Interview
Talking TFWA: Philippe Margueritte on the association’s remit, reach and relevance
TFWA President Philippe Margueritte speaks to Dermot Davitt about encouraging change and agility at the brand association, about some key initiatives planned around its events and about convincing people to come on the journey.
“The spirit is there to move ahead with evolution – not revolution – and to ensure the association contributes even more to the creation of value for the travel retail industry.” So says TFWA President Philippe Margueritte, speaking on the eve of TFWA World Exhibition, and outlining what he sees as priority projects and key agenda items for the brand association in its fifth decade. He says, “The basis of the association remains very strong after 40 years of work by many people. There are also a great many things to be done. “I am encouraged by the desire on the part of the Board and Management Committee to see things evolve, to add more value to our members, to open the doors much more to all stakeholders in the industry and to take a close look at our governance and how we work.” Margueritte says his role is to inspire and help accelerate some long-planned initiatives while introducing others that add relevance in a changing world. “We don’t need to break things, that makes no sense, but what we can do is act with more speed,” he says. “We are at a turning point. What drove our industry to success for the past 50 years has changed, whether that was demographics, airline deregulation or other factors, and the consumer has changed too. “Travel retail needs to evolve and TFWA should be at the forefront of that evolution to help retailers, landlords and brands to get together and support growth over the next 50 years. We need to be part of building the travel retail of tomorrow.”
Picking up the pace: Philippe Margueritte says TFWA will act with more speed to enact its many planned initiatives
Cannes photos: Nathalie Oundjian/TFWA
Addressing directly how he believes TFWA can embed itself more deeply in the industry eco-system, Margueritte cites the importance of data and highlights the sector’s failure to use it in agreed, coherent ways.
“We need to build a reliable set of data to take strategic decisions that will build the success of tomorrow. We cannot be blind when it comes to strategy, and if we are thinking about using artificial intelligence in our business, we need good data to really use that tool in our business development.
“At the start of 2026 we will begin a stream – in partnership with landlords, retailers and brands – with the aim of building a reliable set of sell-out data for travel retail.
“We are putting resources behind that. We are putting dedication behind that. And we will make it happen, because we have no choice. Times have changed. We don’t have the luxury of working on extrapolation of data or our beliefs alone any more. We need a way forward that is fact-based.”
While many details have to be worked out, TFWA plans to involve specialist data partners that are experienced in the field.
Asked whether leading travel retailers will be willing to share data, even on an aggregated basis, as a pooled resource, Margueritte says: “We will talk with the CEOs of the big companies and we will bring it down through the organisations. From the brands side it is very clear that we need to do something. They are supportive.”
Asked whether TFWA is the right organisation to manage such an initiative across all parties, he adds: “Yes. I really believe it is TFWA’s role, because I don’t see any other body that has the transparency and the neutrality to do that. And we have the credibility among all the stakeholders to assure them that the data is secure.
“I see this as a true strategic project for the industry. We need to go forward this way. If we want retailers, brands and landlords including airlines to be able to grow their business together, we need to share the same set of data to allow a common understanding.
“It is a big thing for the industry. We want to go slowly, surely and progressively, with a strong methodology and with partners that know what they are doing. We will probably begin with airports first, in one region, so we can show what tools we can deliver for the business. With a proof of concept, others will see that it works.
“We want to do it on the basis of sell-out across all categories so there is a lot of data to account for. We may not be able to start SKU by SKU but that will be part of defining the way forward. We need a level of granularity that is meaningful for all parties.
“It will be a significant investment, probably supported financially by TFWA with a strategic partner as a first step.”
More for members
Another key agenda item Margueritte singles out is to improve both membership benefits and their visibility. “We have some very good member benefits but not all are aware of them. So we will organise and advertise better what we already bring to our members.
“The other focus is what members are requesting us to do now and in future. We have specific streams that are led by Management Committee members. They are working in conjunction with our permanent staff to examine membership benefits while another stream is looking at governance.”
Other key topics are transparency – in how the association works – alongside agility.
On transparency, Margueritte adds: “This is a lot about people. We have a fantastic Board that is composed of people that are transparent, with a lot of dedication to the association, without personal agendas.
“One thing that has changed from before is that we want to give much more power back to the Management Committee (MC). The MC is the governing body of the association and the Board and the President are there to execute the decisions that it takes. That’s also why the leaders and members of these work streams we have created are MC members. The outcome of these streams are presented to the MC and to the Board and the projects are signed off under the full rules of governance.”
We also discuss the role and vital importance of the permanent teams that are such a critical part of the TFWA story and its ability to professionally manage vast global events.
“The team is excellent with people who have great expertise and experience,” says Margueritte. “For the organisation that we have today, it is very efficient and very successful. But if we want to develop the many new projects that we are discussing, we will need more resources.
“We will probably ask to reinforce the team in specific areas according to the projects that are agreed. We will need people with other competencies to add to and enrich what we have today.”
With evolution the watchword, Margueritte elaborates on other ways in which he sees TFWA’s remit changing. One, he says, is to mirror the importance of food & beverage as a vital part of travelling consumer spend (and in some retailers’ portfolios) in the association’s annual showcases.
“As an exhibition and conference organiser we want to give more visibility for instance to gourmet concepts that match our premium positioning. We want to bring more visibility to new propositions in food & beverage, for example.”
While some might see this as a step outside TFWA’s remit as a duty-free brand association, Margueritte says it is a move rooted in pragmatism.
“It is not our goal to bring in food & beverage players as members. We will remain a brand association. But we want all the relevant people to visit our trade shows, and this is part of the business. Plus many of the luxury brands have extended into F&B through their café concepts. This can give them the chance to express their full luxury universe.”
(continued on next page)
Existing membership benefits will be made clearer while others will be introduced through the work of various sub-committees {Cannes photos: Nathalie Oundjian/TFWA}
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 347 | 26 September 2025
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