Alpha Airports Group has spent recent months taking a long, hard look at its business. Prompted partly by the crisis in worldwide air travel, senior management have asked themselves some basic questions, including ?where is the company heading?? Alpha managing director Asia/Middle East Paul Topping speaks in depth to DFNI editor-in-chief Dermot Davitt about the company?s new focus.

Alpha managing director Asia/ Middle East Paul Topping is not just building Alpha?s international business, he is also treasurer of the International Travel Retail Confederation (ITRC), which is battling to halt a ban on duty-free tobacco sales proposed under the World Health Organization?s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

As part of its efforts to refocus the business, Alpha has reorganized its international and UK buying and operations teams.

The move by US concessionaires to press for rent relief at airports in the wake of September 11 has been given an added dimension. In the past few days, legislation has been proposed in Hawaii that could enable retailers to cancel their contracts should rent relief measures fail to materialise.

As revealed in DFNI 3, leading US concessionaires are seeking fundamental changes to the way their contracts are structured. This covers several key areas.

As Pernod Ricard World Trade?formerly known as World Brands Duty Free?prepares to harness the pulling power of Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet, one of the supplier?s established Scotch whisky brands is making a name for itself in duty-free. Malt whisky Aberlour, with a range of items exclusive to travel-retail, will not be overlooked as Pernod gets to grips with its new portfolio. John Rimmer reports.

There can be few sterner challenges for any whisky maker than to see his or her labour of love pass before the keenest noses in the land. Whether that description could be applied to the Raven Fox whisky tasting team, however, is open to question.

It?s a fact?fashion is taking prime position in travel-retail, breathing new life into environments where liquor and tobacco fail to excite. Kevin Rozario reviews three projects which embody some brave new thinking.

More local fashion and accessories retailers and suppliers are entering the travel-retail channel, either through sheer persistence or because they realise the channel has more to offer than simply extra sales. Aldeasa?s announcement that it will promote Spanish fashion brands can only enhance the trend. Kevin Rozario reports.

Globally recognised brands are a firm favourite at hub airports such as Copenhagen Kastrup where almost half of passengers are in the lucrative transfer category. Retail manager Alan Bork explains the reasoning behind the airport?s fashion selection and why international names generally win out over national ones.

Kylie Minogue, Shirley Bassey, pop group Blue and M People?s Heather Small have all shopped at Pie Woman. Kevin Rozario finds that the new store at London Heathrow is not just adding glamour but turning traditional retailing ideas upside down.

London Heathrow terminal one became a designer brands? paradise when Pie opened in September 2001.

DFNI talks to a selection of buyers about their hopes for the show.

The new-look Bahrain Duty Free is fighting back after sales plummeted late last year.

US. A new bill before Hawaii?s state legislature could pave the way for operators to walk away from demanding airport contracts without penalty, if the State Department of Transportation offers no further rent relief in the next two months. The region?s retailers, including DFS Hawaii, have suffered badly since September, as Asian travel slumped by over 60%. DFS and many other local operators support the bill.

FRANCE. Aer Rianta director retail Frank O?Connell has been unanimously elected chairman of the Travel Value Association and will take over from Marcelino Oreja, who recently resigned and left his position at Aldeasa. The move came on February 26 on the eve of the ACI Europe Trading conference in Paris.

GCC STATES. Middle East Duty Free Association (MEDFA) president John Sutcliffe has criticised what he calls the ?outdated pricing and margin structures? of tobacco suppliers in the Gulf states. Speaking exclusively to DFNI, Sutcliffe said MEDFA members in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries worked with ?intolerable? margin structures compared with European or other Middle Eastern operators.

UK. Alpha Retail is adopting a new look for its airport stores, ?alpha airport shopping?. The new image will be unveiled at the opening of the company?s stores in Manchester airport terminals two and three in the coming weeks. It means the removal of the Travel Value slogan from Alpha?s outlets.

OMAN. A tender for Oman?s airport duty-free operations looks likely later this year, as regional interest grows in the country?s key airports Seeb and Muscat.Duty-free tenders are rare in the region, with the bid for Jordan?s duty-free shops an exception. The move to tender has been prompted by BAA?s involvement in a new consortium to manage Oman?s airports, called Oman Airports Management Co.

INDIA. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited tenders from suitably qualified retailers for 1,855sq m (20,000sq ft) of added duty-free retail space at India?s main airports. The airports concerned are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Trivandrum.

JAPAN. Japan?s leading travel agencies reported an overall fall of 11.5% in Japanese international travel spending in 2001. Although it rose by 3.6% in the first nine months of the year, overseas travel expenditure slumped by 40% during the fourth quarter because of the September 11 attacks, the impact of which was felt most acutely by duty-free operators in Hawaii, Micronesia, Australia and on the US west coast.

DENMARK. Copenhagen Kastrup airport?s plan to almost double the size of its main Nuance-operated duty-free outlet is in its final stages, as part of the airport?s aggressive new strategy for the channel. The plan was conceived to help Copenhagen recapture the footfall it lost after intra-EU duty-free abolition.

SINGAPORE. As forecast in DFNI 2, the Nuance-Watson joint venture has been awarded the beauty concession for Singapore Changi terminal one. The three-year contract will commence on April 1 and covers six outlets. Nuance-Watson now has a monopoly on fragrances and cosmetics sales at Changi.

SCANDINAVIA. Operator Inflight Service is focusing on its core airline and ferry business following the loss of its Swedish airport contracts to The Nuance Group. The company has extended its purchasing agreements with airlines Premiair and Braathens and is set to strengthen its presence in the Nordic ferry market, purchasing director Johan Kullander told DFNI.

ITALY. Design consultancy JHP is creating six new travel-retail brands for Airport Elite, a subsidiary of SAVE (Societa Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo), the owner of Venice airport.

UAE. Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) sales fell 20% in 2001 to $74m, although passenger traffic fell only 3% during the year.

UK/SWITZERLAND. FlightStore, which offers interactive retail services for airlines, has announced that it has joined forces with the newly-relaunched Swiss Air Lines. FlightStore?s products will be installed on the entire Swiss fleet and its services will be available to passengers on routes to and from Switzerland and North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

ROMANIA. EDF Services has begun its legal battle against the Romanian government over its decision to re-tender duty-free at Bucharest Otopeni International airport. EDF Services, which co-owns operator EDF Airport Services Romania (EDF Asro) along with state-owned companies Tarom and airport authority AIBO, has accused the government of illegally terminating the joint venture and ignoring an earlier decision to prolong its activities until 2012.

Wine sales increased by 40% at Dubai Duty Free (DDF) in 2001, helping the liquor category grow by 17% in terms of unit sales at the location last year. DDF deputy general manager operations Brendan O?Shea said business was now back to pre-September 11 levels.

The national spirit of Chile is set to hit duty-free shelves as distributor Imagination Unlimited International (IUI) launches Pisco ABA at the IAADFS show in Orlando later this month. An eau-de-vie made from Muscat grapes, Pisco is said to be an ideal base for cocktails but can also be drunk neat.

French operator Aelia has unveiled the latest in its range of own-brand liquor items.

Campaigners have expressed alarm at the latest wording of the duty-free clause in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which proposes a ban on tobacco sales.

Foreign tobacco companies have expressed their approval of moves by the Chinese government to relax its stranglehold on international brands in the domestic market.

Suppliers will present their most recent merchandising systems at the IAADFS show later this month, with both Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Reemtsma units taking centre stage.

Duty Free Americas (DFA) president Leon Falic believes the beauty category is an integral part of the business, and is set to introduce radical retailing concepts to DFA stores, he has told DFNI.

A new fragrance from Cosmopolitan Cosmetics? Gabriela Sabatini brand is to be launched from March in selected European and eastern European countries, as well as the Middle East, Argentina, Brazil and other Latin American countries.

Nina Ricci is launching a new fragrance for men. Mémoire d?Homme will complement its existing men?s fragrances Signoricci and Ricci Club.

Pupa is to launch several new make-up products in worldwide domestic and duty-free markets from next month. Crystal Cube is a collection of make-up essentials targeted at the sophisticated woman who requires a variety of products on hand for a complete makeover, Pupa said.

Diana de Silva Cosmétiques has said it is confident of extending its sales and distribution network in the Americas this year following last year?s sales results in the region, which were 25% higher than in 2000.

Belgian Sky Shops (BSS) has turned its attention to mainland Europe once again after celebrating the opening of The Chocolate Company?s first UK store last month (DFNI 3). When the new Schengen pier A terminal opens at Brussels Zaventem airport in May, BSS? almost 3,000sq m (32,300sq ft) of retail space will include a kiosk run by The Chocolate Company.

Confraternita Fondamenta Del Gusto, an association of Italian fine food producers and growers, will make a duty-free breakthrough when the revamped Venice airport opens next month.

Gebr Heinemann?s Turkish partner Unimetal has completely refurbished its confectionery unit at Istanbul Atatürk airport with the support of a dozen manufacturers. The area has reopened under the new fascia Sweet Dreams.

Masterfoods International Travel Retail (MITR) is to trial its new M&M?s Ring Pull Can at airports in the Middle East and Gulf regions.

UK luxury goods group Wedgwood is set to further strengthen its partnership with World Duty Free (WDF) this year through the planned refurbishment of London Heathrow airport terminal two.

Leading French glass and crystal company Arc International has joined forces with home fragrance company Esteban to create limited-edition perfumed gift sets.

Thai entrepreneur Ranée Matheson is to supply King Power Duty Free with fragrance bottles, jewellery boxes and other accessories made from egg shells.

BAA recorded a 15% rise in sales in the jewellery and watches category between 1999/2000 and 2000/2001. The airport group claimed the increase is a result of opening more stand-alone stores.

Continuing its focus on travel-retail, US fashion jewellery company Victoria & Co will present a range of products at the IAADFS show in Orlando this month.

A trend of transforming watches from functional timepieces into accessories has inspired Alfex to transfer the design of its new watches to its jewellery collection.

Fashion has come of age at Bahrain airport thanks to a new dedicated area of about 190sq m (2,045sq ft), almost three times the 70sq m (753sq ft) previously allocated to the category.

Copenhagen Kastrup airport?s new duty-free shop, operated by The Nuance Group, is set to bring at least four international fashion brands under its roof to create a luxury shopping area within the department store-style outlet.