The Global Travel-Retail Summit 2004

The first ever conference to focus on the travelling consumer covered new ground for a travel-retail event with a series of thought-provoking presentations.

GLOBAL TRAVEL RETAIL SUMMIT: INSIDE THE CONSUMER MIND
19/04/2004 - 20/04/2004
Hotel Okura

The second Global Travel Retail Summit, held in Amsterdam on April 19–20, covered new ground for a travel-retail event with a series of thought-provoking presentations on how best to serve the travelling consumer. Delegates heard addresses from some of the most progressive airports, retailers and suppliers in the world, plus a keynote speech from renowned consumer expert Dr Don Norman, a former senior executive at Apple Corp.

Among the highlights on day one of the conference were presentations from Vancouver International Airport Authority manager retail sales and service programmes Christopher Gilliland and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol manager restaurants and accommodation consumer products division Manfred Funke.

Day one also featured presentations from two fast-growing specialist retailers—French group Hachette Distribution Services (HDS) and US books and music store operator Borders. HDS executive vice-president business operations retail Jean-Luc Chassigneux spoke of his company's plans to develop its Relay and Virgin brands in travel-retail, and talked of the need to understand the High Street in order to better target customers at the airport. Borders senior manager airport programme Terry Bell revealed how the operator uses category management—a key theme of the Summit that was also taken up by Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) general manager Stewart Dryburgh in a later address—to find out why customers are buying or not buying.

One of the Summit's best sessions was on cruiselines, a sector often overlooked although it is one of the fastest-growing in travel-retail. Pragma Consulting managing partner Roy Palmer and P&O Cruises revenue manager Kirk Long revealed how the two companies cooperated on research into P&O passengers' attitudes to onboard spending in order to identify opportunities to improve the retail offer and increase onboard revenue by 50%. And Harding Bros director Harold Gittelmon (pictured above centre) gave a fascinating insight into how the onboard concessionaire approached its retail contract onboard Cunard's new vessel Queen Mary 2, launched last December. Customer profiles demand the presence of high-end brands such as Hermès, Chopard, H Stern and Dunhill, but logoed items still account for almost 20% of sales, said Gittelmon.

The highlight of day two was a session on the low-cost traveller, sure to grow in importance in the coming years. Bmibaby managing director Tony Davis explained how and why his airline was created, and suggested that tickets could become loss-leaders in future, with airlines seeking to make profits in other areas, including retail. Davis' address was followed by a presentation from Aelia vice-president organisation and development Ambroise Fondeur, who described how the French operator targets low-cost travellers. Traffic at Paris Charles de Gaulle terminal three, which serves easyJet, has grown steadily in recent years despite general traffic stagnation. At the same time Aelia has been able to gain valuable retail revenue in low-cost hubs such as Beauvais. Fondeur revealed details of research into low-cost travellers and their retail needs, notably for brands and regular in-store entertainment.

The Summit ended with an address from Kappé International owner Jacques Parson, who called for a greater focus on investment, customer service, product assortment and price. He also suggested that communicating to the customer was still a problem, especially in Europe, and argued that simple, price-led messages will help to ease the confusion that still exists five years after the first wave of intra-EU duty-free abolition.

Other highlights of the event included presentations from NITR's Dryburgh and Airport Retail Consulting's Monica Lucas plus a session on the new Airbus A380 which could revolutionise the aviation industry. RFH Consumer Insight's Ian Cesa and Adele Wolstenhulme also offered entertaining and insightful views into the travelling consumer's mind.

Delegates can access the presentations made at the event by clicking on the password protected link below. If you attended the event and have not received a password please contact Raven Fox head of events Rossella Golluscio at rgolluscio@ravenfox.com.