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2018 Summit of the Americas Exhibitor Information Now Available
Information about booking exhibit space for the 2018 Duty Free and Travel Retail Summit of the Americas is now available, and applications for space are due October 13.
Please click here to download the 2018 Summit of the Americas exhibitor information packet, and note that it may take a few moments to download. If you have questions about space for the 2018 Summit, please email us for assistance.
Headlines
News from IAADFS
IAADFS Supports Hurricane Irma Relief Effort
Industry News
"Korea to Announce New Duty-Free License Scheme Later This Month: Finance Minister"
"Dubai Duty Free CEO Named 'Retail Business Leader of the Year'"
"'Everything Is Gone'; Hurricane Irma Sets Back Caribbean Tourism"
"Waldemar Behn and Pallini Form Travel Retail Unit"
"Passenger Fee Lifts Abu Dhabi Airports Operating Profit"
"Antigua Tourism Quickly Bounces Back from Irma"
"'At Changi, the Offline Checkout Queue Is the Number One Killer of Sales'"
"Pittsburgh's Resurgent Airport Plans Sleek New $1 Billion Terminal"
"The Airport Revenue Growth Challenge – Learnings from Around the Globe"
"Duty-Free Stores Bet on Luxury Offerings to Tackle Low Sales"
"Colm McLoughlin: Beyond the Call of Duty (Free)"
"Passing Through Airport Security with the Touch of a Finger"
News from IAADFS
IAADFS Supports Hurricane Irma Relief Effort
IAADFS recently donated $10,000 to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to support their efforts to provide relief from Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean region. CDEMA is a regional inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “We are pleased to support CDEMA and their role in coordinating disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean region, which has been so devastated by Hurricane Irma,” commented IAADFS President and CEO Michael Payne.
For more information about this donation and details on how to support CDEMA, click here.
Industry News
Korea to Announce New Duty-Free License Scheme Later This Month: Finance Minister
Korea Herald (09/19/17)
South Korea Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said during a meeting with local duty-free shop operators at Incheon International Airport that the government will announce a new duty-free license plan later this month. "A task force team will map out the plan from the offset. I know that the public wants the government to come up with a more transparent and fairer system," he said. Duty-free licensing has been suspended as claims of an unfair bidding process surfaced earlier this year.
Dubai Duty Free CEO Named 'Retail Business Leader of the Year'
Arabian Aerospace (09/11/17)
At the Gulf Business Awards on Sept. 10, Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin was named "Retail Business Leader of the Year" for the second year in a row. Organized by Motivate Publishing, the awards recognize the most successful companies and industry leaders across nine categories: aviation, IT, banking, real estate, retail, media, tourism, healthcare, and energy. McLoughlin said, "I am delighted to accept the Retail Business Leader of the Year award for the second time and dedicate this to our team of staff and to our Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his enormous achievements and ceaseless contributions to the growth of the UAE, especially in Aviation."
'Everything Is Gone'; Hurricane Irma Sets Back Caribbean Tourism
Wall Street Journal (09/14/17) P. A3 Kirkham, Chris; Harrup, Anthony; Pérez, Santiago; et al.
Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, killing at least 38 people and causing damage from St. Martin to Barbuda to the United States and British Virgin Islands. The Category 5 hurricane caused significant damage to small tourism-dependent islands in the Caribbean and even larger, more economically diversified nations such as the Dominican Republic and Cuba, where the capital Havana and the beachside Varadero resort were damaged. The Caribbean depends on tourism more than any other region in the world, and some officials are trying to prevent cancellations in areas that have not sustained damage, like St. Lucia, Aruba, and Barbados. According to Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association CEO Frank Comito, "More than 75 percent of the Caribbean was not severely impacted and is open for business." However, the timing of the storm poses significant challenges for the region, as it occurred just months before the high season from November through April and interrupted the normal late summer/early fall period of repairs and renovations for many resorts. The World Travel & Tourism Council reports that travel and tourism directly accounted for about 15 percent of gross domestic product in the Caribbean last year, compared with 10 percent in the European Union and 8.4 percent in North America. "Tourism is inflow of dollars ... Tourism is employment, and tourism is a lot of ancillary activities in terms of services, so it is a huge impact," said Nathalie Marshik, a strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. "That's going to hurt because these islands produce nothing. They have to import everything." Gabriel Torres, country risk analyst for Latin America at Moody's Investors Service, noted that the longer-term impact on the affected economies will depend on how much reconstruction costs and who pays for it.
Waldemar Behn and Pallini Form Travel Retail Unit
The Spirits Business (09/18/17) Hopkins, Amy
The German spirits group Waldemar Behn and Italy's Pallini Limoncello have created the Family Brands Alliance, a joint venture for global travel retail. Both companies will remain completely independent, but the strategic alliance will enable them to have a more balanced product portfolio and to "optimize and increase manpower for sales and marketing." The companies will share logistic, sales, and marketing costs at a global level. According to Waldemar Behn CEO Rüdiger Behn, "The globalization and consolidation within the travel retail industries is a challenge for a middle-sized family-owned company. That's why we are inviting family-owned companies to join their forces with ours by keeping the high service level we are known for as family-managed companies and stay still true to our values of independence, uniqueness, and craftsmanship our fans around the world honor us for."
Passenger Fee Lifts Abu Dhabi Airports Operating Profit
Khaleej Times (09/19/17)
In June, Abu Dhabi Airports introduced Dh35 fees for passenger departing from or transiting through airports, and on Sept. 19, the firm announced that it had experienced a 65 percent increase in its operating profits for the first eight months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. Abu Dhabi Duty Free and Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone were other key contributors to the revenue increase. Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, "Supported by planning a smart and versatile strategy, we were able to turn challenges into opportunities and register record achievements in all aspects of our business."
Antigua Tourism Quickly Bounces Back from Irma
Caribbean Journal (09/14/2017)
The tourism industry in Antigua has bounced back quickly from Hurricane Irma. Popular restaurants have reopened, along with tour operators providing safari land tours, snorkeling excursions, and other adventures. The island's tourist board noted that nearly 2,000 hotel rooms will be available by the end of October. Meanwhile, VC Bird International Airport and cruise ship berths are already welcoming passengers.
'At Changi, the Offline Checkout Queue Is the Number One Killer of Sales'
Marketing Interactive (09/13/17) Tan, Janice
Changi is considered a gold standard among airports, with its gardens, lounges, and other amenities. However, the airport continues to have long queues and retail segmentation. "At Changi, the offline checkout queue is the number one killer of sales," said Jeffrey Loke, vice president, pricing and commercial strategy at Changi Airport Group. The long checkout lines turn passengers away from making purchases, especially if they are in a hurry. The airport is now addressing the issue by establishing a mobile point-of-sale (POS) system that will allow consumers to skip the queue at the counter and work directly with the salesperson who served them to make payment. The airport's iShopChangi portal enables travelers to buy their products even before coming into the terminal, and they would only need to pick up the product and avoid the lines. Loke said these systems help the airport collect data. He noted, "We have data down to what brands customers buy, which flight they are traveling on and when they buy it — morning or evening, on departure or arrival. So [the POS system] is one of the key pillars of our system."
Pittsburgh's Resurgent Airport Plans Sleek New $1 Billion Terminal
USA Today (09/14/17) Mutzabaugh, Ben
Pittsburgh will modernize its international airport with a $1.1 billion plan that includes a new 51-gate terminal on the landside where passengers arrive to the airport and proceed to a modern check-in concourse. The plan also includes a new security area and baggage-claim system, and will eliminate the need for the "people mover" train that passengers currently use in order to go between the "landside" and "airside terminals. Pittsburgh's airport has found new life this decade, due to growth fueled by low-cost carriers Southwest, JetBlue, and Spirit as well as its two new routes to Europe. The new landside terminal would be constructed between the C and D concourses that are part of Pittsburgh's existing X-shaped airside terminal. The existing landside terminal would be bid out for redevelopment or, if there are ultimately no takers, demolished.
The Airport Revenue Growth Challenge – Learnings from Around the Globe
Tnooz (09/14/17) Warrington, Chris
Although more than 9 million passengers travel via plane for business or leisure, airport retail revenue has not increased significantly. Some of the obstacles to increased revenue have been the rise of ridesharing services, long security lines, passenger fatigue, and shops that are not appealing. However, some airports are using recent terminal expansion to invest in technology that will analyze passenger flow and airline data to support more flexible business and retail models. This enables them to operate leaner operations and boost non-aeronautical revenue. Blip Systems research has shown that relaxed and satisfied passengers regularly spend up to 0.20 euros per minute at airport concessions after passing through security, but this can be reduced by as much as 30 percent following a delay of just 10 extra minutes at security. In Copenhagen, data analysis of passenger flow enabled the airport to clear 97.6 percent of passengers in less than 15 minutes in 2016, improving traveler satisfaction and providing them with additional time for spending in shops. In 2016, concession revenue increased by more than 8 percent, with improved shop and brand mix, including specialty stores and restaurants, being a key contributor to this growth.
Duty-Free Stores Bet on Luxury Offerings to Tackle Low Sales
Korea Herald (09/07/17) Ho-Jung, Won
As Chinese tourism sales have declined in Korea, downtown duty-free operators are looking to open in-demand luxury brand boutiques to restore sales. For instance, Shinsegae DF, which opened up Cartier and Fendi stores in August, plans to open stores for Louis Vuitton and Dior later this month. HDC Shilla Duty Free plans to open a Louis Vuitton boutique at its IPark branch, following a deal last year to bring in some 20 brands from the luxury group LVMH. Luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermes, are major attractions for high duty-free spenders. "We are targeting our marketing at individual travelers in the case of our luxury brands," said an official with Shinsegae DF. Lee Ji-yeong, an analyst with NH Investment and Securities, estimated that daily sales at Shinsegae DF may rise to up to 4 billion won ($3.5 million) with a boost from luxury brands.
Colm McLoughlin: Beyond the Call of Duty (Free)
Khaleej Times (09/10/17) Abbas, Waheed
At a recent "Meet the CEO" session, Dubai Duty Free (DDF) Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin talked about how to build a world-class retailer from the ground up. A 50-year industry veteran, McLoughlin has played a significant role in growing DDF's sales from $20 million (Dh73.4 million) in the first year of its operations in 1983 to $1.85 billion (Dh6.673 billion) in 2016. "I forecast that by 2022, DDF will have a business of $3 billion. I see 9,000 to 10,000 people working for DDF and a couple of more business hotels in the group's portfolio," said McLoughlin. Under his leadership, DDF has so far won more than 550 industry awards. McLoughlin attributes the company's success to the commitment, dedication, and honesty of its employees. "We encourage our employees on advancing their skills and host training events for them. We promote talent internally, therefore, haven't made senior level recruitment in the past 18 years. We have promoted two staffers as executive vice-presidents and promoted five vice-presidents to senior vice-presidents in different sections like marketing, finance, and operations," he said. "We make our employees part and parcel of everything. We have an in-house training department that continuously uplifts the staff. I personally meet and talk to every single new staff member that joins DDF. We have sports, a social club, and gym provided for them. Except for one year, we have given increments every single year and we pay bonuses; we have never missed that." When asked about how DDF maintains a competitive edge, he cited a simple formula: be more economical than competitors by benchmarking prices against both local retailers and the duty-free shops in other countries.
Passing Through Airport Security with the Touch of a Finger
The New York Times (09/10/17) P. BU3 Martin, Claire
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continues to seek out solutions for line fatigue, and firms view these problems as possible business opportunities. For example, Clear is using fingerprints and iris scans to spare some passengers the first phase of the TSA's security airport screening process — the document-verification checkpoint and its line. Clear says it can speed fliers through checkpoints while maintaining tight security, but the roll-out process has been slow. Clear is only available in some terminals at 24 domestic airports. Clear customers are pre-screened by TSA, and members may rescan their fingers or eyes at the company's kiosks rather than hand over their passports or driver's licenses to TSA agents. Clear members then walk through a dedicated lane that leads directly to TSA body and carry-on bag scanners, where they undergo physical screening — a line that is shorter. TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein says the agency "oversees and actively tests Clear's technology."
Abstract News © Copyright 2017 INFORMATION, INC.
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