Summit offers new peak for travel retail industry

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The strongest gathering of executive talent in the travel-retail industry's history was on show this week in London at the first Global Travel Retail Summit, hosted by Raven Fox.

The Summit attracted an audience of 240 delegates including the most powerful speakers' line-up ever to appear at an industry event.

A major new drawcard was IBM worldwide solutions executive in the distribution sector, Prem Puri who described the current B2B e-commerce landscape with some positive goals and remedies for a partnership approach in travel-retail. Along with brand protection company DeLaRue, IBM is a gold sponsor of the event. The social highlight took place on the London Eye cocktail sponsored by British Airways Enterprises, Champagne Mumm and Perrier Jouet, Allied Domecq Duty-Free's new champagne brands.

DFS Group chairman and ceo Ed Brennan kicked off proceedings on Thursday. His much-anticipated address spanned the industry's new challenges and opportunities and profiled the Group's customer experience approach at its 'worlds of wonder' Galleria locations. In the next issue of Duty-Free News International Brennan speaks about wide-ranging structural changes announced yesterday at DFS which saw the departure of senior executive Peter Ekman and other organisational moves.

A host of top regional retailers were also present, including China Duty Free Group president Gai Zhi Xin and Aeroboutique/Duty Free Associates managing director Michel Perol. Perol announced that the combined group is to take on the new name of Aelia with a clear identity.

Day two saw an innovative and witty presentation by Inflight Sales Group president Jean-Marcel Rouff, a keynote address by BAA group retail director Brian Collie and a powerful suppliers' contribution from some of the industry's biggest names.

• To encourage free debate, the Summit was a 'closed doors' event but a full pictorial report will be available next week on travelretailworld.com.