Year in Review: Interviews
Interviews of the Year II
We feature more of our writers’ selections of the most memorable interviews to appear across our titles and events over the past 12 months.
Concord Collective: An industry first at Los Angeles Airport
Minority-owned small business Concord Collective made history at Los Angeles International Airport this year – it was the first Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) business to take over the entire portfolio of a major food & beverage concession operator.
In two interviews this year we spoke with CEO & Managing Partner Greg Plummer, as well as representatives of Los Angeles World Airports and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield about offering a pathway for smaller, local, minority players to manage major airport dining concessions. Here we present highlights of our conversation at the virtual FAB 2022 event in September.
Kids for Kids Founder Patricia Parker on how travel retail can help disadvantaged children in Dafur
Patricia Parker is not a name well-known in travel retail. But perhaps she should be. For the Surrey, UK-based founder of the Kids for Kids charity is on a mission to help disadvantaged families in Dafur in Sudan that deserves much wider recognition. And she believes everyone in the travel industry cannot just support her cause but also have a huge impact on the lives of children in the region.
For our fascinating interview by Colleen Morgan with this inspiring figure, click here.
Patricia offers hands-on support of the Goat Loan programme in Dafur
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Travel Retail celebrates 30th anniversary
When The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.’s (ELC) Travel Retail division launched in 1992, it embarked on a mission to ‘bring a world of beauty to global travellers’. Over the ensuing 30 years it has stayed true to that commitment, delivering a compelling three-decade narrative of consumer-centric innovation and retailer partnerships.
In a special edition of The Moodie Davitt Spotlight Series eZine, we celebrated 30 years of ELC Travel Retail and looked back at some of the milestones that have defined ELC Travel Retail’s presence – and redefined the travel retail beauty category – along the way. It featured commentary from senior group figures, and a detailed interview with Global President Travel Retail Israel Assa about his vision for the sector. The publication drew tremendous acclaim and ranks as one of the projects we are most proud of over the past 20 years.
Access the full report here.
Ramesh Cidambi: The Dubai Duty Free juggernaut bounces back
“When we say that the spend is higher, it’s easy as a retailer to flatter yourself and to say that’s because you have a fantastic offer, which we do. But the other factor… which I’ve tried very hard to quantify is the effect of price increases. Price increases are insidious because all the brands have pushed them through.” One of many candid, eye-catching quotes from what was perhaps our interview of the year with Dubai Duty Free Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi (right), timed for our Cannes edition in October.
Access our October edition for more.
The Cannes Conversations: Peter Rebeiz – Purist principles & passion drive Caviar House revival
Don’t expect a man who once observed that consumers are often treated like “cargo and cows” in airports to hold back in any interview. And so it proved in this marvellously candid and compelling interview with Caviar House & Prunier Chairman & CEO Peter Rebeiz, a man whose personal mission, bordering on obsession, remains to treat passengers as guests and delight them with a combination of quality ambience, service and food & drinks.
Full story at this link.
The Trinity Conversations: How DXB applied Newton’s third law
Dubai International Airport or DXB as it has been popularly known since its February 2019 rebranding is the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger numbers. Since the shock of a 45-day closure in the early stages of the pandemic, DXB has bounced back strongly, its ‘can do’ attitude reflecting that of the Dubai government which was determined to reopen to the world.
Martin Moodie caught up with CEO Paul Griffiths and Executive Vice President Commercial Eugene Barry (pictured together below at DXB) for our Cannes edition. What followed was a typically forthright and stimulating conversation with two of the most insightful executives in the airport world, one that reaches beyond the clichés and into the leadership principles of an airport company where transformation is a ceaseless priority.
A pioneer’s passion and progress in Vietnam
Johnathan Hanh Nguyen is a man who has not only shaped the history of Vietnam’s aviation, tourism, travel retail and luxury sectors but that of the nation itself. Getting an audience with the Founder & Chairman of Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) – the first by a foreign journalist – is to embark on a voyage of discovery into the country’s remarkable transition from a poor, economically restricted nation in the mid-1980s to an emerging economic powerhouse of Asia nearly four decades on. In one of our undoubted interviews of the year, Martin Moodie reported from Ho Chi Minh City.
Full story at this link.
Johnathan Nguyen revisits the momentous day with Martin Moodie at IPP Group headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City
New L’OCCITANE Group leadership aims to drive growth built on sustainability
French wellbeing house L’OCCITANE Group’s deep commitment to sustainability and development of its newly acquired brands are explored in this revealing interview with Group Managing Director Laurent Marteau and Managing Director, Global Travel Retail Estelle de Bure.
Full story at this link.
L’OCCITANE Group Managing Director Laurent Marteau (right) with Managing Director, Global Travel Retail Estelle de Bure and Martin Moodie during the recent TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes
‘Destination 2027’ for Dufry
An exclusive video interview with Dufry CEO Xavier Rossinyol was among the big highlights of day one at The Trinity Forum, the world’s leading airport commercial revenues conference. Rossinyol spoke about Dufry’s ambitions to create an integrated, consumer-centric global ‘Travel Experience’ leader through the proposed merger with airport food & beverage sector leader Autogrill – and about its targets for ‘Destination 2027’.
Click on the video below for the full interview.
The Trinity Conversations – Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail Chairman & CEO Mohit Lal and Vice President of Marketing Liya Zhang
Against the backdrop of a resurgent though volatile travel market, how does Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail evaluate the performance and potential of a channel it has long dubbed ‘a must win’? And how have the experiences and lessons of the pandemic shaped its approach to the sector? Few industry executives are as articulate and insightful as Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail Chairman and CEO Mohit Lal who along with Vice President of Marketing Liya Zhang engaged in one of the thought leadership interviews of the year.
Full story at this link.
Mohit Lal and Liya Zhang: Insightful assessment of an industry in recovery
The Trinity Conversations: Shiseido Travel Retail President & CEO Philippe Lesné and Vice President Strategic Marketing Siv Chao
Some six and a half years on from its creation, and despite the most sustained and severe crisis in sector history, Shiseido Travel Retail is in tip-top shape, confident about and committed to the channel. Having conducted the interview that announced the new division to the world, CEO Shiseido Travel Retail President & CEO Philippe Lesné and The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie met up again to bookend the conversation, along with Shiseido Travel Retail Vice President Strategic Marketing Siv Chao.
Full story at this link.
Shiseido Travel Retail has long been a champion of The Trinity Forum and the collaborative principles that underpin it. Philippe Lesné is pictured here with Sandra Tassilly (left) from Diageo Global Travel and Helen Wong from Edrington Global Travel Retail at the recent Trinity Forum in Singapore, where Shiseido Travel Retail was a Platinum Partner. His interview (above) captures many of his thoughts on partnership and progress in the industry.
The Trinity Conversations: Jean-Christophe Babin on Bvlgari’s mission to become the world’s most desirable luxury brand
“People now have a stronger appetite for super-luxury products and experiences at the expense of frequency of purchases,” says Bvlgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin in this interview with Hannah Tan-Gillies. “Today’s luxury client is searching for the pinnacle of luxury and willing to pay for the best.” The Roman luxury house’s voyage of premiumisation and mission to become the world’s most desirable luxury brand are thoughtfully articulated by Babin.
Full story at this link.
“Digital has a strong recruitment mission, the boutique is great for deciding whether a client will purchase, and then they buy the product in the airport to save on tax. It’s not brick & mortar versus digital, it’s not travel retail versus domestic. All our channels work together to deliver an enriching omnichannel experience for our clients.” — Jean-Christophe Babin
The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 318 | 30 December 2022
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd).
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