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Sumner is a picture postcard-perfect seaside suburb of Christchurch. Its valley is ringed by volcanic hills, whose houses command magnificent views over the Pacific Ocean. I grew up in such a house, at 2 Nayland Street. As a young boy I used to gaze for hours from our top-storey window at the ships out to

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“We are home, Christchurch lives on.” The paint-scrawled sign at the end of a driveway in the eastern suburb of Bexley stands as a statement of defiance. Street after street after street has been rendered uninhabitable here. On a glorious Spring day, everything almost looks normal in what was a typically neat Christchurch suburb. Except

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I’ve arrived in New Zealand, where I’ll spend most of the next month watching the Rugby World Cup that has gripped the nation. After a breathtaking flight over the Southern Alps (above and below) my first stop is my hometown of Christchurch where I arrived yesterday. Initially the garden city, as it is known, was due

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Changi Airport Terminal 3 ranks right up there among my favourite airports in the world. This week I flew out of T3 en route to Christchurch, New Zealand (my home town where I’m staying prior to taking in some World Cup rugby in Auckland over coming weeks). And as usual it was a thoroughly pleasant

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I’ve arrived in Singapore, en route to Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, godzone, Cartersville, McCaw country – also known as New Zealand. There’s a certain sporting event being played with an egg-shaped ball down there that has consumed the interest of the nation’s 48 million inhabitants (4 million people and 44 million extremely

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Everyone at The Moodie Report joins with the whole industry in wishing Doug Newhouse, Managing Editor and Co-Owner of Travel Retail Business and TREND, a swift and full recovery from the heart attack he suffered at Heathrow Airport on his return from the Cannes show last week. Doug is our toughest, most serious and most respected rival,

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There were MMs everywhere on the Moni Ducci stand during TFWA World Exhibition: myself, a certain industry pioneer called Mohamed Mounib, and an industry newcomer – the Magic Mirror. The occasion was a press conference to show off the young fashion brand’s new Magic Mirror, an innovation that allows customers to ‘try on’ shirts ‘virtually’,

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A senior executive at one of the world’s leading travel retailers was left baffled this week when he approached the stand of a much-respected fragrances brand, one that is very popular with the upper-class in the UK. “Sorry, we don’t sell in duty free,” he was told curtly. Needless to say the retailer in question was

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[Picture: TFWA] What do you do when the people go home? And what do you do when the show is all done? I know what I’ll do in the alone of my time But what will I do with the leftover wine? –  Melanie Safka, ‘Leftover wine’ And so another Cannes show draws to a close.

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At the closing press conference for TFWA World Exhibition 2011, association President Erik Juul-Mortensen rightly began by expressing his deep sorrow at the death of a delegate last Sunday night following a street brawl. The 37-year-old was named by Cannes police as Lee Elton Fischer from London. He fell badly on the pavement after being

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Long-time head of Storck Travel Retail Paul Ridgway bid an emotional farewell to the industry on Wednesday evening in Cannes, with a surprise celebration organised by the company at the JW Marriott Hotel on the Croisette. Ridgway, retired earlier this year after 17 years working with Storck in the travel retail channel. He was joined

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There was Champagne. Caviar. Foie gras. And chocolate. Reader, we didn’t want to leave. The ‘Discover Unique Tastes’ event, jointly organised by Valrhona, Petrossian, Rougie and Champagne Duval-Leroy, at the Bistrot des Anges on Tuesday evening, provided guests with some delicious r&r after a hard day pounding the floors of the Palais. Against a backdrop

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