March has been a mighty busy month. I am slowly recovering from my ten-flights-in-ten-days US odyssey, which began with a cracking time in California (courtesy of Wonderful Pistachios); continued with a transfer to Orlando to attend this year’s IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas; and concluded with a “Bourbon Immersion” in Kentucky, hosted in
Miscellaneous
Incheon right on key, Heathrow strikes the wrong note
One of the reasons, I am sure, that Incheon International Airport keeps being rated the world’s best airport in ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards, is its commitment to consumer engagement. I have commented many times on the excellence of Incheon’s Korea Cultural Traditional Experience Center (pictured below), which brilliantly combines retailing with customer
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Miscellaneous
Kasper ghosts, Kiwi polishes and a late, late show keep the Foxes on the run
Regular readers of this Blog will know that I have a particular affinity with Leicester City Football Club, more popularly known as ‘The Foxes’ in the UK. Leicester City is owned by Asian Football Investments, a Thai consortium led by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (formerly Vichai Raksriaksorn), Chairman of one of Asia’s leading travel retailers, King Power
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Miscellaneous
A hectic commercial period for Incheon approaches
I’m back at the oh so familiar Hyatt Incheon bureau of The Moodie Report, looking out on one of the great airports of the world. It’s a more fleeting visit than most that I have made at least annually to the wonderful country that is South Korea over the past 25 years. In fact I’m
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Miscellaneous
Distilling half a century’s worth of passion and skill into a single bottle
How does someone feel as they unveil a product that represents half a century (and therefore most) of their working life? What emotions does it conjure up as they share the culmination of a great personal journey with strangers and colleagues? Those were the questions I asked the other night of Glen Grant Master Distiller
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Miscellaneous
Of all the duty free shops in all the world, he walks into mine
I’m flying at 35,000 feet, somewhere between Omsk and my old haunt of Novosibirsk. I’m bound for Hong Kong and the launch of an extraordinary single malt whisky that, like me, has been around for a long, long time, but which unlike me is reputed to still be in impeccable condition. I won’t reveal too
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Miscellaneous
A cracking time in California with Wonderful Pistachios
My sanity has been questioned many times over the years – not least, on occasion, by myself – so the nut job jokes came thick and fast when I accepted an invitation from Wonderful Pistachios to visit (via private jet!) parent company Paramount Farms’ plantation and processing facility in Lost Hills, California, prior to this
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Miscellaneous
BOD out, FOC in; the ‘failed’ Trinity concept; and nonsensical awards
For personal reasons I was unable to attend the annual Duty Free Show of the Americas in Orlando this week but by all accounts (and certainly those from the seven Moodie team members there) it was again a great success. Pancho Motta and his IAADFS board and Michael Payne are collectively a class act. I will
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Miscellaneous
An encounter with a stranger – bringing the tragedy of flight MH370 home
As relatives, loved ones and colleagues desperately seek news of the fate of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, a poignant tale has emerged of an encounter by a JR/Duty Free employee at Perth Airport, Australia, with one of the passengers on the missing plane. The story comes from Radio station ABC Perth and I urge you
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Miscellaneous
Pregnancy lingerie? Bit of a push, even if you are a supermodel
If I ever were to become pregnant (no Mum and Dad, I’m not announcing it this way), I hope I manage to look even half as effortlessly chic as Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova (above), writes Brands Editor Sarah Lysecki. While I may not possess her svelte 34-24-34, 5 foot 9 inch frame, I think I
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Miscellaneous
Finding paradise in a troubled world
I think I’m jinxed… If losing my UK passport somewhere in/between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok wasn’t bad enough, I have also found myself sans suitcase in first Bangkok and then Krabi since I began a short but long-promised ‘post-Trinity Forum’ holiday on the beautiful southwest coast of Thailand. This time [message to my long-suffering, disbelieving,