How Korea’s travel retail pie is developing a very different flavour

There are too many duty free retailers here fighting over a pie that on the one hand is rising but on the other has a base that could crumble at any time.

How an old-age pensioner showed he was no old LAG

One gets the impression that if he’d brought some cheese, crackers, ham and olives in his hand luggage, he may have taken time to set out a table cloth and dine in style on the security counter.

All change at Hong Kong International

These are early days for the new travel retail triumvirate. Watching what they do on this collective grand stage promises to be one of the most interesting travel retail stories of the year.

A promotional disaster, a public relations crisis and a lesson learned

The last thing the international duty free industry can afford is to add further encouragement to Chinese consumers to not shop abroad.

For peat’s sake! Local wine proves a hit on Irish turf

“It’s bog standard wine, Dara,” came the inevitable response from one Twitter wag.

Homage to Heathrow: Saluting Caleb Femi’s ‘A Tale of Modern Britain’

Come, before you step out into the open air, sit down here, in-between the brief pause of children’s laughter and a tannoy announcement/In the small kingdom of faces…

KitKat and Akihabara add flavour to Narita shopping experience

If Baked Potato, Soy Bean, Maccha Milk, French Salt, Pumpkin (!), College Tater, Red Bean Paste, Salt Watermelon, Houiji Tea and Apple Vinegar don’t constitute wacky then I’m Donald Trump.

Tales from Tokyo down on the Front Line

Now this young man is clearly well-trained. He knew all about Japanese whiskey (as he should) but his personality was natural, not schooled.

Scents and sensibility at sea

The innovation I like most is called Scents & Spirits, an ‘experience wall’ designed to fuse the worlds of fragrances and ‘luxury libations’.

Packing up in duty free for the holiday

I watched as some of the world’s most illustrious beauty brands were stripped out of their packaging and stuffed into this young woman’s holdalls. Doesn’t do much for the selective distribution argument does it?

Airports

December 18, 2017

World class in Waiheke – and making a connection through duty free

I’m over north-eastern Australia on the long Emirates flight from Auckland to Dubai, as my final trip of the year draws to a close. I’m winging my way back to Ireland for Christmas after visits to Melbourne and Auckland airports (more on their respective retail developments on our home page). When I travel at this

Airports

December 14, 2017

The Moodie Blog: An echo of the city at Melbourne Airport

For any forward-looking airport company, taking the best of the city or region it represents and translating it faithfully to its own travel environment is both aspiration and challenge. And not that many airports get it right. Some add touches of local flavour in the shopping or food offer but little in the way of

Airports

December 8, 2017

“Airports will become the single place where people do physical shopping” – Discuss

“Large airports are replicating their physical offers online. If airports are right, then the large shopping malls in the world would now all be very successfully competing with Amazon. They don’t.” – Stephan Uhrenbacher, Flio

Airports