Excellence or Death: Why travel retail must bank on branding in 2024
By Marco Passoni Branding is going to be one of the big words for 2024, in both luxury and travel retail. The term has been increasingly important in recent years, as authenticity and engagement have come to the fore in the retail space, but in 2024, we are going to see the demand for legitimate […]
Moncler creates a vibrant travel retail space for shoppers at Rome Fiumicino Airport
Italian luxury brand Moncler has unveiled its newest travel retail home at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport (FCO), enticing travellers with a true luxury experience as they travel in or out of the iconic city. Moncler’s new store at Fiumicino continues the brand’s trend of creating vibrant, exciting spaces for shoppers. Using Moncler’s striking visuals, the […]
Why Hainan’s growth means travel retail must look at the bigger picture
By Marco Passoni For three years now, Hainan has been the absolute epicentre of travel retail – or at least discussion about travel retail. China’s golden goose drove sales during the pandemic, offering a light in the darkness of the shutdown, and since then many have debated and waited to see what Hainan will tell […]
5 Key questions for luxury & travel retail in 2024
By Marco Passoni The new year is here and this is the perfect opportunity to look properly at our business and ask both what we want to achieve for the year ahead, and what we can do better. The years since the pandemic have been ones of impressive growth, but that is from a low […]
What luxury and travel retail have learned in 2023 – and some things we need to
By Marco Passoni As is often the case at this time of year, I find myself, alongside many others, looking to the future and the year behind us. As I do so, I often wonder: What now? How will our market and those who use it change in the year ahead? What should we do […]
Luxury brands have shown why travel retail should bank on them
By Marco Passoni The importance of the luxury sector to the travel retail market cannot be overstated today, and it is good – and refreshing – to see brands being given the space and opportunity to lead the way in creating bespoke and memorable experiences for shoppers in this market. In recent weeks, some of […]
Why is the UK government sticking with its £200 million Tourist Tax error?
I have not written a Christmas wishlist yet, but I think that near the top for this year would probably be for the government of the UK to see sense on the Tourist Tax policy which has been hampering growth and damaging the retail and tourism industry in the country for two years now. The […]
Price & Assortment: Unlocking the future of travel retail
By Marco Passoni Sometimes I feel like I am shouting into a void in this market. No matter how often I, and others, speak about the importance of price in travel retail, it is regularly swept away or dismissed as ‘less than’ or an issue the industry does not want to engage with. Of course, […]
Kim Kardashian and SKIMS treated climate change like the Barbie Movie and it is wrong
By Marco Passoni Climate change and sustainability are huge topics for brands today – and so they should be. These are topics and problems which we all know are a big issue in the world and ones which leading brands and celebrities are taking much-needed leadership positions on. So, I have a question: How did […]
The cult of personality: How celebrity brands are rewriting the rules on experience and storytelling
By Marco Passoni There are very few people in the world who can inspire enthusiasm and engagement like the modern celebrity. Since social media opened up their lives to the public, some have shied away, but many have leveraged their platforms to become media powerhouses in their own right. And in today’s culture, where more […]
