What we learned at TFWA Asia Pacific
The duty-free industry returned to Asia Pacific in person last week for the TFWA networking event. As travel recovers, it is more important than ever that stakeholders return to travel and meeting as personal interaction is at the heart of our market. This also provided a chance to receive an update from a region which […]
Is Asia Pacific still the centre of the travel retail world?
For years, Asia Pacific has been the epicentre of travel retail. It has led trends and innovation and been home to our global market’s highest-spending and most sought-after shoppers. The pandemic has changed the world and the status quo is being rewritten all around us. Right now, large parts of Asia Pacific are cut off […]
Tell me a story: Why selling goods is no longer the main purpose of physical stores
The recent announcement the Hublot is partnering with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to release two NFTs tells me one thing: Physical property is no longer the primary ideal in luxury today. Do not mistake that for meaning that physical luxury retail is over. That is not the case at all. In fact, it is more […]
Excellent Execution: Travel retail puts on a show for Easter break
It was reassuring to see one thing as I walked through an airport last week: Travel is recovering. The traditional idea of spring as a season of regeneration is in full flow in the travel sector as we see ‘Revenge Travel’ in full effect. This revenge travel is caused by people who have been cooped […]
Bringing luxury home: Dolce & Gabbana at MXP
It is always exciting to see a brand opening a new, own-brand store, especially in travel retail. Opening a store like this is writing a new chapter in the history of the brand and creating a new, unique and exciting touchpoint for shoppers to engage directly and have their brand experiences brough to life. Done […]
Hey Big Spender: How travel retail copes without Chinese and Russian shoppers
Travel retail is very keen on talking about “big spenders”. For a long time, luxury brands – and other stakeholders – have relied on high-spending individuals to deliver high spend and increase basket size. Of course, the pandemic has changed that. The Chinese shoppers, who were the definition of “big spenders” are currently not travelling […]
Think luxury has no future at airports? You are wrong.
I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal recently which appalled me. It was titled: Why your airport may no longer resemble a luxury shopping mall. It went on to argue that with changing shopper demographics, more younger people coming into the market and high rents for brands, those airports which used to resemble […]
Using retail space right in the age of digital & the metaverse
The metaverse is already changing the face of luxury retail. As the market reopens, it is coming for travel retail too – in some cases it is already here. This new creative, interactive, immersive platform is creating a fresh world for consumers to engage with brands and it is changing the nature of that engagement […]
Be Alert: Making the most of travel retail tender opportunities in 2022
The coming travel recovery is not just a chance to rebuild the travel retail market – it is an opportunity to reimagine it. As many have pointed out, the demands and desires from shoppers around the world have changed completely and the retail offer they discover in airports once they return must reflect that. The […]
Light it up: What we can learn from Lunar New Year activations in travel retail
Lunar New Year is here. In the past this has been a huge shopping event for travel retail, but even in our strange new world this occasion sets the benchmark for engaging and inspiring shoppers throughout Asia. The most telling thing to note about the biggest and best travel retail activations for this year’s Lunar […]
