“Who was that masked man?” Most readers of The Moodie BLOG won’t be old enough to remember the familiar words repeatedly asked about the hero of ‘The Lone Ranger’ – the fictional 1960s television and movie cowboy hero, always accompanied by his faithful steed Silver and his American Indian sidekick Tonto. So in keeping with
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Salut Jean-Michel
The Moodie BLOG captured Jean-Michel Bostroem raising his glass at TFWA Asia Pacific in Singapore but it is we who should be toasting him. At the end of the northern Summer travel retail will bid farewell to one of its great servants. The L’Oreal Produits de Luxe International Travel Retail Worldwide International Marketing Director plans to
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On century duty with a quality quartet
The four executives pictured in this BLOG represent a collective century-plus of experience in the duty free industry – yet each of them seems to be aging like a great wine, getting better with every year. Our top picture – both were taken at the Opening Cocktail at TFWA Asia Pacific in Singapore last week
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Airlines
Watch this (inflight) space
South Korea’s national carrier Korean Air continues to acheive remarkable milestones for its inflight retail business. Last year sales rose by nearly +18% to over US$200 million and Vice President Heather Cho is projecting strong single-digit growth again this year, despite the weakening Korean Won. I took lunch with Heather Cho and her Inflight Sales
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Miscellaneous
Welcome to Paradise
“Welcome to Paradise.” You Young-Sub, the President of Paradise Duty Free must have used the same greeting many times down the years but it has lost none of its warmth. Mr You (pictured with Director Merchandising Department Jin-Mo Kim below) welcomes me warmly to the Paradise Duty Free hotel and shopping complex in the southern
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The Loveliness of the Long-Distance Runners
This BLOG is dedicated to two outstanding men, who have just completed marathon efforts, both literal and metaphorical, in supporting very important causes. Their names are Paul Hogan (above) and Phil Burdekin. The former is a publisher of various industry titles, including those of ACI Europe as well as the excellent show dailies at the duty free
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Airports
Case study closed – (Terminal trouble at T5… continued)
“Mr Moodie, we have good news for you. Your suitcase has been located here in Miami and we’ll be sending it to you right away as we know you’ll be leaving tomorrow.” Gloria, the kind lady from British Airways’ handling agency at Miami International Airport, was bringing the case of the missing case to a
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Airlines
Terminal trouble at T5
“Do you mind if I take a photo of my suitcase? It’s just in case anything goes wrong, I want to be able to describe it at the other end.” The check-in woman at British Airways in London Heathrow Terminal 5 gave me a quizzical but understanding look. “No problem,” she said. But there were
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A couple of classics from the Mars hit parade
Two of duty free’s great servants were rightly singled out for their outstanding contribution to the channel by Mars International Travel Retail recently. As pictured above, Stuart Bull, International Consultant (right) and International Travel Retail Manager – Worldwide, Hans Van Boven (left), were handed Lifetime Achievement Awards for Services to Duty Free by General Manager International
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So good they named him twice
He was born Thomas Thomas, but he’s just plain Tom to everyone who knows him in this business. We’re talking about the Founder and Owner of Perth, Australia off-airport retailer Gateway Duty Free, who has decided to retire this year after 28 years running his own business. This Wales-born Australian is one of the great
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Anyone for Teese? Dita leaves Cointreau drinkers both shaken and stirred
Meet Dita. Dita Von Teese. As in the US burlesque artist, model, actress and former wife of Marilyn Manson. The magnificently named Ms Von Teese is famous for many things, including a concert at the New York Academy of Art, where she gave a literally sparkling performance by wearing nothing but US$5 million worth of diamonds. Now Dita Von
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Eddie Touma bids farewell after 30 years
When executive retirements are announced they usually have a certain weary familiarity, which seldom do justice to the individual concerned’s contribution to a company or sector. So it was nice to see the genuine warmth and effusiveness with which JTI Regional President Martin Braddock paid tribute to Eddie Touma (pictured above), the tobacco house’s Worldwide Duty Free
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Airports
In the heart of the dragon a travel retail revolution begins…
Can Beijing Capital International Airport T3’s commercial offer possibly live up to the magnificence of the terminal, opened earlier this month? It’s the most daunting of challenges. And so far it’s hard to assess the Sunrise Duty Free-dominated retail portfolio in the international area as most of the stores won’t open until more airlines transfer over