In an unprecendented exercise exclusively for TRI, retail design firm GRID2 unveils its blueprint ideas to build travel-retail?s store of the future. The company believes it is uniquely positioned to address all elements of the retail experience, and ensure retailers remain in step with the desires of a new generation of travelling consumer

Passenger traffic at Hong Kong International airport overtook the 30m peak achieved by the old Kai Tak airport for the first time last year. But is the recovery here to stay, and how are plans progressing to overhaul the airport?s much-maligned shopping mall SkyMart? TRI caught up with Eva Tsang, Airport Authority Hong Kong retail planning and development manager

New ceo Baker Salleh has his work cut out to turn around the ailing liquor and tobacco business of Hong Kong airport retailer Sky Connection. But with valuable experience of Hong Kong duty-free and after 30 years as a senior DFS executive under his belt, Joe Bates finds a man more than up to the job

After clawing its way back from the doldrums last year by outsourcing its inflight retail operation, Cathay Pacific faced another challenge?the rapid demise of its new partner World Duty Free Inflight. Joe Bates asks inflight sales & amenities manager Anna Cheung whether taking on another third party is a worry

The world?s most populous country offers more potential for growth in the travel-retail market than any other. But the top brands are not going to sit back and wait for the Chinese to roll up, as Kavita Daswani discovers

Vietnam has been under Communist rule for 25 years but the political regime is welcoming the country?s emerging tourism industry. Travel retailers are rubbing their hands at the recent influx of Japanese travellers. Joe Bates investigates

Indonesia needs foreign investment to kick-start its damaged economy into life. And the travel-retail trade needs a decision on the privatisation of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta airport if there?s to be any chance of a revitalisation?regardless of the government?s new tourist-friendly attitude. Eluned Jones reports

Finding ways of engaging passengers? attention inflight and making that all-important sale has been the subject of countless articles over the years. But for three of the Middle East?s leading airlines the message is simple: ask passengers what they want and make sure it?s available. Joe Bates reports

It all looks so perfect. When World Duty Free Americas (WDFA) opened the doors to its new San Ysidro store on the US/Mexican border all the WDFA senior executives seemed very pleased with themselves. And why shouldn?t they be, with an operation that has the look and feel of a department store, but with far more potential customers passing by your storefront every day?

Both Saudi Arabian Airlines (Skysales) and Gulf Air see children?s products as a category with a great deal of potential.

Hong Kong International airport has had its share of critics since it opened. But Nuance-Watson has simply got on with what it does best, through pioneering specialist stores and adopting a customer-orientated approach. Joe Bates finds out more from managing director Alessandra Piovesana

Value-driven attitudes among Asian consumers are elevating local liquor products to top-shelf status in the region?s travel-retail stores. So much so that high-ticket Western liquor brands have much less room to manoeuvre than in previous years. Robin Lynam reports

Australia?s reputation as home to some of the world?s best wines is gaining momentum?and the country?s leading travel retailer has not been slow to capitalise on demand. John Rimmer talks to The Nuance Group Asia/Pacific ceo John Moore about building a sector that many said could not work in travel-retail

The travel-retail liquor industry is not responding quickly enough to changing consumer tastes and a new breed of Asian traveller?or so warns Saybrex International president Dr Joseph Bussel. In his own words, Bussel provides an insight into what he thinks Asian consumers are looking for from liquor suppliers

As e-commerce matures, the watch sector is under increasing pressure. Despite unauthorised suppliers sourcing most products, the online business is growing. But how much of a threat does it represent for travel retailers? Kevin Rozario investigates

Consumers are able to make substantial savings of about 25?30% by purchasing grey market watches on the Internet. Grey sourcing is the scourge of suppliers, if we are to believe their hype, yet the distribution method allows products not moving in other channels to be sold efficiently while bringing in solid revenues for both retailers and suppliers alike.

The opening in March of Athens? new £1.4bn ($2bn) airport saw the second appearance of The Nuance Group?s latest watch concept TimeOut.

Patrick Moran, travel-retail consultant and ex-DFS executive, believes Dr Bussel is on the right track. He urges travel retailers to take some risks to inject some dynamism back in to the liquor business.

The 29th Basel World Watch, Clock and Jewellery Show attracted 2,300 exhibitors and about 86,700 visitors over the eight-day event at the end of March. Exhibitors reported a generally upbeat mood among buyers, despite the threat of a US slowdown, and launches were strongly in evidence. TRI highlights some of the most original

Eyewear group Safilo has reported encouraging first-quarter sales in Asia/Pacific, despite worsening economic conditions in the region.

Lancaster Group expects its new women?s fragrances from Chopard to be instrumental in its expansion, particularly in the US.

UK pashmina supplier Tashia has revealed its agenda for a stand-alone store presence in key travel-retail locations across Asia/Pacific.

The alliance between Hong Kong King Power Group and China Duty Free Group is the most exciting news to hit Chinese duty-free in years. TRI caught up with upbeat Hong Kong King Power Group managing director Antares Cheng to find out more about the deal and to gauge his views on other key business issues

Just as Asia has recovered from the last economic crisis there are fears the region could once again be plunged into recession. At the heart of the problem lies the troubled Japanese economy. Although its nationals are still keen to travel, the weaker yen means they are not spending as much as they once did. Are we heading for another Asian economic crisis? Joe Bates reports

Kit Kat Chunky from Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) is to be the subject of a special promotion at Hong Kong International airport during this month and June.

The Nuance Group ceo Asia/Pacific John Moore faces searching questions from suppliers seeking reassurance that the Australian duty-free business has not seen the end of the golden years

There was a time when presentation was everything. Displays had to look good, and that was that. But there are signs that operators and airlines are beginning to recognise the power of the neglected senses, and are embracing a battery of measures in a sensory offensive. Colin Nicholson reports from the front line

We all need air but have you ever thought about paying for it? Like mineral water in the eighties, oxygen is being touted as the health accessory for the new Millennium. And prestige department stores are buying into the idea. Kevin Rozario tests it for himself

Japan?s operators and beauty suppliers will keep a close eye on sales over the coming months, as they assess the fallout from deregulation of the cosmetics industry. As the application system covering the import of cosmetics is simplified, the concern is that more products will enter Japan through parallel channels than authorised ones

South Korean travellers may never match the Japanese in sheer travelling numbers, but they are fast becoming the most avid spending Asian nationality. GMC Research reports on a segment which is proving to be the most resilient in the Asia/Pacific region

Breaking the duty-free habit

This is Australia, mate, and don?t forget it is the message. Mighty Shiraz that will bite your head off, Chardonnay with more oak than an English forest. By Martin Moodie

Gucci has formed an alliance with Stella McCartney to develop a new Stella McCartney label as a global luxury brand, focusing on luxury women?s ready-to-wear and accessories.

Swarovski is reporting strong inflight travel-retail sales in Asia/Pacific in spite of a tough economic climate.

The Australian government is expected to ban the sale of duty-free cigarettes in its annual budget at the end of this month. According to local press reports, the move is to be presented as a health measure and a central element of a nationwide anti-smoking campaign.

June?s first-ever Global Travel Retail Summit has already attracted an audience of the most powerful suppliers and retailers a month before the event takes place.

Voting has closed for this year?s prestigious Raven Fox Awards for Travel Retail Excellence in Asia/Pacific.

Sales of whisk(e)y in travel-retail will not return to pre-abolition levels before 2010, according to a recent report released by Generation.

Global drinks company Allied Domecq is teaming up with TRI to support the next stage of development in the popular Travelling Consumer series. The purpose of the partnership, one of several to be announced over the coming months, is to conduct wide-scale consumer surveys in key US travel-retail locations.

Building distribution in China through airport duty-free stores is a key objective for confectionery company Hawaiian Host as it strives to develop its chocolate macadamia product range.

Belgian confectioner Godiva is running a targeted promotion across Asia/Pacific airport and downtown stores to coincide with Japan?s Golden Week this month.

Despite the abolition of intra-EU duty-free in 1999, Pernod Ricard subsidiary World Brands Duty Free has continued to prosper.

Dubai Duty Free is experiencing a major surge in demand for technology-driven products.