The low-key opening of Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 2 late last month belies the huge ambitions that Shanghai Airport Authority (SAA) has for the terminal, the airport and for Shanghai as an aviation hub. Speaking at the opening of last week’s Trinity Forum, SAA President Wu Nianzu said: “We are making every effort to develop Shanghai
Miscellaneous
The lasting legacy of Dr Brendan O’Regan
In the days since the passing of Dr. Brendan O’Regan, founding father of airport duty free, the outpouring of grief here in Ireland has been remarkable, and profound. For people in the duty free business, of course, he was a symbol of our channel’s beginnings in 1947, when he opened the first airport duty free
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Miscellaneous
All Blacks capture rugby crown
No, not that one…South Africa are still world champions of the 15-man game, but the All Blacks have finally got their hands on some silverware – the Travel Retail All Blacks, that is. The ABs won a series of close-fought contests with three other teams to capture the inaugural Travel Retail Touch Rugby Sevens tournament,
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Miscellaneous
Home cinema – at the airport
How often so you see something truly innovative in the commercial offer at an airport, something that adds value to the business, entertains passengers and encourages spend? Not often enough, we think, but Moscow Domodedovo’s DVD Cinema Bar concept is one such idea – we haven’t seen anything quite like it at any other airport. The idea
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People
Style icon unmasked…
Thanks to everyone who entered our ‘Best foot forward’ competition, inspired by the trend-setting footwear borne by one of travel retail’s true style icons. No, it wasn’t (as some of you guessed) Randy Emch, nor was it Blog sponsor Stuart Bull, although we think both qualify as industry icons of fashion in their own right.
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Quirky
Little furry creatures: a new niche in travel retail
Is Kiwi possum fur the next great emerging fashion category? No less an authority than Sydney Airport General Manager Retail & Commercial Development Bob McFadyen thinks so. So great is demand that his airport retail tenants are struggling to keep their shelves filled with garments and hats made from the signature grey-brown possum fur. “It’s
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Miscellaneous
Best foot forward…..
What do your shoes say about you? Quite a lot, we reckon. Take the example above. The wearer is quite clearly a champion of style, yet a man of substance; cerebral yet all-action; and definitely a risk-taker. How else would we describe him? He’s a champion of owned retail over the concessionaire model; an outspoken
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People
Golfers go into charity overdrive in Dubai’s ‘other’ golf challenge
The Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup may have grabbed the industry sporting headlines in November, but the emirate welcomed another international golfing field last month, to the Al Badia Pinkie Pairs golf tournament. The event – played under the rules of the International Order of the Pink Tee – began life as a
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Miscellaneous
Baffled by the new security rules? You’re not alone…
The new EU security rules are proving hard to grasp not just for travellers, but also for shop staff and security personnel charged with advising those travellers. And when mistakes – honest mistakes – are made by personnel at BAA and Dublin Airport Authority – two of the companies you’d bet your house on getting