A hipster with Imagination

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Martin Moodie
Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

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She’s one of the most humane, warm people in the travel retail industry. She’s also married to one of its best. Step forward Beverly Walker-Johansson, co-owner with husband Lars of Imagination Unlimited International, the US duty free agency that has driven the astonishing rise and rise of Inniskillin IceWine in recent years – in our view the industry’s most unlikely and perhaps greatest brand success story.

Beverly is an effervescent, non-stop character but even her legendary dynamism was being slowed by major problems with her hips in recent times. Pain-ridden for too long, she finally took the plunge into hip surgery, getting it done in an Indian hospital last year and as a result being a conspicuous absentee from the Duty Free Show of the Americas. As a result, Lars was a lost soul at the 2006 show – a man who likes two sweeties on his arms, Beverly and a bottle of Inniskillin, suddenly only had one.

This year, we’re glad to say, she was back. And how. On the dance floor at the Gala Dinner [pictured] she had husband Lars twirling like a cocktail stick in an Inniskillin Martini, dancing with (unlimited) Imagination and generally moving faster than The Moodie Blog’s camera shutter speed could cope with.

“She’s a walking, talking – and dancing – advertisement for the Indian hip operation industry,” noted one industry colleague.

He was right. Just about the hippest woman in travel was truly back in the swing of things. Hip hip hooray.

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  • Everybody knows Berverly has always been
    (and still is) hip ,and should never have had hip problems !(:-)
    …and we are all hipped on her great legendary open smile .
    She is also the best rock dancer of the Americas,
    and as I was unable to attend the Fortlauderdale event , I missed a chance to do the rock-and-roll with her , as I used to at every party when she was Head of Merchandising at L’Oreal Parbel !