The Big Interviews
Talking travel retail
2009 – Taking Stock
“You get knocked down, you stand up again.” JR/Duty Free Chairman Garry Stock talked about business challenges and the company’s re-entry to the regional airport market (in New Zealand) in a revealing, candid interview.
2010 – A decade of dynamism
We marked the tenth anniversary of Qatar Duty Free in 2010 with a powerful interview with the always forthright and engaging Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, who has led the airline and its related companies from a small regional player to global powerhouse status.
2010 – Showing industry solidarity
Two of the Hand in Hand for Haiti steering committee members – DFS Chairman and CEO Ed Brennan and The Estée Lauder Companies Travel Retail Worldwide President Olivier Bottrie – reflected on the marvellous industry response to the initiative (it generated an amazing US$800,000-plus within one week of launch). Hand in Hand for Haiti was set up to assist the reconstruction of Haiti following a catastrophic earthquake – and to deliver a better life for Haiti’s children.
2011 – Fraser Dunlop: A survivor’s story
One of the stories of 2011 or any other year, Martin Moodie’s two-part interview with World Duty Free Global Head of Category – Food & Souvenirs Fraser Dunlop was the most emotional the writer had ever conducted. Stark, compelling and almost unbearably moving about Fraser’s (and Martin’s) battle with cancer, it took on fresh resonance on 1 April 2015 when Fraser passed away after the disease returned.
2012 – Passion and perseverance
The word ‘exclusive’ is an over-used one in publishing, but here was the real thing. The Moodie Report’s first, and at the time unprecedented, opportunity to interview DFS Co-Founder Robert (‘Bob’) Miller came in July 2012 during DFS Hawaii’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Over lunch he talked about a half century of achievement, the break-up of his legendary partnership with Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney and DFS’s future direction. To reinforce the power of the interview we embedded a podcast to produce a poignant, unique and moving end result.
Moodie would later write this great industry pioneer’s biography, simply titled ‘Miller’s Tale’. It was published in early 2022, capturing the remarkable life and times of an industry leader still deeply committed to the company he co-created and going strong at 89 years of age.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 315 | 3 October 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