CHINA. Beijing Capital International Airport's commercial division has applied for a licence to operate the country's first airport arrivals duty-free shop.

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US. DFS Group's sales at its Los Angeles airport and downtown stores are forecast to reach pre-2001 levels of $90m in 2004 following a strong performance during the first half of the year.

TURKEY. The Turkish state airport authority and construction and engineering firm Teknotes are seeking a duty-free operator for 4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) of space at Izmir Adnan Menderes airport's new terminal, due to open in just over two years.

UK cruise concessionaire Harding Bros has announced the appointment of Alyson Reilly as director of buying.

Unilever Cosmetics International has merged its travel-retail and export division with its European marketing headquarters to form a new international division based in Geneva.

DFNI regrets to announce the death of Fred Ridges, the owner, chairman and managing director of UK-based distributor MacIntyre Scott, after a long illness.

The latest moves in the duty-free and travel-retail industry

In the third instalment of our monthly column tracking the purchasing habits of key travelling nationalities, DFNI and RFH Consumer Insight investigate the reasons why UK travellers buy in travel-retail while overseas.

The dismal chain of events that began with the terrorist attacks of September 2001 had dire effects on North American airport retail.

While smoking jackets and string quartets might have been the norm on board the Titanic, today's cruiseships offer a more relaxed experience.Luxury and customer service remain crucial, but greater accessibility to cruise travel has transformed passenger profiles, making closer targeting of customers more important than ever. John Rimmer reports

An improving economic climate, more tourists and better looking shops are working wonders for duty-free spirits sales in Latin America, but rum and tequila are growing their market share, writes Joe Bates

SPI Spirits Group aims to boost its profile in the congested duty-free vodka market with its new ultra-premium vodka Stolichnaya elit. And more high-end brand initiatives are in the pipeline, as Joe Bates reports.

JAMAICA. Operators are calling on the government to withdraw a proposal to raise import duties payable on goods in travel-retail outlets to 10%.

URUGUAY. Darok, the duty-free concessionaire at the General San Martin International Bridge in Fray Bentos, has announced record sales for the first six months of 2004.

BULGARIA. The tender for the management of Varna and Bourgas international airports will include the contract to run duty-free operations. Bidding for the privatisation of the airports will begin next month.

INTERNATIONAL. Duty-free retailer DFS Group and beauty retailer Sephora achieved sales of Eu1.5bn ($1.9bn) in the first half of 2004, up by 14% on the same period last year.

It was September 2002 when LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton chairman Bernard Arnault declared that it would take at least two years to reverse the decline in its retail business, comprising DFS Group and Sephora.

INTERNATIONAL. The latest edition of URS Corp's Airport Retail Study, which benchmarks the commercial performance of 39 airports worldwide, suggests that the standard of airport retailing around the world is improving.

URUGUAY. Duty Free Uruguay, the duty-free concessionaire at Montevideo Carrasco airport, opened a redesigned departures store on July 21.

BULGARIA. Gebr Heinemann has been re-appointed as the supplier to four duty-free shops at Sofia airport, beating competition from Aer Rianta International and Spanish operator Aldeasa.

INTERNATIONAL. Airport operators and retailers have responded to DFNI's analysis of the retail sections of their websites, with many pledging to invest in their web offers.

INTERNATIONAL. Indians are likely to emerge as one of the highest-spending travelling nationalities in 2004, according to a survey by tax refund service Global Refund.

Time is running out to book a place at this year's ASUTIL conference.

PARAGUAY. Duty-free operator Bright Star Duty Free has enjoyed a strong first six months in 2004, with sales rising by 34% on the same period last year.

TUNISIA. Hamila Duty Free Shops plans to strengthen its presence in the North African duty-free market by expanding outside of Tunisia and has ambitions to develop new business in Morocco and Libya.

CANADA. Dollar sales at Canada's border stores fell by 6.5% in the first five months of the year to C$60.4m ($46m) as the expected recovery from last year's downturn failed to materialise.

Is the success of the premium end a one-off, or can the gin category reverse years of decline in duty-free and travel-retail and make its presence felt? Joe Bates investigates.

Irish liquor supplier C&C International has invested Eu16m ($20m) in a radical overhaul of Carolans, the world's second largest cream liqueur brand, complete with new packaging.

Duty-free liquor sales in central and Latin America are recovering strongly after years of economic turmoil, DFNI can reveal.

Bacardi-Martini has opened a Bacardi B-Bar in Manchester airport's terminal one serving Bacardi rum cocktails to coincide with the peak holiday season.

Tortuga Rum Co has released its new Premium Label 12yo Gold Rum in a limited-edition four-litre oak mini-barrel.

Pernod Ricard World Trade has launched a viral marketing campaign targeting UK travellers in a bid to highlight its new one-litre Pernod tin.

Tobacco sales at Canada's border stores continued to decline faster than the rate of decline in total sales over the first five months of 2004, reflecting the continuing troubles caused by the government's export tax on domestically-produced tobacco products.

Taiwanese retailer EverRich Duty Free Shop Corp is hoping to expand its cigar business at Taipei Chiang Kai-Shek airport when it moves into a new general merchandise outlet at the end of the year, DFNI can reveal.

Oettinger Davidoff has unveiled the "smallest premium cigar worldwide", the Exquisito. Measuring only 9.3cm (3.6in) in length with a diameter of 8.8mm (3.5in), Exquisitos are hand made from full tobacco leaves grown in the Dominican Republic and are being introduced in selected travel-retail outlets worldwide.

Flavoured cigar company Havana Honeys is looking for partners to open stores at more airport locations following the opening of its first stand-alone store at Las Vegas McCarran airport in April.

L'Oréal Luxury Product Division Travel Retail Asia (Scental) is to expand its offer in China by focusing on business at regional airports and downtown sites.

Guerlain Paris has revealed a number of new additions to its L'Instant ranges and unveiled L'Instant Pour Homme, a new fragrance for men.

The planned stand-alone fragrance store at Beijing Capital International Airport (DFNI June 1) is likely to house the world's top three fragrance brands alongside high-end brand Parfums Micallef.

Coty's joint venture with an affiliate of Michel Chaloub Trading could open new fields of business and provide extra staff for its prestige division Lancaster Group, according to Lancaster Group travel-retail marketing manager Markus Stauss.

Cerruti's male fragrance portfolio is to undergo a revamp over the coming months, targeting younger consumers.

New York's JFK airport is the next venue on the agenda for L'Oréal Paris's retail shop strategy.

Beauty companies are hoping the product registration process for cosmetics in China will be streamlined over the coming months as they work with government bodies to develop a regulatory framework.

Guerlain is deploying an incentive scheme for its beauty advisors in Asia, even though consultants in Japan do not usually work on a commission basis, according to worldwide travel-retail director Eric Eder.

Italian beauty company Saledo is to expand its presence in Asia over the coming months after a successful TFWA Singapore show.

Lancôme has created a lip colour combination, Juicy Wear Duo, comprising a base colour and a top coat.

Nestlé International Travel Retail's (NITR) plans for a multi-pronged assault on the industry's senses will be discussed at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes this autumn will be based around a breakfast presentation for retailers and the press at the Hotel Majestic on Tuesday October 19.

Swiss Delice has finished the first half of the year with sales 20% above target after a series of promotions.

Raising your head above the parapet poses an obvious risk, but Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) general manager Stewart Dryburgh refuses to be deterred.

Italian agency Dufre, acting for principal Baratti & Milano, has introduced its first exclusive private-label product, a 4x100g pack of Novi milk chocolate bars for Estonian ferry operator Tallink.

Swiss supplier World Connect has launched a range of travel products aimed at business travellers. Dutch firm Travel Retail Innovations will distribute the products.

Children's toy and accessories supplier Tomy UK has developed a range of children's travel accessories designed for sale in airport and ferry ground shops and in inflight markets.

UK supplier and distributor Premier Portfolio has expanded its business this year in all travel-retail sectors, declaring ferries and ground stores its most successful outlets.

UK toy retailer Hamleys opened a new store at London Heathrow terminal three last month. The 650sq ft (60sq m) store is the company's third outlet at the airport.

Swiss watch supplier Century Time Gems made its travel-retail debut at the fifth annual Airline and Supplier conference in Geneva last month.

Spanish watch brand Festina, an official sponsor of the Tour de France 2004, has enjoyed good sales of its Tour model. The men's chronograph watch comes with stainless steel case and bracelet, alarm, calendar, quartz movement.

An 185sq m (2,000sq ft) watch store opening at Kuala Lumpur International airport's (KLIA) new domestic terminal is to feature some of the most sought-after brands on the market.

Scandinavian jewellery and homewares retailer Georg Jensen will focus on cruiselines this year to enhance its travel-retail business.

Italian fashion house Nannini has revitalised its presence in travel-retail following a breakthrough agreement with German retailer Gebr Heinemann.

Argentinian travel retailer InterBaires, which operates stores at the country's main airport Buenos Aires Ezeiza, last month opened its first store dedicated to home-grown fashion talent.

Crocodile and sable, and mink and python are two combinations available in Italian luxury goods house Bvlgari's autumn/winter bag collections.

UK pashmina supplier and fashion retailer Tashia has put back plans to develop ground shops and a broader product offer while it implements a strategy to turn itself into a fully fledged retail fashion brand. But it will maintain its inflight offer in the short term.

Swiss fashion supplier and retailer Bally is to revamp its US duty-free boutiques this year as part of a continuing brand repositioning programme.