Diagoras, a 5th century BC poet and sophist, was also a famed Greek atheist. But the airport that bears his name, Rhodes International Diagoras, shows no lack of belief when it comes to retail, while the outstanding way it has championed local products might even have inspired him to pen a verse or two. In a
Miscellaneous
Disspelling the wrong kind of Greek myths
Greetings from The Moodie Report’s interim Greek bureau. Actually make that bureaux, as I have been island hopping from Rhodes to Halki (or Chalki, pictured above) to Symi and back to Rhodes over the past 10 days. And actually, also put a question mark after the ‘interim’ as this country is so warm, welcoming and…
Read More
Miscellaneous
A new face for destination retailing in Warsaw
Premium Food Gate: The clunky name doesn’t give much away but that makes a visit to this superb destination store at Warsaw Chopin Airport all the more surprising. I was in Poland last week for the unveiling of Lagardère Travel Retail’s new commercial operations – straddling duty free & luxury, news & convenience (which the
Read More
Miscellaneous
How Sandy hits the top notes but Boingo drives me Bongo
Meet Sandy. She works for Blackjack promotions (and Diageo) at World Duty Free Group’s London Gatwick Airport North Terminal store. Sandy knows more about malt whisky than just about anyone I know. And I know quite a lot about malt whisky. En route to Rhodes, Greece, I wanted to buy a nice bottle of Scotch
Read More
Miscellaneous
Hellenic Duty Free and Athens Airport show the true Greek spirit
I am tired of hearing negative things about Greece. I am tired of reading inaccurate and negative headlines in the British press that are deterring tourists in their tens of thousands each week from visiting the country – thus piling more agony on those that suffer most during an economic calamity of this nature, the
Read More
Miscellaneous
Why cancelling your holiday is the wrong kind of Greek exit
This is the only kind of Greek exit I want to see this Summer. I’m in Athens for a fleeting weekend visit and getting a taste, literal and metaphorical, of what this wonderful country has to offer. Alas some 800,000 or so tourists this year won’t get to share the same experience. That’s the ballpark
Read More
Miscellaneous
Hats off to Colm McLoughlin at Wimbledon
Not quite the Mad Hatters’ Ball but certainly a case of two men doing the milliner’s craft proud… Mine is a Fedora, courtesy of the world’s greatest Millinery shop, Le Monde on Wilton Road near Victoria Station; that worn by the equally stylish man with me is courtesy of Rolex, one of the lead sponsors (and official
Read More
Miscellaneous
Hong Kong Airport unveils a very special celebration
The Moodie Report has long championed airports that promote local, regional or national culture, crafts, cuisine, heritage and history – the all-important Sense of Place concept that we have dedicated so much space to over the past 13 years. But I doubt I have ever seen anything as impressive as a new initiative from Hong
Read More
Miscellaneous
Heathrow Terminal 2: Fit for a Queen
The Queen’s Terminal (T2) at Heathrow Airport may be very close to being my favourite airport. The more I use this magnificent new facility the more I like it. Over recent days I have flown out of there (en route to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby near Dublin) and on another occasion dropped someone