Gate One2One conference focuses on consumers

Nicole Mezzasalma

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Branding, collaboration and insights into consumer behaviour were the main topics of the event’s keynote session

The keynote session of the Tax Free World Association (TFWA) Gate One2One conference in Singapore, entitled “Collaboration and the consumer…Strategies for success in Asia Pacific”, had Asian travellers as its main topic. TFWA president and Maxxium Global Travel Retail president Erik Juul-Mortensen kicked off proceedings by presenting an overview of Asian tourism figures. He said that travel retailers should strive to “match or outshine” their downtown counterparts through the use of communication and technology, by adapting the product offer to target their consumers and responding to the social and ethical trends of the moment.

Juul-Mortensen was followed by Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) secretary and Imperial Tobacco Duty Free Asia/Pacific Americas regional director John Kammerman, who focused on giving an update of the situation regarding liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) in the region. He explained that India has joined the list of countries that have officially applied for mutual recognition of security standards with the European Union but warned that several countries—such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Macau—still had to apply.

Beijing Capital Airport Commercial & Trading Co managing director Kunlan Zhang was the next speaker and she told delegates about the recently-opened Beijing Capital International airport (BCIA) terminal three and how the company was preparing for the Olympic Games this summer. Zhang explained that non-aeronautical revenues represent less than 40% of the airport’s total revenue and retail is responsible for a small share of that. “There is a lot of potential in travel-retail for BCIA,” she added.

The final presentations of the session were given by Venture Republic CEO Martin Roll, who spoke about how Asian brands can improve their international recognition without copying Western success stories, and Peppers & Rogers Group founder and partner Don Peppers, who treated the audience to an enticing introduction on how Customer Relationship Management can be used in the duty-free environment to improve sales and penetration.

A more detailed report of the session will appear in a forthcoming issue of DFNI.