When people lose someone close to them in tragic circumstances, they react in many different ways. Some decide to channel their grief into extraordinary ways of honouring their loved ones. Such a person is George Hammer, a UK entrepreneur – and creator of Urban Retreat – who has launched a charity beauty brand concept called
Airports
Damian’s delights bring Simply Chocolate to life
Meet Damian Allsop. A pastry chef by trade, Damian is now one of the hottest names in the chocolate-making world – and he’s just arrived in travel retail… His exquisite – and as a chocolate aficionado I don’t use the term lightly – creations are unlike any chocolate you have ever tasted. That’s because of
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Events
A MOmentous MOvember result for MOtivated Mark Riches and WDF team
A few weeks back The Moodie Blog brought you news of the ‘MOvember’ fund-raising campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer. The month of MOvember – formerly known as November – is the period when men grow MOustaches to raise funds to help research into and visibility for this terrible killer of men worldwide. WDF
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Events
Going belly up in front of your peers
There are certain critical rules to follow when you are attending a travel retail industry event in the Middle East and a belly dancer starts her routine. Unless you are a rare example of a travel retail exhibitionist, the last person on earth you want to be is the hapless guest called up by the dancer to
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Events
Paton’s prepares to go nuts as James Kfouri triumphs in Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup
The 17th Dubai Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup saw one of the most popular winners in the event’s history – James Kfouri, General Manager Sales & Marketing for Australian confectionery company Paton’s. Renowned for its famous Macadamia nuts range of chocolates, the company will also now be synonymous with sporting excellence after the Melbourne-based
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Events
It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it…
If you think it’s tough work completing a 10k fun run, then it’s clearly even tougher being one of the race marshalls. At the Miles for Smiles ‘fun run’ at the weekend in Dubai, The Moodie Blog’s exclusive sponsor, Mars International Travel Retail International Consultant Stuart Bull, was obviously finding the workload draining. Time and again
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People
Updating the real industry ‘Trinity’
It is late October 1986. Three young, successful retailers (above) are celebrating three accolades bestowed on a young, successful retail company at the Frontier Awards in Cannes. Dubai Duty Free had won, respectively, Airport Duty Free Operator of the Year (1985) and Best Marketing Campaign by a Retailer (1986), while the man in the centre
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Events
Lady in red
They were probably the best couple of one-liners heard at an industry conference in years. Having listened to Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) Vice President of Non-Aeronautical Revenues Dan Cappell extolling the merits of outsourcing duty free retailing to DFS, MEDFA conference moderator Dermot Davitt boldly asked Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports (sister company
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Events
The loneliness of the long-distance runner
It’s 32 hours since I completed the Miles for Smiles 10k ‘fun run’ and I feel like my legs have been run over by a Humvee. If I didn’t know it before, I know it now. In a 53 year-old, averagely fit man’s life, 10k goes on forever. Especially when you’ve had two hours sleep
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Events
Black and blue at the San Siro
The Moodie Report Publisher was in Milan for the weekend to watch my beloved All Blacks rugby team play Italy at the magnificent San Siro Stadium. The San Siro is usually associated with football – it is the home of both AC Milan and Inter – but such is the interest in the All Blacks
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Events
Miles (and miles and miles) for Smiles
All around the travel retail world tonight, I suspect, there are some very sore people. I am one of them. The problem (but also the reward) with volunteering to compete in something like ‘Miles for Smiles’, this month’s charity run in Dubai, is that you really have to give it your best shot. And that
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People
Mark Riches unveils new World of Whiskery
Our recent report on Brian Collie’s newly hirsute look in the cause of charity has brought forth news of a similar growth initiative by another leading industry figure. As mentioned, the McArthurGlen Luxury Retail Chairman (and former BAA Group Retail Director) is participating in a fantastically innovative fund-raising campaign to combat the scourge of prostate cancer.
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People
Farewell to Lars
Out through the fields and the woods And over the walls I have wended; I have climbed the hills of view And looked at the world and descended; I have come by the highway home, And lo, it is ended. – Robert Frost, Reluctance The loss of Lars Johansson, that giant-hearted, exuberant, passionate, loving Swedish