On Wednesday night in Madrid, Guatemalan rum brand Botran celebrated its 75th anniversary and what an occasion it was. The Moodie Report’s Helen Pawson and Sarah Genest made the trip to toast the milestone along with VIP guests including Spanish socialite Genoveva Casanova and Venezuelan singer Carlos Baute. Surrounded by hundreds (if not thousands) of
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Miscellaneous
Singing a new song with Aigner
The recent story of German leathergoods brand Aigner is one of change and renewal. From being a name that was respected by an older generation of (mainly German) consumers, under the guidance of CEO Sybille Schoen it has added edge and recognition among a demographic under 40, with the Middle East and Asia now key
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Miscellaneous
Welsh fightback puts the Sheen on a special day for Spencer
Meet Spencer Sheen. He’s the Head of Retail at Gatwick Airport, a great guy in our industry, passionate about his job and even more passionate about all things Welsh. Most of all Welsh rugby. I last saw Spencer a couple of weeks back at The Trinity Forum in Hong Kong, where we discussed the Rugby
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Test your cask strength: Your chance to win an exclusive ‘All Black’ offer
Clad entirely in black. Peerless quality, brooding, select, unexpected. A true one-off. Yes folks, the New Zealand rugby team – the famous All Blacks – have all those qualities and more (you’re certainly in for the unexpected if you get caught on the wrong side of the ruck against them). But despite Rugby World Cup
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Miscellaneous
Good morning Boksitogorsk!
I am flying over Belozersk, which seems like a good name for my weary mental state. I am truly feeling Belozerksed after ten days in Asia dominated by all the mental (in every sense) pressure that goes with organising and moderating The Trinity Forum, followed by a series of key meetings afterwards. When I land
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Miscellaneous
Back on the road as Trinity ends and World Cup beckons
Well that’s Trinity done for another year. The Moodie Report Interim Bureau at the Intercontinental (superb hotel by the way) is closed, The Moodie Report Interim Conference Moderators are done, exhaustion replacing adrenalin. I’m biased I suppose in terms of summing up The Trinity Forum but that’s balanced by a stern sense of self-criticism that
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Getting ready to talk Trinity principles in Hong Kong
I’ve arrived in Hong Kong, along with hundreds of other travel retail executives, for our annual Trinity Forum, organised in partnership with our friends at ACI and ACI Asia-Pacific. The view from The Moodie Report’s Interim Bureau at the Intercontinental in Kowloon is stunning. The famed ‘fragrant harbour’ is right in front of me, the
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Rum and coke or dumb and dumber?
I suppose as excuses for running drugs go, that of a Guyanese national arrested at New York JFK Airport counts as seriously innovative. But seriously flawed. Nabbed trying to smuggle a bottle of El Dorado 12yo rum stuffed with drugs inside his suitcase at JFK, the passenger claimed he had purchased the rum at a
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Miscellaneous
Home on the (Craggy) Range
After my extensive travels of the past three weeks in South Korea, Hawaii and San Francisco, it was time to head down to New Zealand. New Zealand, central London-style that is. Craggy Range is a New World (and New Zealand) wine company making a real difference in travel retail. It’s bringing excellence, exclusives and exuberance
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Truly a golden gateway
Homeward bound, I wish I was, Homeward bound, Home where my thought’s escaping, Home where my music’s playing, Home where my kids (and labrador) lie waiting Silently for me – Homeward Bound (with a tweak or two), Simon & Garfunkel I’m back at San Francisco International Airport for the second time in two days. But
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Miscellaneous
Golden moments in the Golden Gate Bridge city
This Blog comes to you from The Moodie Report’s Interim San Francisco Bureau, at the quite wonderful Kensington Park hotel on Post Street. The Kensington Park is part of a group called Personality Hotels, a collection of boutique properties in San Francisco and the Bay Area. And you know what? It’s just… lovely. My long-suffering assistant
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Remembering that even golden eggs can crack
Welcome to The Moodie Report’s interim Honolulu Bureau at The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. I arrived from Seoul via Hawaiian Airlines on Friday after the most hectic of weeks I can recall in a long time, a week packed from early in the morning till late at night with breakfast meetings, lunches, dinners, after-dinner
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Miscellaneous
Hitting new heights in Seoul at Lotte World Tower
“Are you afraid of heights?” Lotte Duty Free’s delightful Communication Team Senior Assistant Sunju Park (above right) asked me with a smile as wide as the Hangang river as we clambered into the steel cage lift. “No, I’m fine,” I lied, deciding that any mention of the fact that I get vertigo from standing on a