Celebration time beckons at Hong Kong International Airport

June and July will provide an extravaganza of festivities as the airport’s latest generation of anchor store retailers stage their Grand Openings.

Mamma mia, Korea we go again…

I do not read British newspaper The Sun, but I did stop at BA’s Heathrow T5 lounge to admire the title’s unlikely marrying of events Korean and Swedish in one brilliant headline.

Plenty of heat in the FAB judging kitchen

With four nationalities and diverse backgrounds and perspectives represented on the judging panel, there’s plenty of heat, lots of spice and even the occasional boilover in the judging kitchen.

Travel packing as you never saw it, daigou style

I didn’t believe you could get so many cosmetics items into one small wheelie case. But never underestimate the ingenuity of the daigou, nor the sheer power of money.

Heading home from my Jeju journey

What a beautiful island Jeju is, full of natural wonder, history (some of it dark and poignant) and culture. It is known as a healing place, somewhere to take stock of life’s pressures and priorities.

Airports

April 11, 2018

On location in changing times for Japanese travel retail

I’m just returning from a fascinating trip to Japan, where the travel retail market is evolving due to new business dynamics, changing consumer habits and a continued surge in visitor growth led by China. In advance of our full report in Moodie Davitt Print & Interactive editions for May, here are five takeaways from a

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April 3, 2018

How Korea’s travel retail pie is developing a very different flavour

There are too many duty free retailers here fighting over a pie that on the one hand is rising but on the other has a base that could crumble at any time.

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March 13, 2018

How an old-age pensioner showed he was no old LAG

One gets the impression that if he’d brought some cheese, crackers, ham and olives in his hand luggage, he may have taken time to set out a table cloth and dine in style on the security counter.

Airports

March 7, 2018

All change at Hong Kong International

These are early days for the new travel retail triumvirate. Watching what they do on this collective grand stage promises to be one of the most interesting travel retail stories of the year.

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February 13, 2018

A promotional disaster, a public relations crisis and a lesson learned

The last thing the international duty free industry can afford is to add further encouragement to Chinese consumers to not shop abroad.

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January 30, 2018

For peat’s sake! Local wine proves a hit on Irish turf

“It’s bog standard wine, Dara,” came the inevitable response from one Twitter wag.

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January 25, 2018

Homage to Heathrow: Saluting Caleb Femi’s ‘A Tale of Modern Britain’

Come, before you step out into the open air, sit down here, in-between the brief pause of children’s laughter and a tannoy announcement/In the small kingdom of faces…

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January 23, 2018

KitKat and Akihabara add flavour to Narita shopping experience

If Baked Potato, Soy Bean, Maccha Milk, French Salt, Pumpkin (!), College Tater, Red Bean Paste, Salt Watermelon, Houiji Tea and Apple Vinegar don’t constitute wacky then I’m Donald Trump.

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