Exigency in travel retail, excellence at Dubai Duty Free

The truth is that no-one knows what lies around the corner with this situation. It is a time to concentrate on the basics and no-one does that better than Dubai Duty Free.

February 2, 2020 – a palindrome to remember, a day to forget

It’s sad and grim on every level. A time to buckle down as businesses, stay safe as individuals. It’s important to keep noting that the travel retail sector historically recovers quickly from crisis. It will again this time.

Events

January 28, 2020

Counting the most important cost of a health crisis

There are rocky weeks and perhaps months ahead for our industry but ultimately they pale in comparison to the human cost of such a crisis.

Events

December 31, 2019

Let the roaring twenties begin

The 2010s nearly gone. How did that happen? It seems just the other day that I was walking along the banks of the Thames in the darkness of a chilly London night as we ushered in the new millennium.

People

December 22, 2019

Tallink touches new heights while Comptoir Libanais provides a feast of the senses

Tallink is generating enormous sales of Krug and Dom Perignon Champagne, for example, and luxury skincare brands such as Dior and La Mer. Just ensuring supply keeps up with demand is a constant challenge.

Events

November 15, 2019

Discovering Penghu, the Pearl of the Taiwan Strait

I’ve tracked the Ever Rich Duty Free store for many years – in 2015 I wrote the company’s 18-year history – and I never fail to be impressed by the group’s commitment to quality, to culture, to sense of place and to society.

Events

November 10, 2019

Official secrets and unofficial homework grades

I’ll skip the slight and take some comfort, and my moral compass, instead from two young women whom I met over recent days, one in person and one on the screen.

Events

November 4, 2019

A tribute to Thabet as Qatar stands for quality at terrific Trinity

I wondered at one stage if Thabet had several body doubles such was his ability to be constantly on hand.

Events

October 29, 2019

All (very) black in Tokyo, all smiles in Doha

The pressure now really kicks in and I must admit to even greater nerves than on the eve of the All Blacks match – and I was a shivering wreck then.

Events

October 27, 2019

White trumps black as England soar in Yokohama

Chaps, like thousands of fellow Englishmen in Tokyo and back at home in the UK, was near delirious with happiness. And who can blame him?

Airports

October 23, 2019

Plenty of dazzle in Daxing; lots of fun (北京坊) in Beijing

The risk in describing Daxing is that you might run out of superlatives. It is an extraordinary testament to architectural genius; and a statement that airports can be beautiful as well as functional, soul-enriching as well as commercial and efficient.

Events