Operators optimistic at ASUTIL 2006

John Gallagher

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A busy first day at the South American trade association's annual conference included presentations from some of the region's key airport companies, retailers and market analysts

Walter Zeinal Jr , Uruguayan duty-free operator Zeinal Hermanos president and – since January – ASUTIL president - officially opened the South American trade association's 10th annual conference yesterday in Santiago in front of 215 plus registered delegates.

Both Zeinal and ASUTIL secretary general Jose Luis Donagaray pointed out that the favourable economic conditions throughout the region had led to continued growth for operators and suppliers over the first six months of the year and the outlook for the rest of the year looked positive. The only cloud on the horizon was the security crisis arising as a result of the thwarted terrorist action in London on August 10, which had led to temporary falls in sales of products including liquids in most airport outlets. However, most operators have since confirmed a recovery in sales of liquor and perfume following the setting up of systems such as gate delivery.

The highlight of the morning's sessions was a presentation on buying habits of consumers in the fragrances and cosmetics sector from Argentinian retail marketing guru Guillermo D'Andrea. D'Andrea displayed the results of a specially commissioned survey explaining the behaviour of consumers visiting airports in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, and the effectiveness of different types of promotions in different market segments.

Carlos Plass, CEO of Arturo Merino Benitez International airport management company SCL, delivered a strong presentation on the benefits experienced at the Santiago airport following major changes in the assignment of retail space and a new agreement with duty-free concessionaire Aldeasa, which had led to an important increase in revenues for the airport operator in the first half of the year.

Delegates from Europe, the US and South America also enjoyed presentations on destination merchandise from Gustavo Fagundes from Dufry Do Brasil, Eduardo Campanella of Natura and Jose Luis Hermoso of International Wine & Spirit Record completed the morning with a dissertation on current and future trends in the wine & spirits segment in the duty-free industry in Latin America.

Networking sessions for operators and suppliers were held on Thursday afternoon and the day was completed with the gala dinner sponsored by Spanish travel retailer Aldeasa.

Keep an eye Ravenfox.com for a report on day two of the conference.