TFWA Asia Pacific gets off to a stylish and upbeat start

It’s industry showtime again in Singapore as the annual TFWA Asia Pacific exhibition and related Gate One2One conference get under way. Singapore is arguably the perfect venue for a big show such as this. Its efficiency is both legendary and justified; the standards and value of service are superb; and the city goes out of

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Sky Connection creates a buzz at Hong Kong International

  The Moodie Blog is in Hong Kong, en route to the annual TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore. The world may be going through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression but you wouldn’t know it from walking around Hong Kong International Airport. As usual Airport Authority Hong Kong and its commercial partners

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James races for The Smile Train

News reaches us from a land down under that James Kfouri, the popular travel retail head of Paton’s Macadamia Plantations, is to run a half marathon to raise funds for cleft charity The Smile Train. The event will take place in the Victorian capital of Melbourne on 28 June. James has created a fantastic page

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Keep walking – Black Label continues to stride out in style

Recognise this chap? No, not the fading, aging antipodean on the left but the sprightly looking dandy on the right. That’s right, it’s Johnnie Walker’s famous ‘striding man’ and The Moodie Blog is delighted to report that even at the ripe old age of 101, he’s in better shape than ever. So much so that

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Another plague on travel retail’s house

Right now I can’t read too good Don’t send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them From Desolation Row – Bob Dylan, Desolation Row It’s not quite the ‘Seven Plagues’ of the Book of Revelation but it does seem as if there is some greater force conspiring against the well-being of the

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Colm McLoughlin’s ‘Famous Five’

He’s the most well-known travel retail executive on the planet but how well do you really know him? We’re talking about Colm McLoughlin, the Irishman who has driven the great Dubai Duty Free success story of the past quarter century. In between building a billion Dollar retailing powerhouse and creating a global marketing phenomenon, Colm

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Mighty Munster give voice to Stuart Mangan appeal

The fundraising efforts for Stuart Mangan, the young Irish rugby player paralysed from the neck down during a game on 5 April 2008, are reaching amazing heights – mirroring the immense courage and determination of an extraordinary man (see www.StuartMangan.org for full details). Stuart’s brother John is L’Oréal UK Luxury Fragrance Division Deputy General Manager – and

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Karl’s (World) cup runneth over

There are many rugby followers in the travel retail community, some of whom plan to descend on New Zealand in 2011 to support their respective countries in the Rugby World Cup. Now, dramatic news reaches The Moodie Blog that the industry may even have a player participating in the event. All around the world qualifying

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Flying high with the irresistible Pam Ann

Every day The Moodie Report scours the international newswires for story leads using a paid search service and a series of keywords such as ‘duty free’ and ‘travel retail’. Invariably the former throws up some intriguing stories that never quite make it into our pages – ranging from articles on duty free sugar quotas to

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Those mobile blues again…

I think someone is trying to tell me something… Working from home the other morning at The Moodie Report’s unofficial Worldwide Headquarters (also known as the Garden Shed), I answered the phone to what turned out to be a cold call from a salesman. “Good morning, is that Mr Moodie?” “It is indeed.” “Good morning Mr Moodie.” “Good

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Two faces, one child

Two faces. One child. Meet Xena Cordova from the Philippines. This little girl is five years old and comes from one of the country’s poorest areas. Her parents, though loving, are uneducated and illiterate. They could never afford to pay for the cleft surgery their beautiful but disfigured daughter needed. But help was at hand.

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Bollywood bursts into Mumbai

There’s a lot to admire about the gradual re-shaping of commercial operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, a project I saw first-hand on Tuesday night as I came through the international terminal before boarding a flight to London. DFS India – a partnership with Flemingo – is making real progress in transforming the key duty free facilities

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