It was great to catch up with Colm and Breeda McLoughlin and several of the Dubai Duty Free management and staff at yesterday’s annual Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup race meeting at Ascot racecourse just outside London. The event is the only team competition in horse racing, featuring four teams of three jockeys representing Ireland,
People
Another landmark for a grand man of duty free
Happy news comes through to The Moodie Blog from Fiji, where one of our industry’s great pioneers, Mahendra Motibhai Patel CBE, today celebrated his 70th birthday. The Chairman & CEO of Motibhai Group celebrated the landmark in style as his team presented him with a 70th birthday cake, while his office was decorated in rare
Read More
Miscellaneous
“Doctor, doctor, I have broken my arm in several places…”
Encouragement, cajoling and volumes of literature and music continue to fill my electronic and postal mailbag as I plough into my prolonged medical treatment programme. As one would expect from this industry, plenty of it has been of the cheeky kind. David Spillane of Travel Retail Sales picked up on Brian Collie’s urging that I should continue
Read More
People
A new chapter for Rod Wiltshire
On Friday 23 July, our industry bade farewell to one of its longest-serving and most respected and popular retailers – Aldeasa US President Rod Wiltshire (pictured second from right above), who is taking well-earned retirement from full-time work (though he will remain an advisor/consultant to the Autogrill-owned company). Rod worked with Alpha/Aldeasa for 15 years,
Read More
People
Maingreaud – the right man for the role
Tax Free World Association’s (TFWA) appointment of Alain Maingreaud as Managing Director appears a sound and logical move. Maingreaud, who replaces former CEO Olivier Charriaud, has been Exhibitions & Business Development Director of TFWA since 2007, and before that Commercial Director. In other words he is expert at the association’s core business – running successful
Read More
Airports
Dubai Duty Free – Number one in so many ways
Dubai Duty Free has won so many awards and other accolades down the years that it’s perhaps easy to gloss over them. But that would be a mistake. For underneath the sales achievements and the often brilliant marketing and consumer campaigns, lies a tale of extraordinary brand development and a retailer that stands for much
Read More
Events
‘The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children’ – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Out of the mouths of babes hast thou ordained strength – Psalm 8:2 You know the symptoms. Your heart is racing. Your blood pressure is rising and your pupils dilating. Dry mouth, shaking hands and there’s a maddening, giveaway tremor in your voice. Just about anyone who has had to address a public audience will
Read More
People
The comfort of strangers – and friends
I am dreading the chemotherapy will affect my taste buds and put me off wine – if it does I plan to switch bags and take Cloudy Bay intravenously, which may not cure me but sure as hell will cheer me up.
Read More
Events
Waxing lyrical over Neil Towns
From Neil Towns, Head of Buying at P&O Ferries, comes news that he has smashed his recent charity fund-raising target – and had a unique, albeit painful, beauty treatment in the process. On 18 July Neil is taking part in a 105 mile stage of the Tour De France in the Pyrenees. The ride this
Read More
People
A personal message from the Publisher
The moon has a face And it smiles on the lake And causes the ripples in time I’m lucky to be here With someone I like Who maketh my spirit to shine – Warren Zevon, ‘Don’t let us get sick’ Regular readers of The Moodie Blog will have noticed that I have been less than prolific
Read More
Events
A fitting tribute to Freddie
2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic death in an accident of young Freddie McGuire, the infant son of Scorpio Distributors Managing Director Stuart McGuire and his wife Joelle. To mark that anniversary, Stuart (above) is embarking on an extraordinarily daunting fund-raising effort on behalf of the Freddie McGuire Charitable Trust and I’m going
Read More
People
Holland branches out into Montenegro
One of the fascinating things about the global travel retail industry is how it operates at so many levels in so many countries. One industry executive who has travelled to more of those countries than most is Jonathan ‘Chaps’ Holland’ (below, right), Managing Director of Singapore-based Jonathan Holland & Associates. Chaps sent us these pictures
Read More
People
Goodbye to a gentleman
[Photo courtesy of DFNI] News of the death of former International Tax Free Trader Editor Peter Tipthorp will sadden all those who remember him. Trade media is one of the most competitive sectors you will find and the rivalry is sometimes less than the friendly kind. Peter would have none of that – he was