In our last issue BAA group retail director Brian Collie argued for a new way of thinking about relationships between landlords, retailers and suppliers. In June the industry gathered in London for the Trinity Forum to discuss precisely such a change. Gavin Lipsith examines what is at stake, and asks whether the event succeeded where others have failed.

Cancún is the venue for this year?s ASUTIL conference. John Gallagher speaks to two retailers about the potential at Cancún International airport in Mexico?s hottest tourist destination.

There?s no better place to learn about retail than on the shop floor itself. It certainly hasn?t done any harm to this female executive, who climbed to the top within the US?s most powerful retail network, Federated Department Stores. As Macy?s West senior vice-president director of stores, Hawaii and Guam, Deena Nichols? passion for selling is matched by an enthusiasm to motivate her staff to keep customers shopping in the stores. Adele Wolstenhulme travels to Hawaii to meet her.

From chasing errant cases of champagne to wooing women into the liquor category ?not to mention playing the all-important five-a-side football match with the MD?WDF liquor buyer Leigh Irvine?s life has few dull moments.

Look for new names, new products and new initiatives on the confectionery shelves?and prepare to be disappointed. For the most part retailers are sticking to the old favourites using safe, established marketing formulas. Michael Eaton sets out to discover why.

Wouldn?t it be nice if retailers and airports could all pull together in a spirit of cooperation, rather than competition? Well, that is what is happening at Amsterdam Schiphol airport with its See Buy Fly concept. Michael Eaton finds out how the spirit of partnership works for World of Delights, which has been in the business for 45 years.

Selling toys in travel-retail can be tricky. Is it best to target the children themselves or the adults that hold the purse strings? Should toys be sold separately, alongside confectionery or in stand-alone stores? Jill Dunning gets the opinion of some main industry players.

The electronics business is attracting a new and youthful range of shoppers to travel-retail, providing a stable income for creative operators willing to keep up to speed with technology, invest in the sector and live with low margins. Eluned Jones reports.

At June?s Baltic and East European Travel-Retail Conference, A&E Petersen managing director Dan Kongsted argued that complacent operators are forgetting that low prices are what make people buy?and he could prove it. Kongsted concluded it was time for a shake-up. But, as Joe Bates reports, the response from the industry has been mixed.

The hardships that have hit the travel-retail sector over the past few years have highlighted the need for airports to manage their retail programmes dynamically. Ivo Favotto outlines ways that airports can aggressively manage their retail programmes to maximise profit.

This month?s guest columnist Julio López Castaño argues that it is too easy to be distracted by the latest political woes. We should work with industry bodies to tackle the business?s inherent problems.

Two years ago delegates to the ASUTIL conference in Rio de Janeiro were heartened by news that one of South America?s biggest operators, InterBaires, had secured a 17-year extension to its contract at Argentina?s Buenos Aires Ezeiza airport. Smart new shops followed, but they were to become empty within 18 months. John Rimmer charts one of the more curious travel-retail sagas of recent years.

Leading Brazilian beauty brand Natura is striving for higher international visibility with a helping hand from travel retailer Brasif and distribution company Brex Group. But can a home-grown talent such as Natura make the jump from a nationwide direct sales operation to a convincing travel-retail presence outside Brazil? Neena Dhillon investigates.

The 2003/2004 edition of The Duty-Free & Travel-Retail Database & Directory is published by Raven Fox this month. Editor Sandra Newman introduces highlights from this annual in-depth analysis of the global travel-retail industry.

As this year?s travelling consumer research programme nears its conclusion, the Consumer Insight team works through the practical steps that brand owners and retailers must take to identify how this valuable data can advance their marketing strategy to the next stage.