The channel saw declines of 31% driven by suspension of cognac in Chinese travel retail sites. Outside of the duty-free sector, China saw 5% declines driven by a sharp decline in Martell sales as tariffs on the cognac category persist in the region. Europe also saw declines of 7%, a result of declines in Germany and a soft performance in Spain which the company attributed…

This month’s International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) Summit of the Americas (8-11 March) at the new InterContinental Miami venue comes at a time when the world’s eyes are on the Americas for all the wrong reasons. Like a wrecking ball, the incoming Trump presidency in the US, with its threats of tari­ffs on its neighbours, Canada and Mexico, and retaking of the…

The Chinese lunar year of the Snake has not started well for Hainan, the tropical island province with ambitious plans to create the world’s biggest and most dynamic duty free shopping business worldwide. During the dark years of the pandemic, Hainan proved a lifeline for the travel retail industry when many other international travel locations were e­ffectively closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, Hainan has…

A sense of gloom hangs over much of the travel retail industry as 2025 gets underway. While total international airline tra­ffic did increase by 1% vs pre-Covid 2019 last year, according to travel research firm Forward Keys, the key Asia Pacific region, traditionally driven by the mainland Chinese, remained 10% below 2019. Compounding these challenges are geopolitical tensions, escalating costs and shrinking disposable incomes in…

The mood at last month’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes was understandably a reflective one. It was, after all, the trade exhibition’s 40th anniversary – an important landmark and a timely moment for the global travel retail industry to re­flect on its past struggles and achievements, its current health and future challenges. At the event’s opening conference, outgoing TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen revealed that, while…

Trying to gain a foothold in the travel retail channel has always been a tough task for drinks brands. Th ere are high entry costs, narrow margins, steep sales targets and costly promotions to fund for any supplier lucky (or cursed, depending on your point of view) to win a listing. For smaller producers with limited marketing budgets and companies focusing on categories outside the…

The travel retail drinks market is experiencing mixed fortunes as the last quarter of 2024 draws near. ­The faltering global economy and rising geopolitical tensions threaten to take the gloss off what has broadly been a continued recovery from the disastrous effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Offsetting these headwinds are the increasing importance of Indian travellers and the resilient growth of premium-plus-priced products. The latest…