theLancaster London

hotel, UK


Braun GmbH, Dept. IAM-DF, Frankfurter Straße 145, D-61476 Kronberg, Germany, Tel.: +49 6173 30 2221, E-mail: [email protected], www.braun.com/global

SkinSpa2 treatments.2× better.Better than wax on short hairs. Better than manual exfoliation.

Prestige Supplies Inc.


of more than 40% in sales turnover at Mas L’ecrin Duty Free Shopand Bat Sarai International Duty Free Shop. Furthermore, therefurbishments have provided more space for category expansion,which Murphy notes plays an integral part in Prestige Supplies’ pur-suit for added partners in Perfume and Cosmetics, fashion andaccessories.

“These changes have continued to bring further recognition tothe Mongolia travel retail business and the timing couldn’t be bet-ter considering Mongolia has been the world’s fastest-growingeconomy for three straight years,” she explains.

Indeed, the number of international travelers visiting Mongo-lia increased substantially in 2012, with direct flights from Ulaan-baatar to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines, daily flights to Hong Kongand chartered flights to Delhi, Singapore, Dubai, Hanoi and Bangkok.In fact, four airlines (MIAT, Mongolia Airlines, Eznis Airways andChinghis Airways) with international destinations throughout Asia,Middle East and Europe are using Chinghis Khan International Air-port in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as a “home base,” further bolsteringthe airport’s status as a major up and comer in the region.

The successes achieved in Mongolia have enabled Prestige Sup-plies to expand its footprint throughout Asia with a newly constructed1950-square-meter travel retail outlet in Bavet, Cambodia along theCambodia-Vietnam border. The duty free shop was opened officiallyby Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia Mrs. Men Sam An onMarch 25 with a turnout of over 1,500 guests.

The retail outlet is focused on a more up-market approach thatcaters to the existing passenger demographics of the travelers vis-iting the region, says Murphy. The store boasts more than 250square meters dedicated to Perfumes and Cosmetics, 190 square metersfor fashion and accessories, 100 square meters for electronics, 105square meters for confectionary items/foodstuff and an extensivealcohol and tobacco section. Added to this are a money exchangeand restaurant for consumer convenience.

“The store is the first of its kind in the region and so far its per-formance has exceeded expectations,” concludes Murphy. “With con-tinued success Prestige Supplies has plans for further expansion intoAsia and Africa by the beginning of 2014, so watch this space!” c

restige Supplies Inc. was established in 2007 and hasbecome one of the fastest growing and most respectedduty free suppliers in emerging markets around theworld today. “Our uncompromising belief in creatinga world-class supply chain network, partnering withworld famous brands and putting our customers,

suppliers and people first enable us to meet various market demands,”says Grace Murphy, Duty Free Sales Executive at Prestige Supplies.

As a strategic supplier to the travel retail environment, PrestigeSupplies’ services encompass a variety of roles—that of wholesaler,retailer, consultant, distributor and warehousing solutions provider.However, the focal points of the company’s business are primarilyin the retail and wholesale realms, ensuring quality products reachthe right consumers at the right time.

“With the insights gained, infrastructure in place and relation-ships forged, we are further diversifying our supplier base in all cat-egories ranging from alcohol, confectionery, cosmetics, perfumes,electronics and tobacco to cater to the current demand and futureopportunities,” explains Murphy. “With a supply footprint thatspans across more than twenty countries, a direct presence in threecountries and focus on some of the world's fastest growing mar-kets, we believe our journey has just begun.”

Asia expansionWith an already well established foothold in the Mongolian travelretail market, Prestige Supplies recently completed refurbishmentsof duty free shops in cooperation with its local retail partners inChinghis Khan International Airport.

Murphy reports that the renovations have resulted in an increase

P

Jack of all tradesPrestige Supplies Inc. carves out a strongfoothold in Mongolian duty free, setting its sightson the Cambodia-Vietnam border and furtherexpansion in Asia and Africa BY RYAN WHITE

The focal points of Prestige Supplies’ business are primarily in the retail and wholesalerealms, ensuring quality products reach the right consumers at the right time

As a strategic supplier to the travel retail environment, PrestigeSupplies’ services encompass a variety of roles—that of wholesaler,retailer, consultant, distributor and warehousing solutions provider


Spotlight on TFAP exhibitors


urla says its Candy Lifestyle collection is enjoying major successin the Far East, and plans to make it a strong highlight at theupcoming TFWA Asia Pacific exhibition in Singapore (stand H15).

This year sees the Candy Lifestyle collection expanding withnew shapes including a Mini Cross Body, a trend-oriented Back-

pack and a Minibag pouch with shoulder strap. Material combinationsinclude Gomma Gel with Saffiano Multirighe, Nappa Borchiata, Vit St.Siberian and Lucertolina.

“Bright and funky colors such as Bouganville, Speed, Shocking, Mauveand Electric are on-trend for Gomma gel bags, while those with material com-binations combine more subtle colors such as Fume and Burro with Onyxfor a striped or spotted base,” Furla says. “For evening glamour there are GommaGel Glitter bags in silver or gold with Vit St. Lucertolina and Metal Lux inCormo and Antik Oro.” New for 2013 is Gomma Gel Sfumata, with an unusualeffect where colors ‘degrade’ from one to another throughout the body ofthe bag. Mauve, Shocking and Electric options, changing to Onyx, are all offeredand create a range of alternatives for day or evening use.

To add to the Candy bag line, Furla is now additionally offering a rangeof diamante charms to personalize each one. Apart from dressing up abag, they can be used to stretch a shoulder strap and complement thetextile elements.

Typical travel retail prices for the Candy bags are €299-€682 (US$390-$890), while the Mini Cross Body retails at € 394 (US$514), the Back-pack at € 651 (US$850) and the Mini Satchel at € 259 (US$338).

One of the material options for Candy this year is Vit St. Siberian, whichFurla believes is the signature material for 2013 and is present across theAutumn Winter collection. Anticipated as a strong seller for the 2013/14season, the dynamic Siberian print has good shelf standout value,whether used as the central material theme or as a contrast trim. “Forthe consumer who wants to stand out in a crowd, Vit St. Siberian willbe the perfect choice,” Furla says. Travel retail prices range from € 339-€ 854 (US$442-$1,115).

“Asia is a vitally important market for Furla representing 40% of our totalbusiness in 2012 and with some phenomenal sales increases during the year,”says Director of Travel Retail Gerry Munday. “Sales in Macau and Hong Kong,for example, were up 123% and 42% respectively over 2011, while sales inKorea and Japan were both up 14%.” China is a rapidly growing market forFurla with 100 new stores projected to open in the next four years.

“We’re seeing the growth on domestic markets reflected in our travelretail business in the region. In 2012 we opened 14 new doors in Asiaand for this year we’re targeting another seven. So we’re expecting a verybusy Singapore show this year and are very much looking forward to intro-ducing the Autumn Winter 13 collection to existing and new customers.”

F

Fresh products lead the way

Furla’s Candy Lifestyleadds Siberian flavor

Product innovation, retail savvy andmarket exposure give these brandsa leg up in duty free

With floral being a major trend for summer2013, premium jeweler Toscow has chosen tolaunch its latest collection, La Vie en Rose. Thecollection hinges on a bouquet of pink ornateroses interspersed with natural fresh watercultured pearls amid a scattering of clear crystals.

“What woman can resist beautiful roses?” says Gen-eral Manager Francis Ng. “Toscow combines the romance of roses,allure of pearls and sparkle of crystals to create this adorable col-lection.” La Vie en Rose is trend-focused, as the Spring Summer2013 catwalk shows are all demonstrating floral as key compo-nents of the seasonal wardrobe. “Rose is an excellent emblem oflove and romance and these roses stand the test of time.”

Toscow says La Vie en Rose has beendesigned “to subtly draw attention and bethe talking point wherever it travels.”While designed for casual daily wear, thecollection is also well suited for summergarden party wear and events as for-mal as weddings.

La Vie en Rose includes an ornatenecklace, pendants, bracelets, ring andearrings. Prices range from US$79-$489.

Toscow favors floralwith La Vie en Rose

Furla’s Grande Siberian andGrande Onyx Electric (below)bags from the Candy collection


Tweet us at the TFWA

Asia Pacific: @NestleITR

Exclusive, treat-timesolutions

NEW: Travel retail exclusive aeroplane design and cash till-point solution

Perfect Store™ Always at the heart of the shopper

...it’s for the journeyIt’s not retail...


Troika sets out to charm the EastAfter two years operating a strong dedicated travel retailoperation, gift designer, developer and distributor Troikadelivers to more than 100 POS around the world and boastssome very successful inflight listings, says InternationalMarketing Manager Mirjam Sturm. Based in Müschen-

bach, Germany, which is between Frankfurt and Cologne,Troika sells especially heavily in Europe along with South

America, but Sturm notes that Asian efforts are bearing fruit as well.“Currently we have POS at the following locations: Bangkok, Singapore,

Hong Kong, The Philippines and Korea,” Sturm says. “Further we areworking very successfully with Asiana Airlines. In the local market Troikais very strong in the Asian market, and therefore we believe that there isbig potential in the duty free market as well.”

China, Japan and Korea are turning in the best Asian results for Troika,Sturm says. The brand plans to reach the major travel players at TFAP inorder to build its duty free momentum in the Asian theater. It will also pre-sent its keyring products along with the POS displays used to showcasethem. Leather products, pens (roller ball, ballpoint and fountain pens) andcard cases including newly developed counter display units for POS self-service will also be shown.

Keyrings are Troika’s global best sellers, Sturm says. “The sale of keyringsis an impulse purchase and they are the hallmark of one’s keys. Troika’sindividual ideas for design and functionality transform ones keys into amodern status symbol.” Sturm says that besides being exclusive, innova-tive and high-quality, Troika’s keyrings also benefit from the broad vari-ety of displays used to showcase the products.

Troika has new individual “Charming Friends” keyring charms that canbe hung on bags, bracelets or chains, Sturm says. “Charms are much-lovedaccessories that reveal something about their owner in a unique way.They enchant us in the truest sense of the word. The word charm evokesmagic, beauty and grace.” Made with Swarovski Elements, the charmshave been designed in the shape of a heart, a shamrock and a butterfly. TheCharming Friends line features motifs that can be combined individuallyto provide a personal touch.

The S-Grip “Pad” business-class iPad protector is another new offer-ing that Troika will be highlighting. The S-Grip material used for theprotector is made of 100% polyurethane and combines the soft feel of leatherwith the functionality of high-tech fabrics. The protector has a magneticfastener. Troika says that S-Grip combines premium resistance and dura-bility and is easy to clean, even whenheavily used. “Its super-soft touch willwin you over in an instant—a mate-rial as soft as leather yet as sturdyas a synthetic fabric,” the com-pany says. S-Grip is guaranteedfree of hazardous azo dyes,which means “it not only pro-tects what's inside, but alsothe environment.”

New Capi Global to leverageretail know-how Capi International has announced a consolidation with Sea& Sky Supply and Dufri-Global Lifestyle to create CapiGlobal. Sea & Sky Supply and Dufri Global are both part ofB&S International, which acquired Dufri in April 2012 andCapi’s parent Royal Capi-Lux a few months later.

The formation of Capi Global is “a logical next step to bringabout synergies that benefit its customers,” the companysays, noting that integrated warehouse operations will increaselogistical efficiency, while commercial synergies are created“by providing a dedicated assortment of consumer elec-tronics and accessories to business partners in duty free andtravel retail.”

Capi Global specializes in consumer electronics and lifestyleproducts in the travel retail and duty free channel. General Man-ager Jaco Vlemingh makes particular mention of the housebrand MiTone, which is a travel retail exclusive. “We’ve beendeveloping our brand further,” Vlemingh says. “The productshave brand new packaging and each one features part of a travelstory. Readers are invited to finish the story on our websitewww.mitone.eu and write a travel story of their own. If we likethe story, we will print it on a next product packaging and sendthe author a MiTone Bluetooth twist speaker.”

Vlemingh says Capi Global’s main differentiator is itsretail background, which enables it to give business partnersexpert advice on how to operate a profitable business in con-sumer electronics. “For us, it’s a combination of quality prod-ucts and retail know-how. With our partners we carefully selectan assortment of A-brands and niche brands and MiTone prod-ucts, which suit the requirements of our business partner.”

Vlemingh has noted a market shift from hardware toaccessories such as headphones, earphones and cases. “Acces-sories such as Hugo Boss cases are very popular fashionablemust-haves at the moment. We have an exclusive distributioncontract for these fashion items. Accessories such as cases andcovers are the ideal way for travelers to customize their smart-phones or tablets.”

Capi Global’s TFAP booth will feature information aboutCapi’s retail marketing strategy, brand portfolio consisting ofleading niche brands, as well as the MiTone brand. There isalso a dedicated Hugo Boss presentation.

Capi Global will continue to house its operations at its cur-rent Netherlands facilities in Dordrecht and Hoofddorp.

The S-Grip “Pad” business-class iPad protector will beoffered by Troika at TFWAAsia Pacific


Capi says accessoriessuch as Hugo Bosscases are verypopular fashionablemust-haves

Keyrings are Troika’sglobal best sellers


Any similarities to real life fl avours are purely intentional.

Jelly Belly® jelly beans look and taste so authentic because

we insist on using real ingredients whenever possible, like

real blueberries, real pomegranate and real cherry juices

(to name just a few). So go ahead, explore all 50 fl avours

and discover for yourself what we mean by “The Original

Gourmet Jelly Bean.®”JellyBelly.com

Jelly

Bel

ly,®

the

Jelly

Bel

ly®

logo

and

the

imag

es o

f the

Jel

ly B

elly

® je

lly b

eans

are

all

regi

ster

ed tr

adem

arks

of J

elly

Bel

ly C

andy

Com

pany

. ®, ©

201

1 Je

lly B

elly

Can

dy C

ompa

ny, F

airfi

eld,

CA

945

33 U

SA.



Colorful Licenses takes on Brunotti’s brand buildBrunotti has announced a newlicensee for the development ofthe Brunotti bag collections. Thecompany Colorful Licensessigned on to develop theBrunotti bags as of January 1this year, taking over thelicense from Dutchbag BV.Brunotti says that the newpartnership gives it the chanceto pursue further internationalexpansion and build the brandexperience.

Colorful Licenses startedout developing the Oililylifestyle products in the 90s. The company quickly developed a broad portfolio ofcosmetics, perfumes, bags and lifestyle products from well known brands like Pip,Quick and Leontine Hagoort in addition to Oilily. Today Colorful Licenses has a world-wide distribution network with representatives on every continent.

Cees Homburg, the Founder and Managing Director of Colorful Licenses, is pleasedwith the new addition to the brand portfolio. "Besides the brand Quick, we do not haveanother sports brand in our range,” Homburg says. “Brunotti is developing towardslifestyle, which offers many opportunities for a wide range of products for men, womenand children. Also Brunotti has a strong and sporty brand experience."

General Director of Brunotti Henk Bergsma is similarly pleased with the new license."After six years of cooperation with Dutchbag, this is a new and exciting step and itfits into our present time and designs. Innovation in range, quality and internationalexpansion is important in these times and we need it to allow the growth that we havein mind. With Colorful Licenses we have found a suitable partner."

Dutchbag maintained production and supply for the Brunotti Bags of the 2012Winter collection up to the switchover date. They have said that they will honor allwarranty and service work for previously delivered goods.

British AmericanTobacco GlobalTravel Retail AsiaPacific continuesinnovatingBritish American Tobacco Global Travel RetailAsia Pacific (British American TobaccoGTRAP) has announced that it plans to show-case two super-premium product offerings inAsia Pacific this year, including Dunhill GranCru and State Express 555 Platinum.

Dunhill Gran Cru Special Reserve UgandaTaste contains 61% Virginia, Burley anddelicate Maryland tobaccos acquired fromthe Nile Valley in Uganda during 2010,which proved to be a special year for thetobacco leaves.

Justinus Nurman, Head of Global TravelRetail Asia Pacific at British American Tobacco

GTRAP, tells us that after 18 months of aging,the leaves were complimented with the finest

Maryland and Oriental tobaccos. “The result-ing sensation has a deeper, toasted experience

with hints of spice and cedar wood,” he says.The concentration for Nurman and British

American Tobacco GTRAP is to maintain a givenbrand's identity while at the same time making surenew ideas are regularly being brought to the table.The above offering is a good example of this. Bygiving consumers a new way to think about theDunhill brand, British American Tobacco is effec-tively enhancing the smoking experience.

Nurman concluded by telling Asia Duty Free thatBritish American Tobacco GTRAP is present in allduty free channels in the region and sees oppor-tunities for 2013: “We see a growth market fortravel retail proven by the increasing number of trav-elers through major airports and their increasingspending power.”

Dunhill Gran Cru Special Reserve Uganda Taste contains 61% Virginia,Burley and Maryland tobaccos acquiredfrom the Nile Valley in Uganda during2010, which proved to be a special yearfor the tobacco leaves

Colorful Licenses is the new licensee for Brunotti bags


Lateltin CRESTA Inserat_210x297 Asia DF Magazin TFWA China Conference Datum 14.02.13 Version_01.02

EnjoytheChocolateSide

ofLife

www.Lateltin.com



Travalo to showcase two new luxury Swarovskiproducts at TFWA Asia PacificBuilding on the success in the Asia Pacific region last year and noticing anincrease in gift sales, Travalo has answered the demand for higher value lux-ury Travalo products with two new launches—The Touch Rollerball, SwarovskiEdition and the Skyline, Swarovski Edition. Both novelties will be launchedat this year’s TFWA AP show.

The Touch Rollerball is available in a pack of two and features signatureSwarovski crystals. The two rollerballs can be separated via a perforated seal

to tie in with the region’s gift giving culture. Premier Portfo-lio secured listing of this product on Singapore

Airlines via DFASS.The Skyline has the Travalo

patented refilling system with Swarovskicrystal details. Initially presented as aninflight exclusive, Skyline is available

in gold, rose gold, silver andpink. c

J. Cortes focuses oncontinued growth inAsia on the back ofpopular Neos brandAsia Duty Free recently had the opportunity to speak withTissa Dissanayaka, Export Manager for the Middle East,Asia Pacific and South Asia at J. Cortes, about businessin the region of late. He tells us that progress was madein Indonesia through the forging of a new partnershipwith Plaza Bali Duty Free which resulted in listings inJakarta International Airport and Bali Ngurah Rai Inter-national Airport.

“J. Cortes was also successful in entering BandaranayakeInternational Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka with WorldDuty Free Group at the beginning of 2012,” Dissanayakasays. “Despite spatial constraints in the cigar category atSwarnaboomi Airport, our combined strategies of enter-ing new markets and increasing penetration yielded 17%year-on-year growth in 2012.”

For 2013, J. Cortes is taking a very targeted approachin Asia travel retail. “Every single location is importantfor us,” says Dissanayaka, “and different locations posedifferent challenges and require different strategies.”Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam are allon the radar for either increasing existent business or secur-ing a presence.

At this year’s TFWA AP exhibition, J. Cortes plans onconcentrating on its popular Neos brand, which gener-ates the lion’s share of sales in travel retail. “Although newproduct innovations are certainly in the pipeline, wedon’t have plans to introduce them at TFWA AP this year,”explains Dissanayaka. “Our focus in Asia is the NeosAromatic range, which is naturally appealing to Asiansas they are generally variety seekers. Thus, our brandtheme, messages and packaging focus on highlighting theseAsian-specific elements.”

For more information on J. Cortes, attendeesto this year’s Singapore exhibition are encour-aged to visit the company at booth J10.

The Neos Aromatic range isa major focus for J. Cortesin the Asia region this year

TravaloTouch

Rollerball,Swarovski

Edition


Also betting on China is American giant Procter & Gamble, whichhas launched four new brands on the mainland in recent months.

It's little wonder that the world's top-ranked cosmetics andskincare companies are lining up for a slice of the action in Asia:an international survey conducted by Elle magazine in Januaryfound that Asian women are among the biggest spenders on beautyproducts, especially those between the ages of 25 and 34.

That's a finding reflected in La Prairie's own research, which showsAsian women using more skincare products than consumers inmost other markets.

"On average they use 10-plus products a day," says Rasquinet.Teresa Li, Department Director of General Merchandise at King Power

(Hong Kong), says that skincare accounts for 70% of all sales in theretailer's perfumes & cosmetics category, which itself is its second-biggest

Beauty contest BY P. CONVERY


Skincare is one of the biggest-selling categories amongtravel retailers in Asia. With existing markets developingand new ones opening up, its importance will only growas brands and retailers compete for increased spend

n March this year, one of the world's biggest cos-metics firms announced a plan to hire thousandsmore staff over the coming years as part of anaggressive expansion in Asian markets. Now, EstéeLauder's announcement serves as a bellwether forthe industry, as Asian consumers step up their pur-

chases of skincare products and the enormous potentialof the Chinese cosmetics market continues to develop.

As it expands its operations in Asia, Estée Lauder -which in addition to its own brand also boasts a portfo-lio that includes Clinique, Origins, MAC and Aveda - expects to achieveannual sales growth in the region of around 8%. It outstripped eventhat figure last year, with regional sales up 10%, thanks largely tosales in China, its third-largest market.

Rival L'Oréal - the biggest beauty company in the business, withbrands including Lancôme, Kiehl's and Yue-Sai - grew its sales onthe Chinese mainland by 12.4% last year. China is also L'Oréal's third-ranking market.

La Prairie expects to grow in the double digits by increasing itspenetration in Asia, which already accounts for almost half of itstravel retail business.

"Out of our top 10 travel retail counters worldwide, seven are inAsia," says La Prairie President Patrick Rasquinet, adding thatGreater China accounts for the biggest portion of its sales in the region.

I

Skincare Report

Retailers insist that personalizedservice and advice is an integralpart of a quality skincare offer

La Prairie expands itsWhite Caviar collection

to include four newcomplementary items


www.dutyfreemagazine.ca ASIA DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING 71

“Our customers are loyal to existingbrands, but they're also very open to newproducts, especially nowadays with somuch advertising.”

Teresa Li, Department Director of General Merchandise, King Power

anything that can make you look lighter is a key element for them.” In both India and Greater China, that focus is all about status and

projecting an image of wealth and sophistication. And that's a dynamicthat retailers and brands say works in their favor, encouraging customersto be experimental and actively to pursue new products.

Li says: "Our customers are loyal to existing brands, but they'realso very open to new products, especially nowadays with so muchadvertising. And even though mainland Chinese customers may notbe so open minded as customers from more developed countriesin the region, they're still willing to try new things, especially if itshows their status. If something's on trend, they want to knowabout it and they want to have it."

Piovesana says international brands with an established reputationare still what Nuance-Watson's customers want, but that they're alsowilling to branch out.

"There's a high probability of them trying out new products fromtheir favorite brands," she explains. "Also, Asian customers are used

category after the duty free mainstay of liquor & tobacco."It's very crucial," she says, adding that King Power's biggest

customers are mainland Chinese.Alessandra Piovesana, Regional Managing Director of Nuance-

Watson (Asia), says skincare makes up more than half of the retailer'sbeauty business, and that mainland Chinese are also a vital and fast-growing customer segment.

Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS), which operates the duty freeretail in Terminal 3 at the Indian capital's hub airport, is anotherretailer that relies heavily on skincare to generate revenue.

"P&C is our second-biggest category," says DDFS Chief Execu-tive Steve O'Connor. "Whiteners are huge, moisturizers too. It's acultural tradition - Indians want to look whiter, so moisturizers and

to a longer beauty ritual - typically a daily skincare routine involvesmore than five or six products, so it's not surprising that they're will-ing to try new items."

"They're brand-loyal, but in India it's all about differentiating your-self from others," says O'Connor. "They're very eager if somethingis new. They come to the shop and one of the first questions theyask is 'What's new?', or 'What offers are on?'. They're very eager anddynamic in that regard. They want to know what's new because itcan differentiate them from others, so if there's anything new,they're eager to look at it and try it."

Customers across the region may be a lucrative market for the lat-est products, but retailers are keenly aware that - more than in mostother categories - skincare products don't always sell themselves. They

Estée Lauder introduces Osiao,a new brand developed for theunique needs of Asian skin

Nuance-Watson (HK) putsits frontline staff through athorough training programbefore sending them out

to the shop floor to advisecustomers


say fielding staff that actively engage with potential customers is avital part of driving sales.

"Customer service is very important," says Li, "so we provide inter-nal training regularly for the brands and we also provide very inten-sive training for beauty consultants. We encourage customers to learnabout more products and try to educate them. Mainland Chinesetravelers are our biggest customers, and although [many are] veryrich nowadays and may know the brands through advertising, theymay not have deep knowledge of the products, so that's one of thethings that we focus on."

O'Connor says: "Interacting with customers is imperative. It'simperative in Indian culture, never mind anything else. Peoplehere like that interaction - they want people to tell them about theproducts, they want that service. It's not like in the West, where you'llonly go looking for assistance if you're not sure about the productand have questions. In India they want you to sell it to them andgive them all the information and help - it's a whole process."

Li says promotions are another key means of driving sales."We run intensive promotions every month for the major brands,

and we tie that up with marketing campaigns when the majorbrands introduce 'newness', so whenever they launch a new prod-uct we'll run a promotion with them, and like all duty-free opera-tors we run staff-incentive promotions linked to sales targets andgift-with-purchase offers for customers."

Late last year, Estée Lauder made arguably its most direct appealto Asian skincare consumers, launching Osiao, a brand specificallydesigned with the Asian market in mind. But Li says that skincare brands

have subtly been targeting the Asian market for many years, citingsuch well-established names such as Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido.

"Even though they use some Western celebrities in their adver-tising, their brand positioning already suggests they're targetingAsians," she explains. "More recently, Estée Lauder has used quitea number of Asian faces as models. That's one of their strategies fordeveloping the mainland Chinese market. And L'Oréal has usedcelebrities like Gong Li and a number of other Chinese actresses.They also manufacture some of their products in China, and theformula is more tailor-made for Asians."

And it's not just Asian women that are in the sights of the bigbeauty brands. An increasing number of men are also scrubbing them-selves up with the help of male skincare products.

"Men are becoming much more focused on skincare, particularlyyounger men in India," says O'Connor. "They're all into skincare.Everybody's looking for an advantage - anything that can give theman advantage in their career or in business or whatever, so even theguys are quite vain. They want to look good and be presentable. Inarrivals last year, we put in men's products and they just flew out,so we're going to do a lot more of them there."

Li says: "I think the sales momentum will continue, becauseeven men nowadays are getting used to using skincare products.They're not seen as luxury items but as things for daily use."

As the major skincare brands battle it out for their share of theworld's most dynamic and potentially most lucrative beauty mar-ket, travel retailers looking to cash in on the booming popularityof their products have their work cut out for them. c

Skincare Report

A King Power (Hong Kong) store at Macau airport. The retailer says mainland Chinese make up themajority of its customers and that the mainland market for skincare products is developing fast

The skincare market in Asia has huge potential, thanks in no small wayto the large number of beauty products Asian women typically use



Harnessingnature’s power

eauty brand Yves Rocher is performing strongly in the firsttrimester of 2013, following up on the double-digit growth itenjoyed in 2012 when compared to 2011.

At this year’s TFWA AP show, Yves Rocher will present twomain launches: its Ovale Lifting Serum and Ambre Noir fra-

grance for men. The Ovale Lifting Serum is a high-performance concen-trate that redefines the facial outline by smoothing wrinkles. The serum cre-ates an anti-slackening wrap around the skin, which gives the appearanceof an instant lift.

Ambre Noir is Yves Rocher’s new masculine fragrance. The oriental andwoody fragrance features notes of patchouli, vetiver and tonka bean.

Yves Rocher has several opportunities in travel retail in Europe this year,specifically in France, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania and the Czech Republic,and is looking to repeat this success in Asia.

Zone Director Eastern Europe and French Overseas Territories Henri-Bernard Bedoin believes retailer buying trends have changed when it comesto the skincare and cosmetics category. Bedoin feels retailers are looking todiscover new brands and products with natural ingredients that are botheffective and safe.

As for consumers, Bedoin feels that in Asia they’re looking for safe prod-ucts with natural ingredients. The region’s bestsellers include Elixir 7.9, whichwill have a new launch at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, andHydra Vegetal Serum. Elixir 7.9 is paraben-free, and features seven plants andnine anti-aging patents that work together to reinforce the anti-aging effec-tiveness of the user’s usual skincare portfolio. It can be used every day in themorning and evening under everyday skincare, or alternatively, as a one-monthintensive treatment two to three times per year when the skin needs it.

To continue meeting customer expectations and demands, Yves Rocherorganizes meetings to discuss current trends. “We organize consumer meet-ings in many countries to understand the trends and to feel if our roots andpillars are in accordance with consumers’ expectations,” says Bedoin. Itwas through this process that the company discovered the demand in Asiafor natural ingredients, product safety and efficacy.

In addition, Yves Rocher’s researchers are constantly analyzing the prop-erties of plants, specifically their ability to survive, adapt and compete intheir natural environments. This is what Yves Rocher calls “Plant Intelligence.”By decoding the biological functions of plants Yves Rocher is able to dis-cover new active ingredients for cosmetics.

Bedoin feels current consumer trends mirror the evolution of the skin-care category as a whole. “Skincare is evolving towards greater efficacy,natural tolerance, historic ethics and natural ingredients,” he says. “This iswhat we have claimed our products are about for several years through Botan-ical Beauty.” Yves Rocher defines Botanical Beauty as the infinite power ofplants revealed and enhanced by science. Aside from Botanical Beauty,Bedoin feels Yves Rocher’s innovation lies also in the brand’s “sensoriality”and biodegradability.

Asia, Turkey and Russia currently offer the greatest opportunity for thebrand’s growth, and Yves Rocher plans to expand its presence in several air-ports in Europe and Asia while it continues to use inflight magazines to pro-mote its products to consumers. c

B

Ambre Noir, Yves Rocher’s newmasculine fragrance features notes of

patchouli, vetiver and tonka bean

Yves Rocher’s Ovale Lifting Serumis a high-performance concentratethat redefines the facial outline by

smoothing wrinkles

Elixir 7.9 features seven plantsand nine anti-aging patentsthat work together to doublethe anti-aging effectiveness ofthe user’s usual skincare

Yves Rocher recently introduced its botanicalinnovations to travel retail and is already seeing signs of success

Yves Rocher



BeautyNews

L’Oréal Group’s Lancôme has introduced “HypnôsePalette,” a “high-expertise” eye makeup offered in arange of palettes, each with different shades andeffects. “Doll Eyes” emphasizes natural shades fora wide-open effect; “Star Eyes” furnishes more up-fashion harmonies for a sophisticated look; and“Drama Eyes” relies on intense smoky shades for whatLancôme calls “spectacular” impact. The HypnôsePalette black lacquer case contains four shadesand built-in eyeliner, with four harmonies per look.

The new range also comes with all-new applicatorsto extend the user’s blending and layering options.The applicators are twice the length of traditional appli-cators, and Lancôme has added magnets so userswon’t lose or drop them during application. Thesponge side of the applicators enables the applicationnot only of intense color blocks but also of lighttouches to the inner corner. The flexible flockedspatula allows the user to take up more precise quan-tities, and the natural-hair brush enables delicate colorblending and adjustments to intensity.

Lancôme says that the key to Hypnôse Paletteis its “Wet technology.” This works by dispersing eye-shadow pigments in fluid. As the fluid evaporates,it leaves a dense color concentrate on the skin witheven and optimally dispersed pearl pigments.Lancôme says that Wet technology keeps the pearlpigments from being crushed as they are in someother compact eyeshadows. “Pigments expresstheir full color potential,” Lancôme says. “Result: ultra-luminous make-up, with perfect coverage and hold.”

Wet technology also enables the eyeshadows tobe worn wet or dry. “Applied dry,” Lancôme says,

“the texture veils lids in an ethereal shade tosubtly illuminate eyes.” Applied wet—preferably

using a toner for a more supple feel—thetexture becomes slightly creamy and works

lids over “in a refreshing, silky film for a sen-sual result” with added intensity and hold.

Lancôme’s new Hypnôse Palette addsprofessional effect

To celebrate its founding in 1983, Italian cos-metics pioneer Collistar will showcase a five-prod-uct lineup at this year’s TFWA AP tradeshowin Singapore, with a heavy accent on specialanniversary editions.

“Now that Collistar has gained interna-tional presence and prestige we have decidedto celebrate our first 30 years with the Anniver-sary Collection, a special limited-editionexpression of extreme luxury,” the companysays. “For Collistar, this marks the beginningof a new Golden Age.”

The Anniversary Collection consistsof five top-selling gold-themed products.Leading off is a special edition of DeepMoisturizing Cream Gold, based on thepatented hydrating NMF Complex. Thecream, also available in an Extreme ver-sion for very dry skin, provides a vitaminand protein boost in a light, fondant tex-ture. The special edition formula has beenenriched with colloidal gold, which Col-listar says “brightens the skin with a nat-ural, transparent and stunning glow, while the cream retains its original whiteness.”

This year Puro Lipstick, originally released in 1991, has been issued in an IconLipstick Gold limited edition. The lipstick is presented in a new case with goldfinish and a delicately scored “sunray” surface recalling the rays of the sun. Therevised formula has been issued in six shades: petal, nude, magenta, cherry, peachblossom and icon red.

Collistar’s Special Perfect Body Line has been complemented with the TalassoScrub Gold exfoliator. The new formula contains gold glitter mixed with a blendof 90 types of sea salt and plant oils. The maxi-jar is encircled with a goldbracelet featuring two charms depicting the Collistar logo and the number 30,symbolizing the years of the brand.

The special edition Supertanning Water Gold microspraytanning water is part of Collistar’s Special Perfect Sun Line.The gold version incorporates gold microparticles suspendedin the formula, and the bottle features golden charms.

Finally, in the aromatic water range, Collistar will show-case Profumo di Benessere, Profumo dei Sensi andProfumo della Felicità. Profumo di Benessere is a uni-sex body water; Profumo dei Sensi is a flo-ral-oriental body water with silk proteinsand moisturizing extracts, charac-terized by floral, vanilla, incenseand woody notes; and Pro-fumo della Felicità, launchedin 2011, features hints ofgrapefruit, mandarin, lotusflower, pink pepper, bilberryand osmanthus.

Collistar thrives at 30

Terre d’Ivoire from the“Star Eyes” palette

Eclat d’Azur from the“Doll Eyes” palette

Collistar’sTalasso ScrubGold exfoliator30th anniversaryspecial edition

The updated PuroLipstick formula isavailable in six colors


Polaar


Consumer research is a big factor in Polaar’s suc-cess. “We talk to existing customers, what they like,what they don’t like,” Kurbiel says. “We also talk tonon clients—how can you make them buy Polaar?What are their needs?” In new markets one ques-tion Polaar explores is how much male customersshave. If they don’t, what is their main activity? (Kur-biel suggests that cleansing is the likely next answer,at least in Asia.)

“When we conceived our products we didn’tknow it, but we were already travel retail oriented,”Kurbiel says. “These are practical products, small insize, not bulky, easy to use. Our client is a travelretail client.” Asia in particular is a key target for growthin travel retail, he says. “We think our very originalunique positioning will appeal to the Asian popu-lation.” Given the sheer size of the region, Polaar willfocus on a few countries initially.

At this year’s TFWA Asia-Pacific event, Kurbielsays that Polaar will exhibit the brand “as a whole,”without focusing too much on specific products orranges, though he does note that Ice Pure and IceRepair will be front and center. “The travel retail worlddoesn’t know about us yet, so the entire range hasbeen renewed for this show,” he says.

“We’re a new brand, talking to new customers.We want to create awareness in the Asia domesticmarket and we’re seeking a local and duty free dis-tributor for Asia. If you find the right distributorthe sky is the limit. We’re excited about what’sgoing to happen this year.” c

eauty company Polaar has a decidedly unique selling anglethat must be the envy of its competitors: according toFounder Daniel Kurbiel, every product the company man-ufactures and sells is derived from “polar-active” ingre-dients from the Arctic or Antarctic.

Kurbiel comes from a family of polar scientists who have beeninvolved in arctic research for 35 years. “Eight years ago,” he says,“we decided that we have technology that no one elsehad, which are polar active ingredients, and we couldput it in cosmetics. No one has done this. These micro-organisms are really very potent.”

The extreme cold weather in the Arctic and Antarc-tic is the key to the ingredients Polaar uses. Sometimesno photosynthesis occurs in arctic regions for sixmonths of the year, with temperatures reaching minus70 Celsius. “It’s extremely harsh,” Kurbiel says, “but asthey say, ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.’ It’sthe same thing with our ingredients. It’s the best nat-ural selection and breeds the most potent ingredientin the world. It’s really from the worst of conditionsthat the best cosmetics come.”

One active ingredient is PPNF3, defined as a “gly-cosylated peptide extracted from a cryophilic (i.e. liv-ing in extreme cold) organism.” The peptide has self-healing and anti-aging properties that enable it to restorecollagen and elastin levels. PPNF3 is used in Polaar’s IceRe-pair Fundamental Anti-Wrinkle Cream and Funda-mental Anti-Wrinkle Serum. The cream fights wrinklesand offers hydration and nutrition, targeting all of theskin’s layers. The serum’s wrinkle-correcting actionkicks in after the first application, Polaar says.

Another key ingredient is Arctic Cotton, a plant thatthrives in extreme Arctic conditions. The plant is activein Polaar’s three-product Arctic Cotton range: Micel-lar Water, Velvety Cleanser gel and Gentle Scrub. Arc-tic Cotton contains what Polaar calls the most potentand purest natural antioxidants. The plant is high inglucids, which nourish skin cells, while high levels ofminerals help to revitalize the skin. Flavonoids—nat-ural pigments—add soothing properties.

Polaar has a strong foothold in the domestic mar-ket in France, where it is offered in more than 800 stores.Products are also sold in South Africa, the UK, Bel-gium and elsewhere in Europe as well as in Dubai,Morocco, Algeria, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Tahitiand South Korea. Kurbiel says the products are “sur-prisingly affordable,” with face creams starting at €35-€ 40 (US$45-$51).

B

Arctic advantagePolaar’s unique selling points position the new brand for success in travel retail BY HIBAH NOOR

“When we conceived ourproducts we didn’t knowit, but we were alreadytravel retail oriented.”

Daniel Kurbiel, Founder, Polaar

At this year’s TFWAAsia Pacific show,Polaar will exhibit IcePure and Ice Repair


WE INNOVATE FOR AIRLINES

TFWA SINGAPORE, STAND N30WWW.KYUTEC.NET

January 2013

Summer 2013

KYUTEC SMARTPHONE LENS

KYUTEC SMARTPHONE FAT TESTER

DIGITAL BREATHALYZER

HD KULICAM PEN

UV-C STERILISATOR


When the Red Bull Racing Eyewear collection was launched in 2012, amongits first customers were several airlines with a premium reputation. Therange has since expanded across most European countries, into key mar-kets in Asia, the Middle East and Canada, as well as Australia and SouthAfrica. It is now following on its success by turning to the travel retail mar-kets in those regions. As the company says, “success proves we’re rightto drive the business by opening the world of Red Bull Racing Eyewearto duty free customers as well.”

The Red Bull Racing Eyewear connection leverages the brand’s high-visibility racing sponsorships with precision high-tech design and theunusual, sporty contours that have become the collection’s signature.

“The shades worn by Infiniti Red Bull Racing drivers Mark Webber andtriple world champion Sebastian Vettel win the race by their sophisticatedcombination of technology and design,” the company says. On the For-mula One side the eyewear accents protection, light weight and a high degreeof tensile strength. The Red Bull Racing Eyewear collection develops thesame elements into products positioned for optimum fit and comfort.

During the TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore, Red Bull Racing Eye-wear will present the new range of Carbon styles, Racing and Sports Func-tion sunglasses. The company plans to establish Red Bull Racing Eyewearwith key duty free operators in Europe and Asia to drive distribution withinthe travel retail channel.

In 2013 Asia and Europe will be the focus for growth, with media selec-tion in travel retail focused on inflight magazines and online channels.

“Shopping on airplanes and at airports is for a lot of people who travel‘part of the journey,’” says Karl Stoiber, Sales Director Travel Retail. “RedBull Racing Eyewear is meant to be an enrichment both while travelingand ‘on the pole position of life.’”

Red Bull’s Racing Eyewear collectiongears up for the travel retail market

Maui Jim has announced the appointment of Jeremy Tan as TravelRetail Manager for Asia Pacific. “Jeremy brings a wealth of travelretail experience and expertise to Maui Jim as this fast-mov-ing brand continues to expand across the region,” says GilesMarks, Director, Global Travel Retail. In his previous position withPaton’s Macadamia Ltd., Tan was responsible for both travelretail and domestic markets in Asia over the last five years, suc-cessfully establishing the brand with major retailers in the region.

Tan’s official start date was April 16, working from hishome office in Melbourne, Australia, and reporting to Marks.Tan will join Marks at Maui Jim’s booth (stand K9) at theTFWA Asia Pacific show.

Maui Jim’s goal in Asia is to enhance the brand presencewith the major retailers in the region with unique promotionsand customized displays. Maui Jim is so far just “scratchingthe surface” with two or three other major operators, Marks says,so there’s still lots of untapped potential. A recent win camewith a position in downtown Taiwan with Ever Rich, which pavesthe way for a move on the city’s airport, Marks says.

A domestic distribution centre opened in Hong Kong twoyears ago, and Maui Jim is now contemplating a service cen-ter in China for Asian customers, along the lines of what thebrand is doing in Sydney. “It will show them our commitmentto the Asian retailers and consumers,” Marks says. “MauiJim is serious about operating not just globally, but having astrong foothold in Asia.”

One challenge in Asia is the strong preference Asian cus-tomers have for established fashion brand names. “It’s a chal-lenge for us because we don’t have the history of some of theother brands that have been out there, and we’re not affiliatedwith fashion houses,” Marks says. “We’ve been able to workthrough those challenges by showcasing the features and ben-efits of the product.” Fortunately, he says, Chinese buyers inparticular are very focused on features and benefits, andpolarized sunglasses.

Marks says that Maui Jim’s “Polage” display gives thebrand a critical advantage wherever there’s space to displayit. The unit has been customized by Austine, an LA-baseddesigner who works exclusively with Maui Jim and actuallysigns each one. The unit educates customers about howMaui Jim lenses reduce glare. Polage was deployed in HongKong a few years ago and Austine customized a unit basedon Hong Kong Harbour, with positive results. More recently

in Europe, Austine and Maui Jim created a Swiss alps-themed Polage for Nuance’s store in Zurich airport.

Sunglass News

Maui Jim bulks up for Asia

To help demonstrate the power of Maui Jim’s polarized sunglasses, the company has developed the Polage (Polarized Light Collage),which improves color resolution and enhances contrast whileeliminating glare when seen through Maui Jim lenses

The Red Bull range has expandedacross most European countriesand into key markets in Asia, theMiddle East and Canada, as wellas Australia and South Africa

Infiniti Red Bull Racingdrivers Mark Webber andtriple world championSebastian Vettel(pictured) sport RedBull’s Racing eyewear


Calli wears Ginger. ©2013 Maui Jim, Inc.

Our PolarizedPlus2®

lenses are made with rare earth elements to bring

you closer to all the colors of nature.

Available in prescription.

Seeing more shades of purple inspires your creative spirit.

MJ_1340_Duty Free Mag Ad_May.indd 1 3/28/13 2:30 PM

For more information, please contact Giles Marks, Director of Global Travel Retail at [email protected].

Royal London


on Skeleton movements. A multi-functionpower reserve model has been added to therange for the initial launch.

In releasing this new collection, RoyalLondon states: “Considerably more expen-sive than other inferior quality automatictimepiece movements, Citizen Miyota auto-matic parts are not used in any other watchesproduced within the highly competitiveprice points offered by Royal London, soyou can be assured that this latest rangereally is the best in its class.” The companyhas been careful to emphasize that its auto-matic watches use only genuine Japanesemade Citizen Miyota movements. This posi-tioning, the brand says, ensures that storescan sell a Royal London watch with theutmost confidence.

Royal London watches are designed by thecompany’s own appointed designers, whichBhudiya says ensures that the end productsare unique, offering more than mere “off-the-shelf” designs. He adds that the company hasengaged a Swiss-trained British watchdesigner and has given her the task of devel-oping new collections on a regular basisover the course of the year.

Looking ahead, Bhudiya expects that theAsia market will offer the greatest growthpotential for the brand. Europe, where RoyalLondon has already developed good distri-bution into the high street retail market, islagging somewhat at the moment thanksto the region’s economic uncertainties, butthe brand has started a joint venture in Ger-many and the French market is comingalong nicely, he says. And he is hopeful thatTFWA Asia Pacific will give it the opportu-

nity to develop contacts with buyers from theAsia, a huge and high-potential marketwhere Royal London has already made astart with distribution in Indonesia andVietnam and is actively pursuing furtherpotential business.

Royal London’s media attack plan forduty free is still in its early stages, Bhudiyasays, with the brand as new as it is to the travelretail side. “However,” he says, “we have putmany adverts in trade magazines in a fewcountries such as Belgium, Germany, Aus-tria and Ukraine. Our distributors in somecountries have put adverts on bus stops,street furniture, rickshaws, etc.” c

oyal London may be relativelynew to the travel retail market,but Raj Bhudiya, Export Man-ager for the Condor Group, isoptimistic that the brand’s first

steps in this new direction, buoyed by its solidreputation in traditional retail channels, isa good predictor of success. Bhudiya feels thattravel retail will prove to be a good newplatform to further develop the brand’salready well established profile.

“We exhibited at the ARC show in Lon-don last year and we have sold products toAir Arabia and to cruise ships via Dufry,”Bhudiya says. “Our brand name is very wellreceived in peoples’ perception, as most haveheard of London and the British Royal fam-ily. They connect the two. Mating this witha high quality product, the brand is gainingground in many markets around the world.”

At this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific tradeshow in Singapore, Royal London will befocusing its main efforts on profiling itsnew collection of British designed watchesfeaturing high-end automatic movements.Bhudiya notes that this type of watch is cur-rently enjoying very good traction with thewatch-buying public.

The new watch collection, which fea-tures men’s and women’s models, incorpo-rates the high-profile and well respected Cit-izen Miyota automatic precision move-ments, and is being sold at what the brandsays are “exceptional” value price points.The full range boasts 11 individual designsand 52 stainless steel models, some of themfeaturing gold plating. The watches in therange include the date and day, which work

RRoyal London’s prestige reputation promises success in travel retail

Royalrecognition

At this year’s TFWA Asia Pacifictrade show in Singapore, RoyalLondon will be focusing its mainefforts on profiling its newcollection of British designedwatches featuring high-endautomatic movements


With creative in-house design and own production,

we specialize in interpreting famous brands such as

Lambretta, Poseidon and Panos Emporio into watch

collections that stand out. Our new unique brand

Velox completes the portfolio. Capella is a strong

global supplier with stocks in the US, Sweden, Dubai

and Hong Kong.

Fashionizing the World of Watches! Fashionizing the World of Watches!

ViSit US in: stand H30Join the success! Phone: +46 31 755 21 00

Email: [email protected]

www. lambrettawatches.com/taxfreeAt tFWA ASiA PACiFiC SingAPOrE

Capella_AsiaDF_TFWA-AP13_210x297[+bleed].indd 1 2013-04-23 17:27

La Perla


whalebones of corsets. Short petticoats alsomake an appearance in the collection.

La Perla also continues its creative col-laboration with Jean Paul Gaultier this sea-son with both beachwear and lingerie. Forbeachwear, La Perla has edited one of the bestknown Jean Paul Gaultier garments, theCage Bustier, with a cage motif that becomesthe principal detail of the collection’s bathingsuits and dresses.

La Perla is busy this year with store open-ings in both the domestic and travel retailmarkets. “We are planning about 15 newopenings in 2013 across the world,” saysBonardi. In the domestic market, La Perlais opening its flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo,which Bonardi says is a major breakthroughfor the brand in Japan. Later this year inSeptember, the brand will open its first flag-ship store in Seoul in Gangnam.

In travel retail La Perla will open a storeat Sydney Airport in June, its third airportstore in the APAC region. “In other markets,development plans are moving at a good pacein the Middle East, with openings in AbuDhabi and Saudi Arabia as well as in the for-mer Soviet Union—a particularly strongregion for us—with two more openings inMoscow, Baku and Kaliningrad,”Bonardi says. La Perla is also in nego-tiations with a partner for the open-ing of a store in Munich.

Presently, the brand’s top priority isto open more and more airport stores.“Our strategy is to open in airportsthrough travel retail operators that arebetter equipped than us to work in theindustry,” Bonardi says, adding thatwith the opening of new stores, thetravel retail team will have to grow toaccommodate the brand’s partners.

Looking ahead, this fall will seeLa Perla participate in the TFWAWorld Exhibition in Cannes for thefirst time, where Bonardi expects tosee a strong acceleration of the brand’stravel retail business. La Perla alsoplans to focus more on the LatinAmerican market, where Bonardi feelsthere is still untapped potential. c

ith new lines, several storeopenings and first-timeexhibitor plans, luxurylingerie brand La Perla isenjoying a very success-

ful year. As a relative newcomer to duty free,La Perla’s key to success lies in sophistication,quality and innovative design.

Asia is a strong market for the brand andManaging Director Andrea Bonardi believesthe reason is the Asian consumer’s interestin sophistication, quality and design. “Con-sumers are increasingly looking for qualityand innovative design, less for the brand assuch,” he says. “This is a very good devel-opment that we are very happy about con-sidering the product we sell. It seems like thereis an acceleration of sophistication amongstluxury consumers.”

Sales in Asia are up about 20% on aver-age this year from last, making the region onethat offers the greatest growth for the brand.At this year’s TFWA AP show, La Perla willbe presenting its Fall/Winter 2013 collection,notably its new Black Label line, whichBonardi describes as a very edgy and sensualseries, one that he feels will perform well inthe brand’s airport stores.

For Spring/Summer 2013 the brand hastwo collections: “Sicily de Luxe,” the newbeachwear collection, and “Sicilian ’800style,” the new lingerie collection. Sicily’slandscape, specifically multi-colored tilesand tapestries and baroque buildings, serveas the inspiration for the designs in Sicily deLuxe. Colors include burgundy, sage green,terra-cotta, sky blue, yellow, white and black.The collection features unconventionalswimwear materials and accents such as tra-ditional lace, Swarovski crystals, brightstucco-work and embroidery.

The design scheme in the Sicilian ‘800style collection harkens back to 19th centurySicily’s baroque palaces, society balls andboudoirs. The collection features bows, laceinserts, hooks, strings, pleats and embroideryalong with period-inspired colors such assage, green, terra-cotta, corn yellow, pink,beige, white and black. Lace is combined withmesh inserts crossed by veins that simulate the

W

A sophisticatedfoundationFor lingerie brand La Perla, success in travel retail comesdown to a sophisticated product offering BY MELISSA SILVA

Pieces from LaPerla’s “Sicilian ’800style” collectionfeature delicate laceinserts, hooks andstrings, reminiscentof 19th century Sicily


Misaki


ewelry and watch specialist Misaki’s well defined identity is one of thesecrets of its success, says Deputy Head of Sales Stefano Marazzato, whobelieves that current retailer buying trends tend to focus on distinctivebrands. The Asian market, of course, has its own unique preferences, notablyfavoring more classic designs such as simple pearl pendants with match-ing studs or classically styled pearl sautoirs with a twist.

“In Asia, Misaki’s interesting color combinations or design touches, suchas crystal pavé or silver beads, are particularly appreciated,” Marazzato says. Whenit comes to Misaki’s watch designs, the pearl designs have proven to be most popu-lar with Asian buyers. “Our Asian consumers also generally look for quality culturedpearl jewelry items for special occasions like wedding gifts.”

Misaki’s winter collection “Glam Reloaded” has been especially successful in Asia,Marazzato says. “The Cleopatra set was a bestseller, and its graphic shape and vin-tage feel were particularly appreciated. In general, elegant pearl pendants such asour Cherish heart-shaped pendant and colorful pearl sautoirs that add an easy touchof style to any look work very well.”

Misaki offers a varied product assortment to cater to the needs of a range of dif-ferent customer tastes, Marazzato says. “We offer fashionable pieces that combinepearls with leather and other innovative materials as well as more classic pieces. Ourthematic twice yearly jewelry collections always have a strong artistic influence andshowcase trendy and modern creations.” Misaki’s international design team devel-ops its creations by analyzing marketplace trends and finding artistic ways to incor-porate these into the brand’s jewelry designs.

Marazzato has noted that the jewelry category is increasingly embracing a strongfashion connection. “Major fashion brands are now developing their own fashioninspired jewelry lines,” he says. “Misaki is a pioneer in the development of trendypearl jewelry designs, making a link between pearl jewelry and the most advancedtrends. We continue to innovate by integrating more original materials, colorful com-binations of pearls, semi-precious stones such as white jade and also more gold plat-ing in our designs, as you will see in our Summer Road Trip collection.”

Marazzato says that Misaki’s travel retail sales in 2012 advanced at a double-digitgrowth rate, riding the wave created by the pace of the brand’s new openings andsupported by the development and growth of the Misaki self-service offer, whichis increasingly well represented in duty free locations around the world. The air-line business has also increased at a double-digit rate year over year.

At the TFWA Asia Pacific Singapore show this year, Misaki will highlight its new“Summer Road Trip” jewelry collection, which Marazzato defines as “a wildly chiccollection with a free spirited and young-at-heart ethos, perfect for a summer get-away.” The new men’s and women’s watch collection, including the Shark range,will also be prominently featured.

To heighten in-store activity and grab consumer attention, Misaki has devel-oped a new furniture design concept which features LED lights and a focus on more

modern aesthetics. Misaki will be implementing this newfurniture in the coming months as it embarks on a majorrenovation of its network of duty free points of sale.

Right now Misaki anticipates that the majority of itsgrowth will stem from the Middle East, Asia and Russia.“We are particularly confident of the growth potential ofour brand in India,” Marazzato says, “where we will be

present in several points of sale in the coming month andwhere we will be deploying a complete marketing and PR

strategy with our new partner.” Misaki adapts its marketing approach depending

on the market/category being addressed, but Maraz-zato says that in general the brand communicates its

messaging to the end consumerthrough advertisements in inflight

magazines, online and in the con-sumer press, by means of billboard signage

and through celebrity product placements. c

FashionforwardPearl jewelry leader Misaki enjoysrapid growth in travel retail

BY HIBAH NOOR

Misaki highlights it’s “SummerRoad Trip” collection at TFAP


Arté


8.5 and 9.1, which almost equates to thelevel 10 of a diamond. And Lee says thatthe synthetic stone’s refraction level, scin-tillating effect, color and purity (IF grade)all actually exceed those of diamonds.

“The Arté synthetic stone is available ina kaleidoscope of over 3000 color combina-tions, making it superior to diamond,” Leesays. “Thanks to its meticulous craftsman-ship and innovative designs, Arté is able tocreate a myriad of jewels in various sizes,shapes and colors.”

Taking pride of place in Arté’s lineup isthe brand’s flagship Deseo collection. The col-lection offers 22 stones in assorted colorsand sizes. Lee defines Deseo (the word isSpanish for “desire”) as “a symbolic repre-sentation of meticulous craftsmanship filledwith unbounded imagination and ingenu-ity.” Deseo is offered in platinum, yellowgold and rose gold colors.

“We believe each single piece of jewelry hasits own character, which is an art piece, justlike our brand,” Lee says. “We keep abreast ofthe latest trends in fashion and what’s hap-pening in different societies when working onthe design. We have to be creative but main-tain our unique style.” To maintain that sig-nature style while at the same time staying wellaway from the market mainstream, Arté offersa number of other collections, including Hol-iday in Spain, which draws its inspirationfrom Arté’s country of origin.

Deseo will be the highlight for Arté atthis year’s TFWA AP show in Singapore, butLee notes that the brand will also showcasenew collections encompassing more than100 new products created by the brand’sSpanish design team. For 2013 Arté plans tomaintain its pace of growth in travel retail,with the huge, potential-rich Chinese mar-ket being a major focus. Arté also plans to con-

tinue work on building its worldwide travelretail distribution infrastructure.

Arté products are already onboard withsome of the major Asian airlines. Theseinclude Cathay Pacific, ANA, Jet Airways,Dragon Air, China Airlines, Eva Air, Trans Asiaand Hong Kong Airlines. Two more listingswere recently secured with Korean Air andAir Macau. “We are confident that we will havemore than 20 international accounts to beopened in the airlines and airport duty freestores in 2013,” Lee says. While marketing andadvertising placement so far is focused oninflight magazines, Arté is also paying moreattention to the airport duty free side.

“As more people want to travel interna-tionally, we see the potential for us to step intothis growing market,” Lee says. “Also it willhelp to broaden the distribution platform ofthe brand and support its development intravel retail worldwide. To date travel retailis one of Arté’s fastest growing channels,and one that still holds plenty of untappedpotential.” c

hen the originators of Arté- the Barranco familydecided to exhibit theirpassion for art and jew-elry by transforming it into

a business in 1898. Their premium, artisanalapproach paid off by marrying preciousgems and rare metals in its Madrid workshop.It didn’t take long for the fledgling businessto develop a global reputation and earned aunique cachet among affluent customers,including show business luminaries and eventhe Spanish royal family, says Executive Direc-tor Caren Lee.

“Arté was born of a deep Spanish passionand commitment to a world brimming withcolor, beauty, fashion and imagination,” Leesays. Arté went beyond the typical bounds

of jewelry design, and actually developedits own synthetic gemstone to

circumvent the design limitsimposed by natural gemstones.Similar to diamonds, the hard-

ness level of the syntheticgemstone is between

W

Arté advances

Premium Spanish gem house continues to build on a century-oldartisan reputation BY HIBAH NOOR

Arté’s flagship Deseocollection offers 22stones in assortedcolors and sizes

Arté develops its own syntheticgemstone to circumvent the designlimits imposed by natural gemstones

Arté products are already onboard withsome of the major Asian airlines


FR_AsiaDF_DF_20Mar.indd 1 27/03/13 14.37

Godiva


why Godiva offers thesame unique shopping experienceto consumers in both domestic and travelretail markets. “Our domestic shop in Brussels and ourairport shops at Singapore Changi Airport [have] the same designconcept and deliver the same shopping experience to consumers,”Lam explains.

To strengthen its position in the market, Godiva believes in cre-ating opportunities for consumer engagement such as organizing choco-late schools in its shops and consumer real time on Weibo. Additionally,to reinforce Godiva’s Belgian heritage, the company invites Chinesepress to Belgium to meet its chief chocolatier.

In terms of products, Godiva has created innovative novelties forChinese consumers to celebrate different important events celebratedin Chinese culture, such as its Mid-autumn Festival gift boxes and, forChinese New Year, its Year of the Snake and Year of the Dragon gift boxes.Godiva also created Chinese New Year gift boxes for travel retail withthe same design concept. “For the Year of the Snake, we created choco-late in tea flavors for Chinese consumers,” says Lam. “We have milk choco-late Green Tea, Jasmine and dark chocolate Black Smoked Tea.”

Capitalizing on the popular gifting concept in Chinese culture,Godiva also created the Chinese souvenir box. “We are combiningmodernity with Belgian heritage,” says Lam.

Looking ahead, Lam says Godiva plans to open an additional 15new boutiques in domestic markets. As for travel retail, with theChinese traveler making more domestic trips than international, thecompany is currently exploring the opportunity to enter domesticairports in China. c

or over 80 years, Godiva has been creating quality Belgianchocolates by paying close attention to ingredients, styling,selection and packaging. China’s recent emergence as abooming market has presented Godiva with theopportunity to strategically produce

novelties that cater to this growing market, focus-ing specifically on the category’s gifting element.

China is the second largest luxury market in theworld today—29% of the total luxury goods sales arefrom China, up from only 1% in 2003—and is expectedto be the world’s largest luxury market by 2015, so theopportunities for Godiva are plentiful. “China is a hugemarket with over 100 million luxury consumers, includ-ing over 95 billionaires, over 1.4 million millionaires andover 250 million middle-class consumers,” says CS Lam,Travel Retail Regional Director Asia Pacific.

Adding to such statistics, Lam notes that the number ofwealthy households in China as of 2010 was 223 million, whichis above that of the US, Japan and Germany combined (220 mil-lion). “By 2015, the number [for China] will go up to 273 million and320 million by 2020,” he says.

In addition, China has the world’s youngest luxury market, withthe majority of the population in their 30s, a group referred to as the‘Elevated Elite.’ “They are more aware of brands and more familiarwith luxury goods,” says Lam. He adds that this consumer group under-stands the relationship between quality and price; they appreciate theauthenticity of luxury products and are looking for quality over theimportance of a brand logo. “The young luxury consumer appreci-ates brand history and craftsmanship,” says Lam. “Authenticity isimportant to them and Godiva’s position matches this profile 100%.”

All of the above factors have made the Chinese market a very sig-nificant prospect for Godiva, especially given the importance of gift-giving in Chinese culture. Also advantageous for the company is theabsence of a premium chocolate market in China and the fact thatChinese travelers are the number one outbound nationality. “Thedeveloping China market is not only benefiting travel retail but ourdomestic business especially in Europe because a lot of Chinese touristsgo to our Belgium store to buy Godiva chocolates,” Lam explains.

The first Godiva boutique in China was opened in September 2009,and today the company has 35 retail boutiques in 13 cities, includ-ing two flagship stores in China—one in Beijing and one in Shang-hai. “Godiva is accessible nationwide via our e-commerce business,”explains Lam. “We are now reaching 60 cities in China and we havea special delivery van in Shanghai.”

In travel retail, Godiva now has 21 POS locations in seven airports.Based on Godiva’s consumer research, Lam says Chinese consumerslearn about luxury chocolate first from traveling overseas, which is

F

MarketdrivenWith innovative novelties and an eye for cultural trends, Godiva builds a strong presence in the Chinese market

To capitalize on the populargifting concept in Chineseculture, Godiva created the

Chinese souvenir box

Following this year’sChinese New Year gift

boxes, Godiva has alsocreated a Chinese NewYear gift box for 2014


Project2_Layout 1 13-04-23 11:35 AM Page 1

Jelly Belly Candy Company


ith new placements in Sin-gapore and Japan, Jelly BellyCandy Company is enjoy-ing solid growth in theAsian market. Working

together with Focus Network Agency (FNA),Jelly Belly has successfully developed a largenumber of retail properties and programs inAsia that put the brand front and center.

FNA owns Cocoa Tree locations at Sin-gapore’s Changi Airport, which are kept freshwith renovations every few years. Two CocoaTree stores in Terminal 3 recently installed JellyBelly Bulk Combo displays in a custom-fit unitin a design that complements the space. Thedisplays highlight a selection of gift boxesand gift items for the traveling consumer.

Jelly Belly says that its Bulk Jelly Beans aresuccessful in travel retail because they allowshoppers to experiment, discover flavorsand create their own mixes. The bulk formatcreates entertainment value and encour-ages customers to linger at the display.

FNA has also placed Jelly Belly’s 125gFabulous Five Gift Box in the Peach Shopinflight boutique on Peach Aviation, a Japan-ese domestic airline which also connects

W

Aiminghigher

through South Korea, Hong Kong and Taipei.The placement adds to Jelly Belly’s inflightpresence with United Airlines and British Air.

“We’ve seen nice increases in all travelretail channels, including airports, borderstores, airlines, and even cruise ships and fer-ries,” says Director of CommunicationsTomi Holt. “Jelly Belly is particularly suitedfor travel retail as the brand is a premiumbrand with a high perceived value amongconsumers—perfect for gifting, personalconsumption and for sharing.”

Holt says Jelly Belly’s new line oftravel retail products has been puttogether to provide a sense offun with an emphasis on easyportability, a key purchasecriterion for travelers. Theline features a dedicated

design and key price points tailored to trav-elers and will be a key focal point for JellyBelly’s presence at TFWA Asia Pacific in Sin-gapore, but Holt points out that Jelly Belly’ssuccess in duty free stems in large part fromthe depth of its offering. “Along with ourexclusive travel retail line, we’ve also hadgood success with the Jelly Belly everydayline. We’ve placed bulk displays in certaintravel retail locations with a great deal ofsuccess in engaging the consumer in a funactivity while spending time in the airport. Ona case-by-case basis we’ve been expanding ourpromotional efforts with more samplingopportunities and consumer promotions.”

In Asia, travel retail best sellers are the bulkindividual flavors and special collections,as well as 100g bags in 20 and 50 FlavorAssorted and Tropical, Sunkist Citrus Mix,and Fruit Bowl Assortments, Holt says. Asianmarkets have a preference for fruit flavors,although Jelly Belly has been quite success-ful with the recent introduction of CocktailClassics, a five flavor collection developedfrom popular cocktails (non-alcoholic). “Wealso sell gift boxes, with the most popular sizesbeing our 20 Flavor Gift Box as well as our50 Flavor Gift Box,” Holt says. “Regionalflavors like Jelly Belly Sakura are also pop-ular. Jelly Bean Chocolate Dips, our newestintroduction of a chocolate covered jellybean, is starting off quite well.”

Travel retail is a key focus area for JellyBelly going forward. Holt says China shoulddeliver the best growth in Asia in the com-ing year, with Singapore and Korea alsoshowing good increases. Globally, Jelly Bellyhas tapped into its network of internationaldistributors in over 75 countries to helpdevelop travel retail, as well as taking on adedicated brokerage group in the Caribbeanand Latin America. Local offices in Shang-hai, Hamburg and now Canada are also

developing programs and focusing onthis lucrative channel. c

The Fabulous Five GiftBox has taken to the air

with Japan’s PeachAviation

A Jelly Belly BulkCombo display inChangi’s Terminal 3

Jelly Belly gets its travel retail push into high gear in Asia and around the world


H E R S H E Y ’ S ®�� I � � �H E R S H E Y ’ S ®�K I S S E S ® � I � � �R E E S E ’ S ® � I � � � I C E � B R E A K E R S ® � I � � �J O L LY � R A N C H E R ®� � I � � B R O O K S I D E ®

©2013 The Hershey Company

Discover HersHey’s® portfolio of iconic global brands and innovative Travel retail exclusive products.

These travelers’ favorites are joined in 2013 by premium BrOOKsIDe® chocolates, made with smooth

dark chocolate-covered real fruit juice pieces offering unique flavor combinations.

Connect with us at Stand D231 at the Tax Free Asia Pacific Show.

Confectionery News


Ferrero builds its footprint in Asia For Luxembourg-based Ferrero TravelMarket, the Asian duty free market is per-forming well, growing organically basedon the strength of China in combinationwith the contributions registered by largeair hubs throughout the region. “Growthis pretty healthy as a business,” says Mar-keting Director Alberto Donnini.

In other more established markets likeEurope, he finds that players with thebiggest market share are too strong toallow small ones to successfully getspace and increase sales dramatically.

“In Asia, instead, some small play-ers still have the chance to push hard andbring additional growth to the category.

It is much more a feeling than a realnumber-based analysis - the only infor-mation available is declared sell-in frommajor players provided by Generation- but he is quite convinced that is actu-ally the case.

Ferrero, despite being one of thefirst players in market share in Asia,continues to enjoy healthy grow. Thecompany distributes through most ofAsia, although in Japan and Korea thepresence it is extremely limited. Also in

China distribution is building, but Don-nini says the brand still needs to buildmore shelf space and visibility.

Ferrero Rocher is the brand’s num-ber one contender in Asia, supporting themarket success of the flagship FerreroPralines. “Our challenge would be tokeep the flagship strong and then developour other brands like Kinder, Tic Tacand then Nutella,” Donnini says. “Thoseare the three big growing brands.”

“We have a great range of skus forKinder, covering both children’s gifts(the territory Kinder owns) and snacks,but in Asia we are under-represented.Tic Tac has just been properly launchedin travel retail with the new collection andto date the results are excellent, but itis too early to give proper feedback.As for Nutella, we are developing plans.In fact, if on one side of the Europeandomestic market it is an amazinglystrong brand, and it is growing in the restof the world, on the other side to datein travel retail it gets little space, oftencannibalizing existing space Kinderowns, and has poor visibility. But we areworking on it,” concludes Donnini.

Continuing its tradition of bringing goodness to consumers around theworld with great tasting snacks, Hershey’s World Travel Retail will begiving two World Travel Retail Exclusive products their Asia Pacific debut.

Two new extra-creamy chocolate bar flavors, Hershey’s Creamy MilkChocolate Bars and Hershey’s Creamy Milk Chocolate Bars with Tof-fee and Almonds will make their debut. Both bars are 193g and comein an easy-to-open pack for convenience on the go. In addition, Her-shey is introducing an exclusive, new Variety Box, which offers an assort-ment of four consumer favorite Hershey bars. Each bar is 100g mak-ing it perfect for snacking and sharing. The assortment includes a Her-shey’s Creamy Milk Chocolate Bar, Hershey’s Creamy MilkChocolate with Almonds Bar, Hershey’s Spe-cial Dark Bar and Hershey’s Cookies n CrèmeBar. The Variety Box showcases Hershey’s MilkChocolate’s bold logo and iconic color.

The two new bars and the convenientVariety Box are travel retail exclusive and willbe available beginning May 2013, debuting atTFAP in Singapore.

“Our new extra-creamy chocolate bars bring trav-eling global consumers the taste profile they pre-fer while showcasing our iconic, high-quality milkchocolate elevated to new levels,” says Steve Bentz,Hershey World Travel Retail General Manager. “With

our Variety Box, our consumers will be able to snack and sharea number of our best-loved chocolate bars anytime, anywhere.”

Also being shown is Brookside, which is an ideal fit, according toHershey’s, for duty free with its range of rich dark chocolate and healthyfruit. Hershey will be highlighting three core Brookside products– DarkChocolate Pomegranate, Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry and DarkChocolate Goji with Raspberry. Brookside is already a proven suc-cess in Canada and the other global markets where it is available.

Brookside offers a range of rich dark chocolate and healthy fruit

“Tic Tac has just beenproperly launched in travelretail with the new collectionand to date the results areexcellent [so far],”says Donnini

Ferrero Travel Market’sMarketing Director

Alberto Donnini

Giant Bars and Brookside to make Asia debut at TFAP


Since 1887, Chocolat Frey has been creating tempting chocolate dreams and pralines to the highest standards. The No. 1 chocolate manufacturer in Switzerland follows a recipe for success based on tradition, innovation and a passion for perfection. Real premium chocolate, 100% Swiss-made!

Finest Swiss Praline Creations

Diageo


sia and Scotch continue to be the perfect pairing for Dia-geo, maker of the iconic world-leading Johnnie Walkerlabel, as the premium drinks producer and distributorreturns to the annual TFWA AP exhibition this May.

According to Peter Khemlani, Diageo’s RegionalMarketing Manager - Asia Pacific, the Johnnie Walker Explorer’sClub Collection will headline Diageo’s presence this year, along withJohnnie Walker Blue Label and John Walker & Sons Odyssey.

Launched with great fanfare at Cannes last year, the Explorer’s ClubCollection was Diageo’s biggest investment to date in the travel retailchannel, embodying the company’s historic links with adventure andtravel. The idea for the collection was based on Alexander Walker’sfamed 1890s “Travelers’ Room,” with the first whisky in the collec-tion—The Spice Road—offering a spicy, smooth and honeyed fla-vor profile accented by a signature smoldering smoke finish.

Retail performance in the Asia market for Johnnie Walker’sExplorer’s Club Collection – The Spice Road has been extremelypositive, says Khemlani. The second whisky in the collection, The GoldRoute, debuted in March this year, and Khemlani reports that the finalrelease, The Royal Route, will be launched regionally from July 2013.

Market demand and opportunity from China continues to be a majorfocus for Diageo as it looks to build on its current successes by win-ning more Chinese passengers and capitalizing on the boom in afflu-ent high-net-worth consumers for whom luxury purchase decisionsare the new norm.

With the number of Chinese millionaires expanding by 31%between 2009 and 2010 alone, and over one million six-digit incomeearners across the country, this is fuelling premium spirit marketgrowth in travel retail, and the market as a whole is forecasted to growby anywhere between 60 and 129% over the next five years.

This is where Johnnie Walker Blue Label – The Casks Edition and John Walker &Sons Odyssey are making a play. Launched in March and September 2012 respectively,these ultra desirable brands are part of the premiumization trend identified by the Dia-

geo team.A global travel exclusive with a recommended retail price of US$300, John-

nie Walker Blue Label – The Casks Edition is crafted from some of Diageo’s rarestcasks. The liquid exhibits intensified wood flavors to produce a robust and pow-erfully flavored blended Scotch whisky.

Sitting pretty at the top end of the market, John Walker & Sons Odyssey hasbecome a popular gifting purchase in addition to being enjoyed by Asian luxurybrand aficionados. The award-winning rare triple malt has a recommendedretail price of US$950.

Odyssey commemorates the 80th anniversary of one of Alexander Walker’s mostmemorable innovations—a whisky decanter that replicates the movement of thesea. Housed in a specially designed crystal decanter, the bottle gently swings to andfro when pushed and can rotate a full 360 degrees as the case is turned.

Khemlani confirms that Diageo remain focused on the demand for differen-tiated travel retail exclusive offerings: “There is demand for new and exclusive prod-ucts that shoppers cannot buy at home, and that’s the opportunity for Johnnie WalkerExplorer’s Club Collection and JW Blue Label – The Casks Edition.” c

A

John Walker & Sons Odyssey has become apopular gifting purchase in addition to beingenjoyed by Asian luxury brand aficionados

The Johnnie Walker Explorer’s ClubCollection will headline Diageo’s presenceat TFWA AP this year; pictured is The GoldRoute, the second release in the series

A global travelexclusive with arecommendedretail price ofUS$300, JohnnieWalker Blue Label– The CasksEdition is craftedfrom some ofDiageo’s rarestcasks

BY CLAIRE MALCOLM

Premiumization proves to be the way to Asian consumers’ hearts


www.davidoff.com

Smoking seriously harms you and others around you

«YEAR OF THE SNAKE»Limited Edition 2013

dav_yos13_cigars_210x297mm_englisch 18.02.13 12:49 Seite 1

Distilleria Bottega


berries—mainly currants and wild straw-berries. The taste is fresh, with a good acid-ity that is described as harmonious, delicateand persistent.

Also being showcased at the stand this yearis Amarone Prêt-à-Porter, which is aged fora period of 4 years, making it a very elegant,full-bodied and long-lasting wine. Atten-dees will also see Il Vino dei Poeti BolgheriRosso Doc, a red wine produced in Castag-neto Carducci in Tuscany, an area well knownfor its red wines.

In the storeEducation is a key objective for the companythis year in Asia, but luckily Bottega tells us thatconsumers there are generally well groundedin wine basics: “The area is very developed forwines and liqueurs, and consumers are veryeager to know more about wines and spirits.Asia is an area where a high number of peo-ple attend wine education courses.”

As a way of gaining more visibility intravel retail and starting a dialogue withtravelers, Bottega has been running a suc-cessful promotion with select travel retailoperators in Asia wherein consumers aregiven the opportunity to taste the products.“Tasting is the closest thing to getting a first-hand experience of Italy,” explains Bottega.

As value for money is also important,all Bottega products offer consumers themaximum in quality—including artisticand original packaging. “The main objectivewith any activity of this nature is to workmore closely with the operators while at thesame time raising the profile of our brand,”Bottega adds.

A bright futureBottega ended our conversation with hisopinions on the future of travel retail inAsia, and specifically on the continuedsuccess of the Bottega brand: “I feel thatthe region will continue to grow in2013,” he said. “From the trends I’mnoticing, I think Italian wines andsparkling wines are going to continueto become more and more popularevery year.

“Good news for Distilleria Bottega isthat Prosecco is especially growing in Asiaand is starting to be very well known byconsumers in the region,” he concluded.“I’m very happy with our performanceto date in Asia and look forward tostrengthening bonds with operatorseven further at this year’s TFWA APexhibition in Singapore.” c

t this year’s TFWA AP exhibi-tion in Singapore, DistillieriaBottega will be showcasing anumber of products—bothnew and classic—for opera-

tors in the region, including Bottega RoseGold, Amarone Prêt-à-Porter and Il Vino deiPoeti Bolgheri Rosso Doc.

Sandro Bottega, President of DistilleriaBottega, tells Asia Duty Free that business inthe region has been good: “Changi Airportis one of our strongest performing cus-tomers,” he explains. “South Korea andMalaysia airports are the other strong spotsat the moment. Sales of our products arealso growing quickly in Hong Kong andBangkok Airports.”

In terms of the Bottega range, BottegaGold is the clear bestseller in the region.Always looking for products that have aluxury look and feel, Asians seem to appre-ciate the gilded gold bottle, says Bottega. Inaddition, Amarone Prêt-à-Porter is also gar-nering attention in the region. It was recentlylisted at Changi with DFS and in Malasia Air-port with Eraman.

On the standHoping to spark the imagination of oper-ators this year and continue from the suc-cess of Bottega Gold, the company will beshowcasing Bottega Rose Gold at its standat TFWA AP. The offering is a new sparklingwine that completes the Bottega wine col-lection. The packaging of the bottle is char-acterized by its charming pink color.

Bottega Rose Gold is a Pinot Noirsparkling wine, produced with a selectionof grapes harvested in Oltrepò Pavese. Thisarea, located in Lombardia region of North-ern Italy, is largely appreciated by wine-makers and wine connoisseurs alike. Thepeach-colored wine appears brilliant witha fine and lasting perlage. The bouquet isdistinctly flowery with the scent of mixed

A

Distilleria Bottega show-cases Bottega Rose Gold atTFWA AP in hopes of con-tinuing the success it hasenjoyed in Asia with peren-nial favorite Bottega Gold

A sparklingsuccess

“Good news for DistilleriaBottega is that Proseccois especially growing inAsia and is starting to bevery well known by con-sumers in the region.”

Sandro Bottega, President, Distilleria Bottega

Bottega Rose Gold is a Pinot Noirsparkling wine, produced with a selection

of grapes harvested in Oltrepò Pavese

Amarone Prêt-à-Porter isgarnering attention in Asia

travel retail and wasrecently listed at Changiwith DFS and in Malasia

Airport with Eraman


VISIT OUR STAND B02

TFWA SINGAPORE

By the year 1700, Spanish ships ar-rived to the colonies in the New World loaded with products from Spain. One popular product was sweet wine stored in barrels, which were later emptied after use. These empty barrels were filled with Chinguirito, which is rum that was produced in Mexico, and shipped back to Spain. As the rum aged in the sweet wine barrels during the trip back to Spain, it absorbed wood flavors and aroma from the sweet wine bar-rels, which gave it very special character-istics. The resulting product became very popular in Spain, and local producers saw it as a threat to the sales of their products. Con-sequently, the King of Spain prohibited the production of this rum in the New World. Chinguirito was also known as Habanero because the last stop on the way back to Spain

from the New World was Habana, Cuba.

Gulf Beverages


“If you look at Delhi Duty Free, beforethe new airport opened it was a verypoor retailing environment, but inthe new set-up the single malts havea fantastic display, which educatesconsumers, plus the fact that we are see-ing more retailers with great brandknowledge,” he says.

The company is also looking moreinto the wine space, and Ashford feelsthat India is underplayed in this area,with an even more pressing need forboth retailer and consumer education.“There is a real opportunity aroundwine, and for us to develop retailers’ranges with the right offering andstyle. The market is at entry level interms of consumer understanding;they don't really know what they likeand there is a lot of work to be donein terms of educating people about the dif-ferent price points,” he comments.

Ashford also sees a future for increasedChampagne sales. “Laurent Perrier is alreadyin India, but it just being launched from adomestic perspective, as well as travel retail, andLaurent Perrier Rosé is very popular,” he says.

Port is also a potential opportunity, which,he says, is a good transitional product for con-sumers with little or no wine knowledge, withthe company already stocking Taylor’s Port.

New products on the 2013 roster will seesome exciting brands make their India debut,as he explains: “From Glenrothes we havetheir new Robur Reserve range and will alsobe introducing two new lines – Elders andMinisters from Berry Bros. & Rudd. Thesewill have age statements on them - which theAsian market loves.

“We’re also launching Beluga Vodka, abeautiful vodka produced in the depths ofSiberia. Their top end product is Gold Line,which comes in a gorgeous bottle that hasa little hammer to break the seal, and whichretails for around US$185.”

While whisky accounts for 90% of importedspirits, Ashford says that vodka is up-and-coming, and there is a growing trend amongstyounger consumers, which they hope to cap-

italize on with the intro-duction of major USbrand Svedka Vodka laterthis year.

White and Mackay’sDalmore Constellation willalso be launched in Delhi.“It’s a fabulous range ofvintage aged malts, each30 to 40 years old and theyhave the distillation date onthem. They are phenomenally expensive, butgreat for a celebration, and we also have theShackleton range, based on a master blenderrecreation of whisky from the legendaryexplorer’s Antarctic adventure,” adds Ashford.

In terms of new partnerships, Gulf Bev-erages is in the process of formalizing its rela-tionship with Berry Bros. & Rudd for Glen-rothes, which will bring with it several newproducts that Ashford is eyeing for Indiadistribution.

“They have a premium gin called No 3London Dry Gin, which has a key with thenumber three attached to it. India is a trickycategory when it comes to gin, but it is hav-ing a bit of a renaissance. We will also belaunching a King’s Ginger Liqueur, which isgreat for mixers,” he comments. c

ndia’s growing thirst for importedbrands and the emergence of a fledg-ling appreciation for wine holds newcommercial promise for UAE-head-quartered Gulf Beverages, with 2013 set

to be a banner year for business growth.According to the company’s Business

Development Director Leon Ashford, GulfBeverages is looking to double its India busi-ness in 2013, shipping 50,000 cases to the sub-continent’s most populous destination.

“We more than doubled our business from2011 to 2012, and are aiming to replicate thatagain this year. India is a logical extension fortravel retail servicing from here as we are ableto source products from around 40 coun-tries, bring them in to Jebel Ali, pack intocontainers and then ship it to Mumbai, forexample, in just five or six days,” says Ashford.

Changing consumer taste and awarenesscampaigns are also driving new beveragetrends, with Ashford highlighting a “sur-prising” level of interest in imported beerbrands, as he explains: “India is a massive beermarket, with big brands like Carlsberg, Fos-ters, and now Heineken, all brewing locally,but the consumer is still interested inimported brands and certain retail con-cepts are experimenting with niche brandssuch as Belgium’s Delirium.

“There are also retailer venues, like ThePint Room and Beer Café in Delhi, thatfocus on imported brands. Marston’s Pedi-gree is the first English ale on draft in India,and that’s working really well, plus it has thecricket link, which the Indian market lovesand this makes it a good fit.”

Government imposed restrictions onpersonal importation has also promptedadditional travel retail focus on the higherend whiskies with demand concentrated inthe urban hubs of Delhi and Mumbai, whichtogether account for around 75% ofimported alcohol sales.

José Cuervo tequila and Jägermeister areGulf Beverages’ sales stars, but Ashford reportsthat single malts are performing particularlywell, due in part to increase consumer aware-ness that is driving entry-level product sales.

I

A taste for something newWith positive market penetration, 2013 is the year ofproduct diversification for Gulf Beverages as consumertrends in India point to new tastes and brands

LaurentPerrier Roséis a verypopularoffering in India

The GlenrothesElders’ Reserve,matured forover 18 years

Beluga Vodka’s topend product is GoldLine, which comes in a bespoke bottle thateven features a smallhammer to break the seal


Villiger Mini Inserat A4 4c 10.09.2012 02.01

THEMINIS

Asian-inspired Cocktails


Be boldSwap the conventional for the highly creativeand add a splash of sunshine to your bev-erage repertoire. The creation of UngavaCanadian Premium gin global brand ambas-sador Joshua Groom, this vibrant primarycolor cocktail was designed with Asian cui-sine in mind, blending lime and cilantro withUngava’s distinctive Arctic tundra botanicals,including Nordic juniper, wild rosehip, cloud-berry, crowberry and Labrador tea, to amplifythe freshness of the other ingredients.

Asian Persuasion� 30 ml Ungava Gin� 30 ml lime juice� 15 ml green tea syrup� 30 ml soda� 1 kaffir lime leaf each� 1 cilantro (stem and leaf)

eachMethod: Load preferred glasswith crushed ice, add all theingredients and top up withsoda, adding a cilantrogarnish for a brightcolor contrast.

Fresh from the heart(land)Combining the finest quality wheat grains withsoft glacial water from the frozen north tocreate a classic Russian spirit with a superblysmooth taste, take a leaf out of Peter theGreat’s cocktail manifesto and add a 21stcentury twist to 200 years of tradition. Fil-tered through charcoal, this perennially pop-ular 40% ABV vodka is muddled with redraspberries indigenous to the Caucasusmountains of Asia Minor, as well as NorthAmerica, for a true taste of summer.Raspberryoska� 15 ml Russian

Standard Original� 6-8 raspberries� Juice of half a lime� 3 tsp sugar� Crushed iceMethod: Muddle the lime juice,sugar and raspberries, top up

the glass with crushedice, add vodkaand stir. Fin-ish with extracrushed iceand gar-nish with a

couple of rasp-berries.

Cultural exchangeDelicacy is the watchword whenseeking out that perfect blend of fla-vor profiles, and 12-month minimum aged Patrón Añejo’s special blendof unique handmade tequilas is the ideal match for iconic Japanese sakemaker Huchu Homore and the finest Chinese plums. From Mexico’sJalisco mountain region and the world’s best double distilled Agave piñato Japan, the home of Watari Bune, the floral fruit-forward notes of “The55” cult sake are a marriage made in heaven with Patrón Añejo’s distinctoakwood, vanilla, raisin, honey and caramel notes.

Keshigomu� 1 tsp ume purée� 30 ml honey simple syrup� 30 ml lime juice� 45 ml Patrón Añejo� 30 ml Watari Bune “The 55”� 1 drop ume plum vinegar� Shiso leavesMethod: Combine all the ingredi-ents and serve in a rocks glass witha single large ice cube. Garnish witha shiso leaf for a final flourish.

here’s nothing that evokesa favorite travel anecdotemore than a cocktail,where the first sip—andfamiliar flavors—trigger a

flood of memories. Take time outfrom the action on the show floor atTFWA AP and stir up reminiscencesof trips to the furthest reaches ofexotic Asia, with a selection of sea-sonal concoctions that will take youon a palate-pleasing journey from thecomfort of your barstool. c

TAsia Duty Free brings readers the best in cocktailsthat take their inspiration from the East


CAM

PAG

NA

FIN

ANZI

ATA

AI S

ENSI

DEL

REG

OLA

MEN

TO C

E N

. 123

4/07

The Prosecco

VISIT US AT TFWA ASIA PACIFIC - CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION SINGAPORE, 12-16 MAY 2013 - Level B2 - stand A02

Brown Spirits Report


Mischief makersIt appears that Loki, one of the most treacherous and mischievous characters in Norsemythology, has turned on his adopted brother Thor for taking all the glory in last year’swhisky launch by trying his hand at creating his very own Highland Park expression.

Highland Park Loki, a 15 YO limited edition single malt bottled at 48.7% ABV, comeshoused in the same unique, award-winning wooden frame as Thor, echoing the fearsomecontours of a traditional Viking long ship.

Loki is the second in The Valhalla Collection of four unique whiskies from HighlandPark, taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old and continuing the ground-breaking achievement of creating Thor—a 16 YO malt actually designed around the per-sonality traits of an individual.

The Orkney whisky maker has now created a unique flavor profile for its follow up.While unquestionably Highland Park, this time it mirrors the unpredictable, shape-shifting Loki character and, as with the trickster god of fire himself, all is not as it seems.

There are classic traces of sweetness and spice, but the liquid has been maturedin both traditional Spanish sherry casks and also some heavily peated casks, giv-ing it a smoky punch while retaining a light color. The finish is intriguing andcomplex. It is a whisky that is constantly changing, chameleon-like, from appear-ance to finish. The Edrington Group has noted that the few lucky and expertpalates who have savored it to date describe it as “enigmatic” and “trulyanother whisky of the Gods.”

“Thor was the first of its kind—a true quality malt built around an indi-vidual’s personality,” says Gerry Tosh, Global Marketing Manager for High-land Park. “This proved massively successful and it sold out globally. Loki willcontinue to take Highland Park and The Valhalla Collection into new territory.

“While everyone will recognize the definite ‘Highland Park-ness’ of this15-year-old single malt, it will be the unexpected and surprisingly smoky dynam-ics that will really get palates excited and mouths talking. This is unlike anyexpression that has come before and will beguile and fascinate with its com-plexity and trickery. Remember, all is not as it seems.”

Highland Park Loki will be showcased at the TFWA AP exhibition on The Edring-ton Group’s stand (A16) and will be rolled out in travel retail in Asia thereafter.

t is well known that brown spirits are all the rage in Asia, but the category is much morediverse than one might at first think. Of course, companies such as The Edrington Groupand Rémy Cointreau Global Travel Retail are continuing to innovate on tried and testedfavorites such as Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Rémy Martin Cognac,but a slew of relative newcomers are enticing Asians to challenge their palettes—and per-

haps also their perceptions—when it comes to purchasing brown spirits in duty free.Old Pulteney, although well known and very popular in Europe, is still a relative new-

comer to the Asian market. We speak with International Beverage’s Global Travel Retail Man-ager James Bateman about the brand and its new travel retail exclusive Lighthouse series.Patrón Spirits International is also seeing its fair share of successes in Asia in terms of list-ings and has just released what is, for the moment at least, a travel retail exclusive: GranPatrón Piedra Extra Añejo Tequila. Finally, after promising success in selected domestic mar-kets in Asia, Head of Asia for Cognacs Bache-Gabrielsen and Dupuy Aristide Chevaillé tellsAsia Duty Free that the time is right for a move into duty free on the back of a number newlaunches set to be showcased at this year’s TFWA AP exhibition in Singapore.

IThis year’s TFWA AP exhibition features a numberof innovations in brown spirits that are proof posi-tive of the continued vibrancy of the subcategory

For all tastesBY RYAN WHITE

Loki is the second inThe Valhalla Collectionof four unique whiskiesfrom Highland Park,taking inspirationfrom the legendaryNordic gods of old



A perfect fitLouis XIII Rare Cask 42.6 was recently launched in Udaipur, “theCity of Sunrise,” in India. The release is only the second such caskto join the Rare Cask collection. Given its exclusivity, the productseems a perfect fit for Asian travel retail.

A Rare Cask is a single, extremely rare barrel discovered amongthe hundreds of century-old tierçons that will one day go into mak-ing Louis XIII. No two tierçons are ever quite the same size, and thisRare Cask is one of the smaller ones, sufficient for just 738decanters and distinguished by a small but significant increasein alcohol content beyond the expected 40%. This new Rare Caskexpression takes its title from its unique alcohol content of 42.6%.

Louis XIII Rare Cask 42.6 celebrates the classic Louis XIII blendof 1,200 eaux-de-vie, 100 years in the making and featuring salientaromas that are unique to this one precious cask. Rémy Coin-treau Global Travel Retail cites notes of plum and dates, min-gling with flavors of gingerbread, prune stone and ginger, punc-tuated by a final touch of tobacco leaf.

Certainly made with high-end cognac fans in mind, Louis XIIIRare Cask 42.6—with its decanters numbered from 001 to 738—willbe available in travel retail at carefully selected outlets, including air-ports in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Los Angeles and Singapore.

Spirit of exploration“There is a lot of excitement andopportunity for smaller suppliersthese days,” says International Bev-erage’s Global Travel Retail ManagerJames Bateman. He cites the increas-ing popularity of craft breweriesand distilleries as one of the reasonswhy people are more curious aboutsmaller Scotch single malt brandsthese days.

Of course, many of the brandsrepresented by International Beverage—Balbair and Old Pulteneyto name but two—are already quite popular within Europe, butwhen it comes to the international stage, Bateman says the interestin lesser known distilleries has helped.

Visibility is key for a brand that is smaller on the worldwide scale,and travel retail certainly acts as a good shop window. As such, Inter-national Beverage has just announced the release of a duty free exclu-sive Old Pulteney series called “Lighthouse.”

The series will feature three distinctive, new expressions of theaward-winning “maritime malt.” Packaged in boldly colored designsthat reflect the distinctive, high-quality whisky inside, the rangewill be rolled out to the global travel retail and duty free channel fromlate summer 2013 and exhibited at this year’s TFWAAP exhibition.

Lighthouses situated near Pulteney distillery’snortherly coastal location in Wick were selected todevelop the series, which includes Noss Head, maturedin American Oak ex bourbon casks, producing a fullbodied, sweet and spicy malt with hints of coconut,lemons and oranges; Duncansby Head, matured in exAmerican bourbon and ex Spanish sherry casks for awhisky with a sweet, full bodied taste with notes of

honey, chocolate and oranges; and Pentland Skerries, matured in Span-ish ex sherry casks for a sweet, full-bodied taste with hints of raisins,spices and chocolate.

“Although the industry seems to be consolidating more andmore into big companies, you've got this whole new generation ofvery interesting whisky products being made, matured and pack-aged in creative ways,” says Bateman. “There's a willingness on thepart of buyers and consumers alike to be more open to these brands.There's occasion in the marketplace to drink better, and we thinkOld Pulteney is a great representation of this dynamic trend. We’relooking forward to seeing what buyers and attendees at this year’sTFWA AP exhibition think of our latest offering.”

“You've got this whole new gener-ation of very interesting whiskyproducts being made, matured andpackaged in creative ways.”

James Bateman, Global Travel Retail Manager, International Beverage

Packaged in boldly colored designs that reflect the distinctive, high-quality whisky inside, the Old PulteneyLighthouse range will be rolled out to the global travel retail and duty free channel from late summer 2013

Louis XIII Rare Cask 42.6 celebrates the classic Louis XIII blendof 1,200 eaux-de-vie, 100 years in the making and featuringsalient aromas that are unique to this one precious cask


Brown Spirits Report


Luxury drivenPatrón Spirits, producer of the world’s highest-quality ultra premiumtequila, has announced the launch of the brand’s first extra añejotequila to be available exclusively in global duty free before it even-tually reaches the domestic market. Meticulously aged for more thanthree years in new American and French oak barrels, the new GranPatrón Piedra offers a distinct range of flavors and aromatics to sat-isfy even the most sophisticated and discerning palates.

While including a tequila in a brown spirits report may beunconventional, John McDonnell, President – International and COOof Patrón Spirits, tells us that the company’s success has more thana little to do with the fact that its tequilas are unconventional by design.Indeed, Patrón has been making a splash in Asia of late with PatrónXO Cafe, and given Gran Patrón Piedra’s high-end positioning,McDonnell expects this latest expression to do well in the luxury-driven Asian travel retail channel.

“Year-to-date our duty free performance is up 35.6% to Marchacross the entire portfolio, and Patrón XO Cafe specifically is up almost40% over the same period,” McDonnell tells us. “We’ve been get-ting Patrón XO Cafe into a lot of airports but there are still manynew listings coming on line for the brand, such as at Hong Kong

Airport. The news used to be that we cracked this or that airport,and to an extent that’s still the case, but now we’re really focusingon the job of getting more SKUs in with operators that have alreadyhad success with one or more of our products.”

Asia has proven to be key to Patrón’s continued growth. In fact, theregion outpaced all others last year. Duty free and domestic combined,Patrón saw growth of almost 42% in Asia during 2012, and the hopeis that this boom will continue. McDonnell tells us that at this year’sTFWA China conference in Beijing, the company met with a num-ber of operators from China. He looks forward to seeing them againin Singapore at stand L25 and showing them Gran Patrón Piedra.

“We’re thrilled about the extraordinaryaddition of Gran Patrón Piedrato our portfolio of ultra-pre-mium spirits, and our first-everduty free exclusive,” says McDon-nell. “Travel retail represents animportant and significant saleschannel for us, and we’re excitedto make this exquisite spirit avail-able first to our valued duty freepartners and consumers.”

Tradition meets innovationBache-Gabrielsen will be showcasing its Bache-Gabrielsen and Dupuy Cognacs at thisyear’s TFWA AP exhibition in Singapore. Aristide Chevaillé, Head of Asia for the company,tells us that the brands have done well in selected domestic markets in the region. As such,duty free is the next logical step.

“Bache-Gabrielsen and Dupuy Cognacs are actually very strong in duty free in Scandi-navia,” Chevaillé says. “At this year’s TFWA AP exhibition we’ll be showcasing our new lux-ury packaging for the XO, Extra and Hor’s d’Age expressions, as well as some new formats.”

In terms of the successes that the company has already achieved domestically in theregion, Chevaillé notes that Asian consumers have taken a shining to the 20 YO and XOexpressions of both Bache-Gabrielsen and Dupuy. Not surprisingly in Asia, the com-pany also does well with its high-end vintages, which range from 1940 to 1988. Giventhe success of these choice offerings, Bache-Gabrielsen is releasing Auguste, a 70 YO Cognacwith vintages as old as 1917 in the blend.

“Asians really appreciate and now know how to taste old, quality spirits,” saysChevaillé. “Because of this, we spend a lot of time and investment on education in orderto build our brand over the long term and to gain loyalty from connoisseurs. We’vemanaged to keep our packaging unique—modern, classy and elegant. Furthermore,the taste of our cognacs can be described as smooth, elegant, complex and not toooaky, strong or heavy.”

A fitting testament to the quality of the brand is that Bache-Gabrielsen is just com-ing off a “Best Cognac” win at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Com-petition. Chevaillé invites all interested attendees to visit the company’s stand (L02)at this year’s TFWA AP exhibition to see a variety of new offerings across both theBache-Gabrielsen and Dupuy ranges. c

“The news used to be that we cracked thisor that airport, and to an extent that’s stillthe case, but now we’re really focusing onthe job of getting more SKUs in with oper-ators that have already had success withone or more of our products.”John McDonnell, President – International and COO, Patrón Spirits

Meticulously aged for more than threeyears in new American and French oakbarrels, the new Gran Patrón Piedra offersa distinct range of flavors and aromatics

Dupuy’s new high-end offering Augusteis a 70 YO Cognacwith vintages as oldas 1917 in the blend

Bache-Gabrielsen’sXO Cognac is sportingnew packaging for thisyear’s TFWA APexhibition in Singapore


Tobacco seriously damages your health

“Capa Especial” is the Spanish term for this wrapper of uncommon taste which, when combined with fi ller and binder tobacco of complementary character, results in a cigar that lives up to the tradition of quality that is Macanudo.

C A P A E S P E C I A L

Macanudo Gold LabelExquisite cigars, handmade in Santiago, República Dominicana

622460_Adv_Mac_GoldLabel_A4.indd 1 23-04-13 10:00

The Edrington Group


Another new portfolio addition will be Loki, thesecond edition in Highland Park’s Valhalla Collec-tion. “Bottled at 15 years old with an ABV of 48.7%,Loki is designed to reflect the characteristics of thepowerful Norse god of the same name. The limitedrelease of just 21,000 bottles worldwide is beautifully presented ina wooden frame designed to look like a Viking longship.

This year will also see iconic global favorite The Famous Grousepresent a limited worldwide release of a rare 40 year-old blendedmalt Scotch, with a quantity destined for the Asia Pacific region.Another visual work of art, the blend is housed in a beautifullyengraved decanter, designed by Timorous Beasties, complete witha bespoke Scottish Silver stopper.

The appeal of Edrington brands in the region comes with its owndistribution challenges, reports Hill. “There are some issues as a resultof the overwhelming popularity of The Macallan and Highland Park,but we are working closely with operators on the forecast plan totry to meet the demands right across the region.”

Supply issues aside, demand across the entire portfolio is onthe rise and, according to Hill, one trend that is boosting travelretail revenues is the interest in limited editions and specialpackaging. “Consumers want a gift that offers excellent qual-ity and which is a step above what is on offer in domesticchannels. They are lookingfor a very premium prod-uct in terms of the liquor,the packaging, the heritageand brand romance. We arealways exploring new waysof packaging and are also keento release limited editionsexclusively for travel retail,”he concludes. c

he producer of some of the world’s best-lovedScotch whiskies, The Edrington Group will be tar-geting buyers at this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific Con-ference & Exhibition with a collection of classic blendsand innovative variations.

According to Ryan Hill, Edrington’s Regional Director - Asia TravelRetail, the high profile lineup will include The Macallan and High-land Park single malt whiskies, as well as a quartet of blends fromThe Famous Grouse family, which includes The Famous Grouse andThe Black Grouse.

Rounding out the selection will be a showcase for The Glenrothes,Edrington’s third party Speyside single malt, as well as Cutty Sark,which Hill reports is beginning to make its mark in travel retail.

“We are continually innovating to keep the offer fresh and theallocations up to scratch, so we will also have the new WarriorSeries collection from Highland Park, which offers a spectrum offlavor grounded in the brand’s gently smoky but surprisingly sweetcharacter,” he says.

Giving other brands a run for their money in the aesthetic stakes,visitors to TFWA 2013 will also be able to enjoy the flavors and pre-sentation of The Macallan Oscuro in Lalique boxed gift set, whichcomes with a stunning crystal Cheval Kazak running horse.

The Asian palate has also developed a taste for top drawer brandBrugal rum, says Hill: “This brand is cutting a niche in travel retail inAsia and has some exciting new developments, such as Brugal PapaAndres, an exclusive ultra-premium rum previously reserved for theBrugal family, and Brugal Especial Extra Dry, a cask-aged rum of a qual-ity not usually associated with white rum.”

He also reports positive brand performance overall from the bur-geoning Asia Pacific region, with some obvious brand leaders. “TheMacallan is probably still our star player and has showed very steadygrowth in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in particular.

“Southeast Asia performance is picking up, with focus on Sin-gapore and Malaysia,” Hill continues. “In terms of potential I wouldhighlight India, which is showing strong potential growth across theEdrington brands, and most particularly for our blended whiskies.”

Despite a slow start for some destinations, the business forecastfor 2013 is set to see double-digit growth for Edrington, with Hillnaming India as the one to watch. “The Indian subcontinent is avast market and a priority for the growth of Cutty Sark and TheFamous Grouse in particular,” he remarks.

The early success of limited editions like Brugal 1888, launchedin 2012, augur well for other specialty products. “It’s already attract-ing very favorable reviews and winning awards, so we are expect-ing a lot of excitement around the new Brugal Papa Andres, whichhas a limited worldwide release of just 500 individually numberedItalian crystal decanters,” he says.

T

Innovationis the

watchwordRegional demand for limited editionsdriving creative agenda for legendaryScotch whisky producer with premiumflavors headlining brand appeal

BY CLAIRE MALCOLM

The Macallan Oscuroin Lalique boxed giftset comes with astunning crystalCheval Kazakrunning horse

BrugalEspecial

Extra Dry isdescribed as a cask-aged

rum of a qualitynot usually

associated withwhite rum

Asians havedeveloped a taste

for Brugal rum, andthe latest high-end,

limited release—Papa Andres—is

sure to makewaves in the region


Discover the exceptional taste of Grey Goose Cherry Noir.

GR E YGOOSE .COM

S I P R E S P O N S I B LY

©20

13 G

REY

GOOS

E, T

HE G

REY

GOOS

E BO

TTLE

DES

IGN

S AN

D TH

E GE

ESE

DEVI

CES

ARE

TRAD

EMAR

KS A

ND/

OR R

EGIS

TERE

D TR

ADEM

ARKS

. IM

PORT

ED B

Y GR

EY G

OOSE

IMPO

RTIN

G CO

MPA

NY,

COR

AL G

ABLE

S, F

L. V

ODKA

40%

ALC

. BY

VOL.

: FLA

VORE

D VO

DKAS

EAC

H 40

% A

LC. B

Y VO

L. -D

ISTI

LLED

FRO

M G

RAIN

.

Apr. 19, 2013G

Project3_ASIA_TFAP13_p107 13-04-23 11:38 AM Page 1


Tequilera Corralejobrings chocolate creamtequila and prohibitedrum to TFAPTequila Corralejo has added tequila creamwith chocolate and a new rum to its port-folio. The products will be exhibited atTFWA AP this year at stand B02.

Tequila Cream is a mixture of two majoringredients in the history of Mexico, tequilaand chocolate cocoa, and has a unique tasteand texture. Its creamy consistency and dis-tinct tequila flavor with notes of chocolateand real cocoa make this an excellentafter dinner drink.

Also new is Marques De CubaHabanero rum. By the year 1700,Spanish ships were arriving in theNew World colonies loaded withproducts from Spain. One pop-ular product was sweet winestored in barrels, which werelater emptied after use. Theseempty barrels were filled withChinguirito, which is rum thatwas produced in Mexico, andshipped back to Spain. Now, Fra-ternity Spirits World is revitalizingthis very special rum and makingit available to travel retail globally.

Also being shown is QuitaPenas, a readymade MargaritaMix; Vodka Boker, an unusual Mex-ican corn vodka presented in ahighly attractive deep blue bottle;and Tequilera Corralejo's specialcommemorative edition premiumtequila 99,000 Hours.

In a one-off promotion that engages directly with passengers, William Grant &Sons (WGS) recently teamed up with Nuance Australia in an eight-week promo-tion at Sydney Airport for Sailor Jerry Rum.

Launched on February 1, the promotion aims to inspire passengers with the lifeand work of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, the famous American tattoo artist. Theactivation combines a dynamic and vibrant Sailor Jerry Bar area, supported by col-umn and display signage, plus a rare video screening of Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry,narrating the life and artistic legacy of Norman Sailor Jerry Collins and the emer-gence of his enduring art form.

Brand hosts were onsite sampling Sailor Jerry Rum to passengers, giving themthe opportunity to play a Sailor Jerry Ukulele and try the Sailor Jerry Inkview TattooiPad application to experience how flash art tattoos can look on their skin.

Those purchasing a one-liter bottle of Sailor Jerry Rum could enter a draw fora fabulous chance to win a Limited Edition Sailor Jerry “Airline” Guitar. Targeting pri-marily Australian and New Zealand consumers, the promotion aims to emulate theSailor Jerry old school values of “keeping it real” with the tattoo artist’s reputationas a “freedom-loving, self-made man” striking a chord (Airline Guitar in this case)with these passengers.

In terms of wider objectives in Asia across the portfolio, WGS invites all at TFWAAP this year to toast a record year of success in Asia Pacific travel retail during 2012.With the team extended last year, WGS says it continues to raise the bar in con-sumer engagement with first class brand activations in core brands Glenfiddich, TheBalvenie and Hendrick’s Gin. All core brands reported growth rates significantly abovecategory in value and volume last year, notes WGS.

Liquor News

William Grant & Sonsrecently teamed up with

Nuance Australia topromote Sailor Jerry

Rum; those purchasinga one-liter bottle could

enter a draw for aLimited Edition SailorJerry “Airline” Guitar

Marques De Cuba Habanero rum isnew to the Fraternity Spirits portfolioand is available to travel retail globally

Sailor Jerry drops anchor in SydneyAirport with Nuance Australia



SPI Group promisesa flavorful TFWA APSPI Group, tells Asia Duty Free that sales of thecompany’s Stolichnaya vodka have been increas-ing year on year in travel retail. “The profile ofStolichnaya Premium vodka has progressedsteadily worldwide in 2012 and has achieved adouble-digit percentage increase on sales vol-

umes in Asia from 2011 to 2012,” a spokesper-son says.

High on SPI Group’s list of priorities forAsia in 2013 is expanding its flavor rangewith the introduction of Stoli SaltedKaramel and Stoli Chocolat Kokonutlater this year. Furthermore, Stoli Hot andSticki were recently launched acrosstravel retail and SPI is expecting successin Asia with these two recipes, based onStoli’s original Pepper and Honey &Herb flavors introduced in 1962.

“Stoli Hot offers the warm, fiery sen-sation of jalapeño peppers—spicy onthe palate yet with a delicate smokyquality, ideal for Bloody Marys,” explainsthe spokesperson. “By contrast, StoliSticki is inspired by the delicious, can-died taste of the finest honey and incor-porates complex floral notes to com-plement its subtle sweetness.

“We envisage awareness in thevodka category will continue to expandand will be reflected in the sales vol-umes,” says SPI Group. “As a devel-oping market for what is a very dynamiccategory, it is a particularly excitingtime. Consumers are looking beyondtheir traditional drinking habits andmoving towards the trends with a greaterfocus on innovation and quality.”

Stoli Hot and Sticki are

based on Stoli’soriginal Pepperand Honey &Herb flavorsintroduced

in 1962

ArmagnacJanneau’sspecialeditionDragonVintages

Global Drinks Finland brings purityto the forefrontGlobal Drinks Finland (GDR) will be pre-sent at this year’s TFWA AP exhibitionin Singapore showcasing its award-win-ning portfolio of spirits, which includesLaplandia Super Premium Vodka andLaplandia Super Premium CloudberryVodka.

Given a warm response by the indus-try to its most recent products, GDR con-tinues to invest in product develop-ment and manufacturing in thealcoholic beverages field in Fin-land with the aim of producingspirits for the global market.

Laplandia Super PremiumVodka is described as subtle,delicious and pure. It is a superpremium vodka expressing theessence of Europe's last greatwilderness. Laplandia Super Pre-mium Cloudberry Vodka, on theother hand, is clean and refresh-ing by nature, delicately minglingthe taste of real cloudberry fruit,which grows in the Arctic Circle,into the vodka.

To learn more about GDR’sportfolio of spirits, attendees to thisyear’s Singapore exhibition areinvited to visit stand A1.

Laplandia Super PremiumCloudberry Vodka delicately

mingles the taste of realcloudberry fruit into the vodka

Armagnac Janneau exhibits for thefirst time at the TFWA Singapore Armagnac Janneau has announced that it will be exhibiting for the firsttime at the TFWA AP exhibition in Singapore at stand A26. Janneauis the first export brand of Armagnac and the leading Armagnac brandin travel retail in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in Russia.

Janneau focuses on a premium positioning in Armagnac withVSOP and above qualities, and counts itself as the most awarded Arma-gnac in the world in terms of quality. The company sees innovationwithin the category as extremely important, having reintroduced dou-ble distillation to the region of Armagnac, launching a Single Distilleryrange and last year releasing a new Vintage Strategy and a new spe-cial edition called the Dragon Vintages. The company notes thateven more new products are expected to be launched later this year.

Specifically in the duty free channel, Janneau is looking at introducingmore Vintages given the success of its Single Distillery range, whichwas recently listed at London Heathrow via World Duty Free. The com-pany’s objective is to extend the leadership it has enjoyed in Europeto Asia, including China, South East Asia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.



Liquor News

For the first time, winemaker Genagricola S.p.A will be exhibiting itsTenuta S. Anna fine wine offerings at stand A02 on level B2 dur-ing this year’s TFWA AP exhibition in Singapore. While thecompany isn’t yet listed in the region in duty free, Travel RetailArea Manager Andrea Pigni tells Asia Duty Free that the com-pany has cut its teeth in Italian duty free aboard several majorairlines. The success that Genagricola’s Tenuta S. Anna rangehas enjoyed in Italy has given way to the decision to concen-trate on the channel around the world.

“We will make our first appearance at TFWA AP in Singa-pore this year, which will be followed by the Cannes exhibitionin October,” Pigni explains. “At this stage we are investing in orderto improve our visibility in this market and attract buyers.”

Genagricola’s portfolio of Tenuta S. Anna wines includes a vari-ety of reds and whites, as well as five varieties of Prosecco(three of which will be exhibited at this year’s TFWA AP), all attrac-

tively packaged for the luxury-driven Asia market. As anexample of the popularity of Prosecco on a worldwide

level, Pigni notes that sales of Prosecco last yearoutpaced Champagne by volume. He explains thatsales of Genagricola’s Proseccos have accord-ingly seen growth as the trend continues.

Good news for the company—and opera-tors interested in its wares—is that Genagri-cola has secured distribution in China and isable to supply operators with even smallamounts of product in Asian countrieswhere it still doesn’t have direct importers.

“I invite attendees at this year’s TFWAAP to stop by booth A02 and see our prod-ucts for themselves,” concludes Pigni.

Genagricola exhibits Tenuta S. Anna fine winesand Proseccos for the first time at TFWA AP

Lateltin’s Head of Export Martin Schneider tells Asia Duty Free that the company enjoyed“excellent performance” in Asia duty free last year, largely due to the popularity of CrestaSwiss Chocolate Liqueur. As opposed to hurting business, he says, the popularity ofcognac and whisky in region has actually made Cresta a perfect alternative for con-sumers looking for something a little different from their spirits.

“At this year’s TFWA AP exhibition, we’ll be showcasing the new special tin pack-aging for Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur,” Schneider says, “which makes it even moreof an attractive gift.”

Also at Lateltin’s stand this year will be two new product lines, ProVokant and GoldSchnee. ProVokant is described as a young, fancy range of vodka liqueurs in trendycolors. “This range has existed in Switzerland for many years as ‘Bull Vodka,’ namedafter the colors—for example Red Bull Vodka, White Bull Vodka and so on,” explainsSchneider. “Due to the existence of the Red Bull energy drink and the risk of productconfusion, we never focused on export until consumers and business partners encour-aged us to create a new brand to make export possible.”

Schneider invites interested TFWA AP attendees to visit stand G31 to learn moreabout Lateltin’s portfolio of quality spirits. “We received a positive response at last year’sTFWA AP exhibition and we’re looking forward to continuing push into Asia duty freethroughout 2013,” he concluded.

Lateltin showcases new productsand special editions in Singapore

Ron Botran will showcase its premium dark rum portfolio at thisyear’s TFWA AP exhibition in Singapore, as well as a new whiterum designed specifically for high-end cocktails.

Indeed, perennial favorites Botran Solera 1893 and BotranReserva have helped usher in a new boom in high-end dark rum in travel retail. “These two offeringsare really our focus for Asia,” says CommercialDirector of Exports for Botran Rums, Frank Quiñones.“Consumers here are very informed about high-endspirits and their attentions are now turning towardaged rum. Given the focus on luxury in this part ofthe world, we feel our dark rum portfolio is perfectfor travel retail here.”

Indeed, Botran’s dark rums stand out in thehighly saturated rum subcategory due totheir quality and uniqueness. Both Solera1893 and Reserva are made with thefinest sugar cane from the Botran estatein southern Guatemala. The cane ispressed into virgin sugar cane honeybefore being fermented, distilled andtaken to the mountains for aging todevelop the rich signature flavor.

“We’re very pleased and excited aboutentering travel retail in Asia,” Quiñonessays. “We’re taking a very targetedapproach and growing the brand here ina way that will ensure sustainable growthin the long term. We invite interestedparties to visit us at this year’s TFWA APexhibition at booth B27 so they can see—and taste—Botran rum for themselves.”

Ron Botran committed to Asiaduty free channel, exhibits high-end rum portfolio at TFWA AP

An increase in the popularity of Proseccos hasresulted in increased sales for Genagricola’s

Tenuta S. Anna Prosecco range

At this year’s TFWA AP exhibition, Lateltin willbe showcasing a new special tin packaging for

Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur

Botran Solera 1893, made with the finestsugar cane from the Botran estate in southernGuatemala and aged for a rich, signature flavor


B O L D. S M O O T H. C L A S S I C.

S P E C I A L E D I T I O N

T E N N E S S E E W H I S K E Y

“THIS IS A GENTLEMAN’S DRINK.THIS IS NICE.”

ACT BOLDLY. DR IN K R ESPONSIBLY.

A CLASSIC WHISKEY CRAFTEDTO HONOR FRANK SINATRA’S

TIMELESS GOOD TASTE AND 50 YEARFRIENDSHIP WITH JACK DANIEL’S.

SINATRA IS A TRADEMARK OF FRANK SINATRA ENTERPRISES, LLC, USED UNDER LICENSE TO JACK DANIEL’S. ©2013 JACK DANIEL’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PHOTO © FRANK SINATRA ENTERPRISES. LLC.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SINATRA SELECT: OR VISIT US AT JACKDANIELS.COM

Liquor News

Labouré-Roi produces a comprehensive rangeof appellations from Burgundy and the Southof France, over 80% of which are exported toover 30 countries worldwide. The company willbe on hand at this year’s TFWA AP exhibitionin Singapore to showcase its newest wares tobuyers in the region.

In the last 10 years the company’s wines havewon over 800 International awards, includingBest White Wine of the World at the 2009 Inter-national Wine Challenge in London for its2007 Clos de la Baronne Meursault. Fur-thermore, Labouré-Roi’s wines have reg-ularly been selected in blind tastings formany of the world’s leading airlines, andcan be found in leading restaurantsaround the globe.

With respect for the environment inmind, Labouré-Roi is a part of theUNEP (United Nations EnvironmentProgramme) and Planet Urgence,which commits the company to plant-

ing one tree per bottle sold onselected wines.

Attendees visiting thisyear’s TFWA AP exhibitioncan experience for them-selves the fruits of over 500years of winemaking byvisiting Labouré-Roi’s stand

at N201.


Inniskillin’s duty free exclusive tri-pack has seensuccess in Asia, where gifting is an important

cultural trend; Constellation Brands looksforward to more success in the region with the

late 2013 release of a new range of Icewine

Labouré-Roi plants one tree perbottle sold on selected wines out

of respect for the environment

California-based Prowood Wine & Spirits’ (PWS) offering issteeped in the mystique and luxury of premium spirits. Thebrands are led by the aromatic and spicy but delicateArman Cognac from France and an Armenian brandy calledKilikia, made from finest grapes grown in the Ararat Region.

PWS is billing Arman Cognac, available in both the XOand VSOP expressions, as the jewel in its portfolio—the“Signature of a royal man.” The company says Arman ExtraOld Cognac is a blend of a hundred rare and selected eaux-de-vie from the premier growing areas of France kept in oakbarrels for 20 to 50 years to achieve perfection.

Kilikia brandy, on the other hand, is available in the XOexpression and is named after the Armenian kingdom calledKilikia or “Little Armenia.” This Brandy is aged for 10years. After tastings, experts described it as strong yet del-icate, at the same time leaving a definite hint of toastedwood and touch of cinnamon.

The company has also recently expanded itsrange of spirits. New this year are offerings suchas Edward Gunpowder England SpicedRum and Mamba Liqueur, packaged in aunique black bottle with a snake wrappedaround it for maximum shelf standout.

While Prowood will not be exhibit-ing at this year’s TFWA AP exhibition,operators interested in l ist ingsProwood’s portfol io of premium spirits can visit www.prowoodusa.comor email Owner and President HenrikSargsyan at [email protected].

Prowood offers two exquisite spiritsfrom France and Armenia, expandsportfolio with new offerings

Amanda Dolotowicz, Business Development Manager at Constellation Brands, makers ofindustry-leading Inniskillin Icewine, tells Asia Duty Free that 2013 will see the launch of anew duty free exclusive range of Icewines. Given the popularity of the subcategory in Asia,she says a strong focus will be put on the region.

“In 2013 we will be focusing on our new duty free exclusive Icewine tier, producedwith the highest quality Icewine grapes and exclusive premium packaging for our globaltravel retailers,” Dolotowicz explains. “We will initially launch with selected retailers andsupport the initiative with a premium promotional mechanic. The full rollout will be late 2013.”

Given the importance of gifting in Asian culture, Inniskillin’s tri-pack of Icewine, which comes in aconvenient and reusable carrying case, was a strong seller last year. “The gifting culture is a strongdriver for our Inniskillin Icewine sales, recognized as a premium, luxury item at the top of its class inquality, worldwide respect and recognition,” she explains.

At this year’s TFWA AP, attendees will actually get a chance to see the new Icewine range beforeits launch later this year. Inniskillin is very well positioned in Asia, but nonetheless continues to securenew listings, most recently with Shilla Duty Free Group. Dolotowicz says she looks forward to catch-ing up with current clients and meeting new prospective clients at this year’s TFWA AP exhibition.For those interested in stopping by, Constellation Brands will be located at booth P30.

Constellation Brands sees success withInniskillin tri-pack, plans launch of duty freeexclusive Icewine range in late 2013

PWS is billing ArmanCognac as the jewel inits portfolio—ArmanExtra Old Cognac is ablend of a hundred rareand selected eaux-de-viefrom the premier growingareas of France

Labouré-Roi brings the bestof Burgundy to TFWA AP


José María Olazábal, who captained Europeto a remarkable Ryder Cup victory in the “Mir-acle at Medinah” last year, recently attendeda special reception at Château Mouton Roth-schild with the famous gold trophy in cele-bration of that acclaimed success. The occa-sion was the signing of an agreement betweenRyder Cup Europe and the family-ownedcompany Baron Philippe de Rothschild SAfor Mouton Cadet to be the Official Supplierof Wine to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Glenea-gles in Scotland and to the 2018 Ryder Cupat Le Golf National near Paris.

Olazábal enjoyed the hospitality of hishost, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, son ofthe Baroness Philippine de Rothschild andPresident of the Board, as they inauguratedthe new Ryder Cup partnership, which fol-lows Mouton Cadet becoming The Euro-

pean Tour’s Official Wine Supplier in 2012. Indeed, Mouton Cadet joins an august

family of Ryder Cup sponsors. “In 1930,just three years after the first Ryder Cupwas played, Mouton Cadet was created bythe Baron Philippe de Rothschild,” com-

mented Hugues Lechanoine, ManagingDirector of Baron Philippe de RothschildSA. “I am thrilled to see that almost a cen-tury later we share, under the same eti-quette, the values of tradition, elegance,conviviality and respect.”


Bombay Sapphire East is continuing to make an impact in travel retail.To mark the launch of Bombay Sapphire East in Asia and to coincide withTFWA Asia Pacific, Bacardi Global Travel Retail will be bringing a flavorof the East to Singapore Changi Airport. A variety of prominent displayswill bring the launch to life by taking their inspiration from the energy andexcitement of Asian spice markets. They will include a spice cart show-casing the 12 botanical ingredients used to create the exotic new gin andeven a bespoke tuk-tuk.

Bombay Sapphire East takes the senses on a journey unlike any other.Paying homage to the subtle yet exotic flavors of Asia, two new botanicalshave been added to the classic 10 which are used to create Bombay Sap-phire—crisp Thai lemongrass and spicy Vietnamese black peppercorn.

In other Bacardi news, Grey Goose Cherry Noir is the first new flavor infive years from Grey Goose vodka, the super-premium category leader. Avail-able in Singapore Changi from July and receiving its Asian premiere at TFWAAsia Pacific, Grey Goose Cherry Noir is a masterful blend of Grey Goosevodka and the finest cherries, including rare black cherries handpicked inFrench Basque Country.

Grey Goose is known for being a product of French craftsmanship andGrey Goose Cherry Noir is created with the same level of expertise. At theheart of its exceptional taste is Grey Goose vodka, made with the finest Frenchwheat and blended with pure spring water from the Cognac region. The 100%natural essence of ripe cherries is then expertly blended with Grey Gooseunder the supervision of the Grey Goose Maître de Chai François Thibault.

Mouton Cadetnamed OfficialSupplier of Wine to the Ryder Cup for2014 and 2018

Available in Singapore Changi fromJuly and receiving its Asian premiere atTFWA Asia Pacific, Grey Goose Cherry

Noir is a masterful blend of GreyGoose vodka and the finest cherries

Liquor News

Bombay Sapphire East andGrey Goose Cherry Noirreceive Asia premieres

Scott Kelly, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, José Maria Olazábaland Hugues Lechanoine celebrating Mouton Cadet being namedthe Official Wine Supplier of the Ryder Cup 2014 and 2018


DU PUY COGNAC est une marque de THS BACH E-GABR I ELSEN S.A.32 rue de Boston - 16100 COGNAC - France +33 5 45 32 07 45

www.cognac-dupuy.com

For inquir ies, p lease contac t Mr Ar ist ide Chevai l lé , ar ist ide@bache-gabr ie lsen.com

Atel

ier G

raph

ique

du

Cogn

açai

s.

Meet us at TFWA Asia Pacif icMarina Bay Stands - Stand L02 - SINGAPORE

12 - 16 May 2013

Dupuy AP 210x297 04-13.indd 1 19/04/13 09:43


Tobacco News

focus, the company is actively looking intoother regions such as Japan, Korea and EastAsia. As is often noted, second-tier cities in Asiaare bigger than most major metropolitanareas in other parts of the world. As such,Zhang sees exploring the region for growthopportunities as another key focus this year.

And just as geographical coverage isimportant, so is ensuring that STG covers newproduct segments. Zhang assures us thatthe WØ Larsen launch is just the beginningof an exciting year for the company thatwill include other launches such as the num-ber one US cigar brand Macanudo.

Promoting the bestOf course, it’s important that salespeople areeducated on the histories of tradition andquality that go hand in hand with the prod-ucts in STG’s strong portfolio. As such, thecompany is targeting staff education thisyear. “We now have more resources as ameans of providing more in-depth brand andproduct training to the frontline sales peo-ple,” Zhang says. “We believe better andmore personal consumer interactions willresult in more effective communicationacross channels, including duty free.”

In an age where tobacco restrictions arebecoming more and more prevalent aroundthe world, Zhang tells us that Asia is still verymuch a developing region for the tobaccoindustry in general, with consumers acutelyinterested in discovering high-end brands.This, he says, is another reason why educationof sales staff is important. “We see a trend whereconsumers are more knowledgeable and they

know what they want from their cigar or cig-arillo,” he explains. “It stands to reason that ahighly educated salesperson interacting witha more refined consumer will result in increas-ing success in the region.

“We are fully confident in our businessin Asia, and we see more new opportunitiesconsistently popping up. At the same time,existing markets are maturing,” concludesZhang. “Both of these factors have bene-fited STG’s brands. Given that we have aportfolio of the world’s most popular brandsof the highest quality, combined with ouraspirations and proactive stance in Asia, Ithink we’ll continue to see positive trends inthe region over the coming years.” c

candinavian Tobacco Group’s(STG) International BusinessManager Patrick Zhang recentlytold Asia Duty Free that the com-pany plans on launching WØ

Larsen, the world’s number one premiumpipe tobacco brand, in Asia travel retail thisyear. Additionally, the number one cigarbrand in the US, Macanudo, will be a con-centration in the region during 2013 givenits unmatched quality credentials.

“We are planning on launching a speciallimited edition of WØ Larsen pipe tobaccoin Asia,” Zhang tells us. “It will only be avail-able through selected operators and willfeature a specially designed tin. Every yearwe’re planning on releasing a new limited edi-tion tin, each with a special blend and aunique packaging design.”

Zhang says that overall, last year wasgood for STG. In fact, he says business in theregion has been on the upswing since 2010.“We’re seeing growth across all our major Asiamarkets,” he notes. “Our market share ispretty well balanced in the region.”

Success last year had a lot to do with theextension of STG’s product portfolio, inaddition to perennial favorites such as theCafé Crème line of flavored cigarillos. Indeed,this year’s introduction of the WØ Larsenbrand is STG’s way of continuing themomentum by adding yet another excitingoffering for traveling consumers.

“Being the largest pipe tobacco producerin the world, STG is able to provide morechoices and offer the world’s most famousbrands to customers,” Zhang says. “Wereceived overwhelming results from vari-ous markets after launching pipe tobaccobrands such as WØ Larsen, BorkumRiff, Erinmore and others. We trust thattogether with our valued partners, thisnew and exciting segment will ensuregrowth in the coming years.”

Spreading outIn terms of objectives for the business in2013, Zhang is intent on keeping STG ina leadership position in key markets.While Greater China is still the main

S

Dynamic brandsin a dynamic regionSTG launches WØ Larsen pipe tobacco in Asia duty freeand focuses on staff education as a means of capturingan ever more refined Asian traveling consumer

STG expects big things in Asia with the launch ofWØ Larsen pipe tobacco, the number onepremium pipe tobacco in the world

STG’s success last year had a lot to do withthe extension of its product portfolio, inaddition to perennial favorites such as theCafé Crème line of flavored cigarillos

Macanudo is another big brand forSTG, and the company is planninglaunches this year in Asia



New& NotableLIQUOR

CONFECTIONERY

Werther's Original Caramel SelectionCompany: Storck Travel Retail Ltd.Description: This exclusivelydesigned gold tube

contains three traditionalvarieties, Classic Cream

Candy, Toffee andÉclair and an exciting

new flavor, Werther'sCreamy Filling

TFAP booth: D31

Chupa Chups Pouch Bag Exotic TropicCompany: Perfetti Van MelleGlobal Travel Retail Description: The ChupaChups Exotic Tropic rangecontains 25 lollipops inBanana & Strawberry andCoconut & Pineapple flavorsTFAP booth: C232

Absolut DenimCompany: Pernod RicardDescription: Absolut Vodkahas teamed up with denimfashion designer Loren Cronk,in a new collaboration thatcelebrates the iconic fabric.The denim guru has designeda special indigo denim sleevefor the iconic bottle, intendingto keep the drink in a perfectlychilled temperature at all times TFAP booth: F24

Gold SchneeCompany: Lateltin AGDescription: Finest Swiss liqueurwith 24 carat gold flakes availablein cinnamon and mandarinflavors. Can be enjoyed ice coldin a cocktail glass or poured overfavorite ice cream and dessertsTFAP booth: G31

Ritter Sport 100g Tower Company: Ritter Sport Description:The Ritter Sport100g Tower offers something

for everyone with its tenassorted 100g bars ofdifferent flavors: WholeHazelnuts, White WholeHazelnuts, Dark WholeHazelnuts, Marzipan,Butter Biscuit, WholeAlmonds, Praline, AlpineMilk Chocolate, Cornflakesand Peppermint TFAP booth:F8

Swiss Goldbar Milk Company: Goldkenn Description: The SwissGoldbar Milk is the original,much loved GoldkennGoldbar signature recipe,presented in its iconic goldbox. The premium caseholds 30 creamy milkchocolate pralinesscattered withdelectablehazelnuts andalmonds

Jack Daniel’s LiqueurDelights Tin Company: Goldkenn Description: This stylish giftcontains chocolate with a poolof Jack Daniel’s famouswhiskey. The liqueur delightsare individually wrapped forextra freshness



Sennheiser Momentumheadphones Company:Sennheiser AsiaDescription: Available in black and brown,Momentum combinesa sophisticated look with rich stereosound. Its leather ear cushions andstainless steel ear cup sliderprovide maximum comfort,durability and custom fitTFAP booth: D1

CXC 700 Company: Sennheiser Asia Description: The ear canal CXC 700 offerexcellent audio performance enhancedby passive and active noise cancellationto effectively reduce surrounding noise.The TalkThrough function enables theuser to communicate even withoutremoving the earphones, and theergonomic control box houses asingle AAA alkaline battery thatlasts for up to 16 hours of usage TFAP booth: D1

PM 200+setCompany: Beurer GmbHDescription: The set consists of areceiver module, chest strap andsport armband turns almost everySmartphone into an indispensabletraining companion TFAP booth: K01

Altiwhite Blanc CommeNeige, WhiteningIntensive Serum

Company: Alpure Description: This highperformance serum is agenuine concentration ofantimelanin ingredients(including vitamin C & Eflakes) aimed to soothe and prevent brown spots TFAP booth: H34

Super Stick Solaire Company: Sisley Paris Description: Sisley isexpanding its sun carerange with a new water-resistant sun protectionstick created exclusivelyfor the sensitive areas ofthe face. The SuperStick Solaire SPF 30uses active ingredientswith emollient andnourishing propertiessuch as camelia oil,mango butter and sheabutter

Desigual PashminasCompany: Desigual Description: Desigual presentsan exclusive pack that containstwo pashminas with ethnic andtropical inspired printTFAP booth: D11

Kensington Pendant Company: ClogauDescription: Thehandcrafted Kensingtonkey pendant recreates asense of magic andwonder. While containing atouch of rare Welsh gold,the pendant provides asuitable piece of jewelry towear on any occasion

TFAP booth: C2

Versus IbizaCompany: Escale Holding Description: This model is lightand colorful, expressing theenergy and vibe of Versus. Markedby a rectangular aluminium casewith arched lugs, a minimal dialwith contrasting hands and hourmarkers, double patent leatherstrap with a purple lining and anextra single tour strapTFAP booth: K8

FASHION &ACCESSORIES

SKINCARE &FRAGRANCES

New & Notable

ELECTRONICSTOBACCOBalmoral Dominican Selection Short Corona 5Company: Royal Agio Cigars Description: With a blend ofDominican and Braziliantobaccos, this Short Coronawill gratify every true cigaraficionado. Each cigar isindividually packed incellophane in order toguarantee optimum qualityTFAP booth: H9


ASIA Duty Free & Travel Retailing Magazine

Documents

Transcript of ASIA Duty Free & Travel Retailing Magazine