The volumes involved were well in excess of any allowance other than that perhaps of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport arrivals duty free.
Airports
Hitting a new kind of high note at Beijing Airport
This seems a sure-fire bet, with a return per square metre way better than most luxury boutiques.
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Miscellaneous
The world of Wi-Fi waits for no man
The Lake District is a place to restore one’s equilibrium; sooth the gnawing anxiety of workplace pressures; and remind yourself that gentle pleasures are the best of all. Unless one of the world’s most important duty free concessions comes up for grabs, that is.
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Airports
Who let the dogs in?
Just think what Noodle the Beagle will do for pasta sales; Luna the Collie for vegetables on the side; or Bruno the German Shepherd for Alsation wine.
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Airports
Groundhog Day in Geneva for travel retail’s Punxsutawney Phil
“I’m so sorry,” she said, as I explained my plight. “Can I get you anything?”“A parachute?” I asked hopefully before settling instead for a Sauvignon Blanc from the buy onboard range to drown my sorrows.
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Quirky
A plague on all your Gombeens’ houses
“But the UK is a non-EU country,” complains Dermot. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not allowed to sell duty free to UK-bound travellers. Now if you were flying to Ethiopia you’d be fine, mind.”
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Airports
Waxing lyrical about a 14 year-old candle-maker at Shannon Duty Free
There’s a new supplier in travel retail, and surely the world’s youngest. Meet Evan Quaid, Irish candlemaker and entrepreneur extraordinaire.
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Airports
From Cannabis oil to customised watches to four-letter words: Welcome to a brave Nous world
How was it that I felt confident enough to take my cannabis oil home? Simple. It’s been stripped of the principal psychoactive constituent (the THC) and is every bit as legal as carrying a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black or 200 Marlboro Lites.
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Events
All black in Dublin but all good in Dubai’s Turmeric Open
I know the Irish founded the duty free industry but I didn’t realise they a) still populated it in such quantity and b) all had my phone number.
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People
In the army now (or 20 years ago…)
Although this image was taken in 1998, from the distance of two decades I can still feel the ‘thwack’ of missile on helmet as, a few minutes after this picture was snapped, I forgot to duck. This was one of the more memorable social gatherings in my early years in this industry, I recall. I
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Quirky
The agony of being with an unfaithful retailer
“I am scared to ask the question outright for fear of hearing the truth. I can’t bear the thought of sharing his facings with anyone else. How can I show him I know what’s going on and get him to call it off?”
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Airports
Becoming inscentsed at Orly – and another bad rap for duty free
Perhaps Booba’s Exclamation (Coty) of Insolence (by Guerlain) contradicted Kaaris’s claim that he was The One (Dolce & Gabbana)?
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Airports
Bouncing towards victory with the big man in Ballyliffin
“Did you buy those clubs in a yard sale, man? Wow, they’re old…” That was how the world number five ranked golfer Jon Rahm greeted me (and my elderly set of Taylor Mades) today at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Pro-Am in Ballyliffin, County Donegal. An insult from one of the world’s greats to