Pushing the boundaries: The brand perspective
An outstanding session featuring the all-important brand perspective was among the day two highlights at Trinity. Speakers included L’Oréal Travel Retail President Vincent Boinay, Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) General Manager Stewart Dryburgh and Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail Chairman and CEO Mohit Lal.
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie (second left) with (from left) Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail Chairman and CEO Mohit Lal, L’Oréal Travel Retail President Vincent Boinay and Nestlé International Travel Retail General Manager Stewart Dryburgh
Dryburgh gave an overview of the macro-economic factors that are influencing the travel retail industry. He said: “We’re looking at brighter skies, but it’s going to be choppy. Opportunities do exist, but we must understand the consumer.”
He highlighted the food category as one with rich untapped potential. Contrasting its clear dominance over confectionery in local markets, Dryburgh said: “77% of packaged food is confectionery in travel retail. This creates a huge opportunity for us by leveraging the untapped part of the food pie, especially coffee and wellbeing.”
Stewart Dryburgh: Highlighting the potential of the wider food category
Mohit Lal: Embracing the importance of creating experiences
Commenting on what it takes to win in the wines & spirits category, Lal said: “If you want to win in the wines and spirits world, you cannot win without travel retail. We need to look at what the pandemic has changed. Pre-COVID, travel was seen as an indulgence, but we see now that travel is an essential part of life.”
On the importance of experience, Lal said: “Travellers are no longer concerned about possessing, they are interested in experiences and disposable income will shift towards experience. The headwinds will be there, but the tailwinds of travel will fuel a momentum that will be difficult to manage from a supply point of view. The challenge with travel retail isn’t demand, it’s about supply.”
Addressing how travel retail should deal with unexpected headwinds like the COVID-19 pandemic, Lal said: “Let’s treat the unexpected as the new normal. It’s about building agility around the entire business. As turbulence happens and travel patterns change, how you address retention and investment with agility is what will make you win.”
Boinay spoke about how the group is adapting to the future of beauty today. L’Oréal is seeking to become the ‘Unicornasaurus Rex’ of travel retail, he said, as it continues to push the boundaries of innovation and sustainability.
He said: “We embrace and seek to disrupt with technology. We love disruption and we encourage it. There is no opposition between old world companies like L’Oréal and unicorns. At L’Oréal Travel Retail, we want to become travel retail’s first ‘Unicornasaurus Rex’, a solid and robust old company as well as a disruptive beauty technology company. Travel retail needs disruption and we are here to push the boundaries.”
Vincent Boinay: Pushing the boundaries
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The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 317 | 22 November 2022
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com