Isn’t this precisely what Avolta CEO Xavier Rossinyol had in mind when he talked about the fusion between retail and F&B in an interview with me last year?
Travel
Hunkering down in paradise with the horn-eyed ghost crabs
If the crabs – carefully protected here by man as well as themselves – don’t want company, neither do you. This is a place to simply let go, to feel the weight of mental pressure and physical tiredness dissolve.
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Lifestyle
Opening a finger lickin’, finger tappin’ Interim Bureau in Bangkok
I have well and truly entered the stage of life – and certainly of career – where the mantle of ‘veteran’ is placed onto my shoulders and no amount of shaking is going to displace it. At least I still have the mental energy of a 12-year old.
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Travel
Sipping a botanical journey across Vietnam and talking Trinity in Ho Chi Minh City
I don’t so much have a bee in my bonnet as a whole hornets’ nest about the lack of Sense of Place in most airport retail offers. The SASCO shop shows what can be done with investment, imagination and a real understanding of a culture and its associated crafts and products.
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People
Sounding out Sanya sensations and hitting the high notes in Haikou
As the pictures confirm, the American beauty powerhouse’s brands remain in big demand and I suspect that CNY 2024 has contributed very significantly to honouring CEO Fabrizio Freda’s pledge to return to ‘normalised’ stock levels in the very near future.
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Airports
Zooming into and out of Zayed International
If I can’t be home for Valentine’s Day, I can at least send a selfie. Did you really buy two bottles of Cognac my wife asked?
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Events
Flying high at Zayed International and encountering A Life Well Spent in Dubai
The production dramatically reveals a three-dimensional A380 plane formed from 1,750 drones – yes, you read that right, 1,750 – on the North Runway to celebrate the airport’s rebranding.
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Airports
Why Bacha will be the hottest coffee in the airport world
If Hermès was a coffee brand it would be Bacha. And if there was a croissant heaven, I promise you a Bacha raspberry and cinnamon croissant would be served at the gates.
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People
A Shenzhen sojourn to deep dive into Duc de Fugue Cognac
Roger Wang is too much of a serial entrepreneur to stop with his Cognac brand. Look out for his exciting next move later this year. I won’t give the game away here but I predict he will have another big hit on his hands.
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Events
Scenes of joy and remembrance in Bangkok
Amid all the celebrations on Sunday evening, there was a deeply poignant moment as a giant image of Khun Vichai appeared on the screen after the happy couple made their entrance into the giant hall and onto the stage.
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Events
Scaling new heights and discovering One World in the Year of the Dragon
What a great occasion it was. One that perhaps marked Lotte Duty Free’s true coming of age as a world-class airport retailer outside its native land.
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Airports
Mastering the perfect serve with Aperol Spritz
The perfectly served Aperol Spritz inspired me to play this lovely passing shot straight out of the Carlos Alcaraz handbook {Note: No passengers were harmed in the making of this photograph}.
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People
Discovering excellence and (triple) entrepreneurship in Hong Kong, tenacity in Thailand
I dined with two of our industry’s newer entrepreneurs, both classic encapsulations of the pride, passion and perseverance that goes into not only getting a business off the ground but also sustaining and growing it.