Up close and personal in travel retail
Ystradgynlais (Welsh for ‘vale of the river Cynlais’) is easier to find (at the northeastern end of the Swansea Valley ) than it is to pronounce. But after a good dram or two of the outstanding local whisky Penderyn, I’ve just about got the hang of it.
“This is a shop that refines what is possible and a symbol of a rising Ethiopia. This is more than a retail space, it is a statement that Ethiopia is raising the bar.”
The ‘liquid to lips’ mantra, so key to converting browsers to buyers, reigns supreme here. And certainly one sip of a fine Speyside expression from The Macallan Harmony collection has me determined to buy on departure.
Right across the YVR estate there is compelling evidence of avid consumer-centricity at every level, from operational excellence to the focus on accessibility, inclusion, sustainability, sense of place and innovative technology
“Most people see airports as buildings and planes, I see them as people – millions of people that come together,” Hari Marar told me over coffee at the Taj Bengaluru. It’s an opportunity to influence a large cross-section of people and maybe humanity.”
If Bengaluru Duty Free is the airport world’s best arrivals duty-free shop, this Mitti Café is surely its most special food & beverage outlet, ‘The Magic of Abilities’ writ large across the warmest smiles you could ever hope to encounter.
Ever Rich Duty Free is indeed, like Confucius, standing firm at 30. Firm to its values of integrity, professionalism, innovation, commitment to public welfare and dedication to the greater good laid out by Founder & Chairman Simon Chiang three decades ago.
Any requests? Something by The Moodie Blues, I suggest?
It’s a brutal corporate world out there at the moment and with the great Chinese wave that has driven our industry for the first quarter of the 21st century now resembling a series of gentle ripples (in spending, not traveller, terms) reinvention is the name of the game.
The calligrapher kindly asked me to choose a design of my choice. Admiring the bright orange hues and the lovely shape of the lettering, I made my choice. “What does it mean?” I asked. “It means ‘Write like an angel.”
“Your support means so much to us and will directly contribute to creating meaningful opportunities for women and girls across South Canterbury. This small group of women has collectively given and raised over NZ$75,000 in the last three years.”
I feel a ‘Buy 30 get 11 free’ offer coming on. Forget Chief Brody’s famous lines from Jaws, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” For World Duty Free CEO Fred Creighton it will be a case of “You’re gonna need a bigger basket.”
You practically need a hiking pole and boots to get around each Expo hall but it’s worth the effort to see the incredible advances being made by the Chinese across multiple fields.
