“And on that day [of my death], I’ve realised recently that I’ll probably be in the newspapers, or quite a lot of them. And etiquette being what it is, generally speaking, rather nice things being said about me. Just typical that will be the edition I miss.” – Christopher Hitchens With great sadness I note
Events
Bravo to Bruce McGuire
Ever since I launched The Moodie Report in 2002 I have come to hugely admire the entrepreneurs within this industry, people who have had the vision, the acumen and the sheer guts to launch and grow a business. As anyone who has steered this path will tell you, it ain’t easy. If it was, as
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Events
In the pink in Dubai
Cancer Research UK (www.cancerresearchuk.org) is US$1,000 better off, following the recent Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup and related ‘fringe’ events. At the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup, Abu Dhabi Airport Company’s Dan Cappell and his various playing partners raised nearly AED800 (US$218) from on course ‘fines’, a figure presented to me at the
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People
Vintage Ford unveiled in Dubai
There were toasts aplenty at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Dubai last night as Andrew Ford, DFS’s popular Vice President, Business Development, celebrated 50 years existence on planet earth among industry friends and with his wife Tina Tam. At the behest of Abu Dhabi Airports Company Vice President for Non-Aeronautical Revenues and Business Development Dan
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Airports
Travel retail gets set for another Busch fire
‘Busch is back!’ screamed the welcome headline on a press release that tumbled into my in-box on the weekend. The Busch was of the Henrik variety – namely the long-time Copenhagen Airports President Commercial Affairs, who ranks, in my view, as one of the most far-sighted airport retail executives of recent times. Henrik’s departure from
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People
Rest in Peace: Steve Jobs
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to love what you do. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all pride,
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People
Get well soon Doug
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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Events
Raising the human spirit
Sometimes, often in fact, the travel retail sector restores your faith. After the recent riots in London made one despair for the human condition, it was uplifting to hear from two industry executives over the past week who delivered notes of great kindness to Moodie HQ. The first came from Stuart Bull (above), the long-time ‘Mr Mars’
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Events
The Cup is Coming Home
Rugby World Cup fever is breaking out in New Zealand. The tournament, held every four years, begins on 9 September with a game between the country’s famous All Blacks and Tonga and concludes with the final in Auckland on 23 October. The Moodie Report will be there every inch of the way – I will
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Miscellaneous
The end of innocence
Ealing, where I live, is usually described as a leafy, middle-class and inherently safe suburb of London. It’s an uneventful sort of place. Or it was. Last Monday everything changed. Ealing, in no way connected with the original incident that had sparked rioting and looting in North London, was targeted that night by a mob aptly
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People
Two champions of Trinity
It’s all change at Diageo and last night I had the welcome opportunity over dinner to say both farewell and thank you to two individuals who have given great service to the company and to the travel retail sector. As reported, Diageo recently announced a review of its operating model, resulting in the imminent
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Airports
Championing in-store excellence
Bravo to Aldeasa-WDF for not only organising the first competition between shops across its UK and Spain networks but for the way in which the newly integrated retailer did it. The concept, designed to reward excellence at particular retail establishments, saw London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and Málaga Airport pick up the respective UK and Spanish
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Events
Racing down to Rio
Travel retail’s ultimate marathon man, Dubai Duty Free’s newly promoted Vice President of Operations Sean Staunton, has completed one of the industry’s truly great feats in the cause of corporate social responsibility. As revealed in an earlier Blog, Sean set out to run four marathons across four continents in four months. That’s a total of 168km,