Images of the year

What a way to close out a year characterised in travel retail by big activations. Estée Lauder partnered with China Duty Free Group earlier this month to introduce a larger-than-life gifting pop-up in the CDF Mall in Haitang Bay until today, 30 December.

The dazzling Estée Lauder Holiday Exhibition is a towering display of the brand’s best-selling skincare and makeup products; and features three travel retail-exclusive gift sets.

The towering installation was inspired by the work of renowned fashion illustrator Megan Hess, whose illustrations are featured on the brand’s travel retail-exclusive Advanced Night Repair gift set.

The official opening on 14 December was attended by Estée Lauder Global Spokesmodel Yang Mi, as well as representatives from both The Estée Lauder Companies and China Duty Free Group. The Moodie Davitt Report was the exclusive trade media in attendance.

Dubai Duty Free’s Chinese New Year celebrations were vibrant and colourful. The Sindy Zou dance group performed Silk Road, a traditional Chinese dance, in Terminal 3 at DXB (Dubai International). The vibrancy of Lunar New Year celebrations extended throughout our industry, which we marked in a special edition of The Moodie Davitt eZine.

The Moodie Davitt Report provided exclusive coverage of Wild Tiger’s epic Roar Trip, one of travel retail’s boldest CSR initiatives. Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam’s adventure spanned 25 countries in support of tiger conservation. This image is just one of an array of spectacular photos that can be viewed in our report in a previous issue of The Moodie Davitt eZine.

Puig Travel Retail encouraged Barcelona El Prat Airport passengers to ‘Live the Legend’ as it launched Paco Rabanne’s latest Invictus and Olympéa Legend fragrances. The activation had elements of the very best channel campaigns: consumer-centric activities, a new digital fragrance experience, social media and an impossible-to-miss centrepiece.

At a striking pop-up in Hong Kong, Lancôme Travel Retail Asia Pacific celebrated the ten-year anniversary of its Advanced Génifique serum, inviting guests to discover the benefits of microbiome science through playful ‘retailtainment’ zones. Digital highlights of the world’s first Microbiome Hub, at T Galleria Beauty by DFS at Hysan Place, Causeway Bay, included a 3D digital Génifique billboard and a 2.5 metre-high LED Génifique bottle.

When Changi Airport Group unveiled the spectacular lifestyle destination Jewel Changi Airport in April, it was one of the openings of the year. In fact, make that openings of the century. World-class shopping and dining blends seamlessly with lush greenery and a dazzling array of attractions. One of those is the HSBC Rain Vortex – the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, as pictured here. The photo was taken during The Moodie Davitt Report Duty Calls Charity Dinner, in which the travel retail industry came together to raise over a quarter of a million US Dollars on behalf of Southeast Asian children’s charity Friends-International.

Helsinki Airport operator Finavia unveiled a new central plaza called Aukio, which serves as the fulcrum for the airport’s long-haul traffic passengers and therefore in Finavia’s eyes, is a key platform to showcase Finland. That dedication to Sense of Place is manifested in both the décor and the shops at Aukio and particularly with this huge, curved, brilliant video wall displaying scenes of Finnish nature.

This year’s Trinity Forum in Doha, Qatar, was a spectacular and memorable occasion – from the many powerful speaker presentations to a dazzling social programme that culminated in an unforgettable Gala Dinner featuring a headline performance from pop superstar Jason Derulo.

Tennis legend and Lindt ambassador Roger Federer was on hand to open the brand’s flagship global travel retail boutique at Zürich Airport. He is pictured here with Lindt’s Master Chocolatier Stefan Bruderer trying the new Lindor flavour: milk pistachio. The boutique is jointly operated by Lindt & Sprüngli Travel Retail and Dufry in collaboration with airport operator Flughafen Zürich.

L’Oréal Paris generated more than 120 million interactions on Chinese social media after launching a striking pop-up at China Duty Free Group’s Haitang Bay Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex. The beauty giant leveraged the social media influence of Chinese popstar Cai Xukun (Kun) at a launch event which drew huge crowds. A five metre-high, L’Oréal Paris-branded replica of the Eiffel Tower sat at the centre of the installation.

Dufry officially unveiled its 1,700sq m duty free store at Toulouse Blagnac Airport early in 2019. It features visually-appealing design elements (developed with The Design Solution) that help connect the store to the city, with a locally-focused product offering enhancing the Sense of Place.

Socialite Kayla Wong was among the many influencers to attend Cartier’s elegantly renovated luxury boutique at T Galleria by DFS, Macau Shoppes at Four Seasons. With an “impeccable marriage of modernity and tradition”, the brand aimed to create “the most luxurious shopping experience for the modern customer”.

Diageo has struck a chord with Game of Thrones fans with its collection of whiskies based on the popular HBO television series. This activation at Singapore Changi, in partnership with DFS Group, brought the fantasy world to life through immersive games, tastings, food pairings and photo opportunities.

This beautiful image comes from B&S Group-owned Capi’s multi-category duty free store at Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands. The company aimed to create “a completely new retail concept” for regional airports. Crucially, the concept is modular so can be rolled out easily to other locations.

Rapper Zamaera enthralled guests at the launch party for Malaysia Airports’ annual ‘Licence to Win’ shopping campaign. The city’s Sentul Depot was transformed into a racing car environment for the evening. The campaign was launched on 1 August and runs to 31 January 2020. Top prize is a McLaren 570S Coupé.

Bacardi Global Travel Retail brought a piece of tennis’ US Open to New York JFK International. A Grey Goose campaign featured a tennis court-inspired bar serving a themed cocktail and a pop-up retail unit. A limited-edition Grey Goose US Open Bottle was also released, as the brand celebrated its status as the official vodka of the tournament.

The travel retail industry gathered for a vibrant Opening Cocktail in Port Canto to mark the start of another TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. This year’s event was larger than ever and attracted a record 7,531 delegates, a +7% increase on 2018.

A flash mob of 50 ‘Spider-Men’ swung into action to launch a school holiday takeover of Singapore Changi Airport, which coincided with the release of the superhero’s latest film, Spider-Man: Far From Home. A web of Spider-Man-themed events, activities and promotions delighted travellers both young and older.

The Chinese flag flies regally high above the extraordinarily expansive architectural masterpiece that is Daxing International Airport. The new Beijing gateway is layered over four levels, offering spectacular panoramas, magnificent architecture and artworks, and plentiful natural light. Look out for our Spotlight Series special eZine on Daxing International, coming soon.