Investment and innovation – the journey so far
Since 2001, Morpho Travel Experience has established itself as a powerful force for innovation, multi-channel operations and Sense of Place in Latin American travel retail and dining.
Its presence today spans on- and off-airport locations in Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Curacao, Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, Antigua and Barbuda and New Caledonia, and the company is taking part in multiple tenders to expand that footprint further.
The travel retailer counts more than 280 commercial spaces (retail and dining) that served over ten million customers last year. Its presence in travel is led by 23 airports that count around 78 million passengers combined, supported by an expanding off-airport business led by hotels and hospitality, with one million hotel guests served last year.
Mexico is among the largest territories in the Morpho network by number of sales points
Turnover has climbed steadily, and indeed accelerated, over the 22-year journey. To offer perspective on the numbers, in 2003 the business had sales of just over US$10 million, and was built principally on the Britt Shop brand, initially in Costa Rica. The expansion of that retail brand to new territories saw sales surge past the US$100 million mark by 2015.
The concept from the outset was simple: focus on delivering memorable product ranges across multiple categories that tourists wanted from a particular country. These were and are sourced through skilled local and regional artisans (alongside some international production of certain items), with which Morpho struck long-term partnerships, and an emphasis with these partners on value, quality, reliability and ability to deliver.
“We value long-term relationships with our suppliers above any individual transaction,” the company says proudly in its corporate documents, an ethos that one sees play out in practice in meeting many of those partners.
Capturing the essence of Peruvian culture with a recent major opening under the Rumbo brand at Lima Airport
Morpho Travel Experience locations
Not only that, but unlike other destination retailers the company also creates its own design, tailored for each market, which reflects its insights into travelling consumer groups and how these too are changing.
The proposition from the beginning extended to ensuring outstanding customer service, creative store design plus speed and skill in execution. This helped expand the concept to Peru, Curacao, Chile, Antigua & Barbuda, Mexico, New Caledonia, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Uruguay, before a new tipping point for growth in 2016/17.
Where once Morpho extended its footprint by opening new market, now it began to add fresh, creative, travelised concepts such as Whoops, PlugIn or its partnership with beer brand Imperial. These have since expanded to over 30 brands, in-house and franchised, from Rumbo, Casa Tica and Emprende to Mercadito Gourmet and Travel Market.
The innovation drive of the past few years has resulted in a blend of concepts today, ranging from traditional to modern, but all reflecting the flavours of each country or region.
A local face for fashion in Mexico
2017 also coincided with the launch of a new strand of business, travel food & beverage (see page 6). Here the company employed the wealth of information it had about consumers and about airport operations to move into an adjacent channel where today it features in-house brands such as Avokato and Toro or California Pizza Kitchen, a successful franchise from the US that Morpho manages in Latin American airports.
The goal is to grow the current figure for F&B from US$20 million to around US$40 million in the near term through new contracts and partnerships.
The wider Morpho Travel Experience projection for 2023 is to hit around US$195 million in turnover – a remarkable leap from pre-COVID 2019 (US$126 million) and from the recovery year 2022, when the figure reached US$160 million.
This growth is supported by a major programme of store openings as travel returned post-pandemic. This included 88 new locations in 2022, with many more in the pipeline.
Add to that mix the Grupo Arribada ambition to acquire other companies in adjacent tourism & travel-related fields that will complement Morpho’s expertise, the travel retailer’s own organic and concession growth, and Morpho’s expansion looks set for further acceleration in the years to come.
August 2023