Old friends, new friends and seeing how every picture tells a story

by Martin Moodie |
The following two tabs change content below.

Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

Ask just anyone you meet in travel retail about its greatest attraction and they’ll reply it’s the people. My answer would be no different.

Throw in some of the greatest places on the planet and many of its finest products and it’s little wonder that I awake each and every day looking forward to what lies ahead.

As I advance into the late autumn of my career (hopefully the depth of winter is still some way off), I feel blessed that my travel retail journey – now stretching into its 38th year – has given me so much, particularly in terms of the individuals I have met and with whom I converse every day either directly, via email or on Zoom, Teams or the phone.

With the Chinese New Year holidays behind us, I, like the wood snake this year is dedicated to, am sliding into my work with purpose, ready to embrace an Everest-like mountain of travel and work. Last week Taipei, next week Tokyo, then New Zealand, India and Hainan in quickfire succession.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of visiting the Pernod Ricard offices in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, which offer the most wondrous views over Victoria Harbour. You couldn’t get a better advertisement for office-based as opposed to remote working.

Beautiful Harbour City views from daylight through dusk to darkness

As always it was a pleasure to catch up with Rustom Framji, who last July was promoted to the key role of

Great Cognac goes best with great company. Antonio Duva, I and Rustom Framji toast travel retail friendship over a glass of Martell Cordon Bleu

I was treated to a wonderful dinner at Pier 6 Restaurant, Pacific Club, Harbour City by Rustom and Antonio Duva, a youthful 17-year Pernod Ricard veteran, who assumed the role of  General Manager Travel Retail APAC last July, relocating from London where he was General Manager Travel Retail EMEA, Pacific and Global Customers.

It was a great night with outstanding food, wine (Italian, of course, courtesy of Antonio), Cognac (Martell, naturellement) and company.

As was my evening just before Chinese New Year with Roger Wang, the ebullient Chinese real estate investor, entrepreneur and bon vivant who acquired Cognac Duc de Fugue in 2013 (click here for my July 2023 Blog, which tells the whole story).

From quality Cognac to great cigars, Roger Wang is a man with a taste for the finer things in life

Duc de Fugue dates back to 1789 when its first Cognacs were distilled from wines sourced out of the famed region’s Grande Champagne cru. It remained in family hands for many years, renowned for producing Cognacs for other houses rather than its own brand.

All that changed when Roger purchased the business in 2013, determined to elevate Duc de Fugue Cognac as a brand in its own right, a challenge he, ably abetted by Senior Vice President Shirley Wei, has set about with relish and much success.

But while we drank Duc de Fugue with every one of the delicious courses at the superb seafood restaurant CaN Lah (also at Harbour City), cigars were the main talking point of the evening. Roger has now invested in a cigar venture and while I am not yet allowed to spoil the surprise, I can tell you it is a superbly packaged, high-quality range, coming to duty free soon. Look out for my full report imminently.

As my most recent Blog relates, I spent last week in Taipei, mostly in the good company of the Ever Rich Duty Free leadership but I also had the welcome opportunity to lunch with Tasa Meng General Manager Gary Chau at J-Garden in the city’s Zhongshan district.

There are 72 years’ collective travel retail experience at this table

I have known Gary for over 30 years and we share much in common (including hairstyle). We have inhabited the same industry for decades (he joined Plaza Bali in Indonesia in 1991), battled at various points an identical health foe, and retained our joy for travel retail over all that time.

He is a delightful individual and a fine leader of an excellent retailer. Three adjectives in one sentence but all deserving of their place.

While I was visiting Taoyuan International Airport T2 last week with the Ever Rich team, we heard that Tasa Meng was hosting an important cultural gathering nearby and duly rushed along to see it.

Tasa Meng President Nancy Ku is not just an astute businesswoman but also an art lover and a top-class calligrapher (her work can be seen at the airport) and her interests were reflected in an art exhibition launched that day at the airport.

(From left) Mr & Mrs Chi Wen Jong (an avid art lover, he is the former Administrative Deputy Minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications); Martin Moodie; Tasa Meng Corporation President Nancy Ku; Vincent Chiang (an artist from NTNU-College of Arts); and Tasa Meng Corporation Operation Director Julie Chang

As I opined in my last Blog, no airport in the world better encapsulates the much talked-about, often poorly served concept of sense of place as the Taipei gateway. The commitment of both Ever Rich and Tasa Meng to that cause is illustrated time and again by such cultural events and the passenger experience is so much richer for it. ✈

Every picture tells a story and here many pictures each tell a different one. The photo itself is important, too, encapsulating the critical role an airport can play in showcasing regional or national culture.
What a privilege to be asked to join this group of talented artists, supporters and Tasa Meng leaders
“Not only a place to bid farewell but also to embark on a new journey.” A beautiful articulation of an airport’s place in the human ecosystem.
Local commerce, lovingly captured
I love this intriguing piece by Li Chu
Joy unbridled by the Taiwanese seaside