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.
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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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
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.
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Travel
Meeting a guardian angel called Maki at Tokyo Station
For a moment prospects of recovering my laptop seemed between slim and none. And slim, like my train, had just left town.
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People
To Isaia, Terry and all those who fell while scaling Mount Difficulty
I recall to this day walking into a Waitrose supermarket in West London after I received the news and vowing to drink a good wine that night, a defiant toast to what I was perhaps illogically convinced would be a successful fight against the illness.
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Events
Discovering Malin+Goetz – difficult to pronounce, easy to use
“What attracted me to the brand is that our customer is someone who is not a beauty junkie, per se, they actually want to really experience life.”
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People
How Roger Wang breathed life into Duc de Fugue Cognac
Roger Wang might have bought a winery such as this. But fate decreed that his choice would turn to another great love instead, Cognac.
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Promotions
Discovering Johanna Monange’s 21-gram salute to creative individuality
Maison 21 G represents one of the most exciting new concepts I have seen enter the travel retail channel in many years.
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People
Howzat? Not out is the answer as Toni Martello’s 41-year innings continues in style
The early days were a time when racism, being groped and propositioned daily, and other forms of workplace harassment were the norm, particularly given the attire the team was required to wear to represent clients.
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People
Frontline excellence at Changi and Helsinki airports
As I went to set up my Interim Helsinki Bureau in the Finnair lounge I realised I had left my mouse (as in laptop accessory not rodent) on the plane. But help was close at hand,