Philippe Schaus, Mohit Lal, Fraser Brown, Eugene Barry, Richard Barker, Dag Rasmussen, Bain & Company to appear in powerful line-up at inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo

Some of the biggest names in the airline, airport, cruise retail and F&B communities, together with key executives from outside the channel, will speak at the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo in September.

INTERNATIONAL. Some of the biggest names in the travel retail and F&B communities, together with key executives from outside the channel, will participate in the Symposium element of the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo in September.

As reported, the Symposium will be themed ‘Road to Recovery’ and will explore how the travel retail channel will (or should) look in the future. Many of those themes will be picked up in late October at The Trinity Forum, about which an announcement will be made soon.

Philippe Schaus, CEO of Moët Hennessy, the Wines and Spirits division of LVMH, will deliver a keynote presentation in the form of a filmed interview with The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie in Champagne. Schaus knows the travel retail channel intimately, both through his current stable of blue-chip wines, Champagnes and spirits, and his former role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DFS Group.

He will be joined by several other executives from across multiple sectors. They include Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail CEO Mohit Lal, one of the leading figures in the Trinity discussions of recent years and an arch advocate of digitalisation, premiumisation, channel exclusivity and enhanced stakeholder partnership.

Fraser Brown, Retail Director at Heathrow Airport which has built an innovative and much-admired online marketplace, Heathrow Boutique, will examine the evolution of airport retail and other consumer services and talk about how the post-COVID-19 landscape will evolve.

Auckland Airport General Manager Retail & Commercial Richard Barker will talk about how New Zealand’s leading gateway has also built an increasingly successful omnichannel platform (as with Heathrow, built in partnership with Germany-based global digital technology services provider AOE), the evolution of the airport’s Loyalty programme and various other components of its commercial toolkit.

Eugene Barry, Executive Vice President – Commercial at Dubai Airports and one of the most progressive voices in the airport sector, is another star turn. As reported, Dubai Airports, operator of the world’s busiest airport by international passenger numbers, DXB (Dubai International), recently unveiled a comprehensive “business stabilisation framework” designed to offer clarity and support to its aviation and commercial partners.

The programme, which is applicable for the impacted period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, includes waiving 100% of minimum guarantees or equivalent fees for partners who have been required to cease trading due to the suspension of airport operations caused by the global pandemic.

Lagardère Travel Retail CEO Dag Rasmussen, another progressive voice in the Trinity debate, will offer his view via a live interview of a changing landscape and how stakeholders can better partner to grow the pie. Lagardère Travel Retail brings a multi-layered perspective to the discussion, through its duty free, specialist retail, convenience and food & beverage arms.

They will be joined by Bain & Company Italy Partner Mauro Anastasi and Jack MacGowan, Director at Castlepole Consulting in Ireland and former CEO of Irish state-owned Aer Rianta International, who together produced an important paper called ‘COVID-19: A New World for Airports’, which formed the original discussion points for the just-launched Trinity Initiative.

More speakers, including some of the top women’s voices in the industry, will be revealed soon from across the cruise, airline, food & beverage and ecommerce sectors.

As reported, the industry’s pioneering Virtual Expo will be held via a live event (now extended by popular demand to five days, 7-11 September) and a 30-day follow-up showcase in which all exhibitors can still engage with retailers and buyers worldwide. Interest from potential exhibitors has been soaring, while many of the world’s leading travel retailers have confirmed their attendance.

Brand interest continues to intensify in the Expo itself. As reported, Beam Suntory and Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail have become Platinum Partners. They have been joined by a range of other confirmed exhibitors who will be subject to future dedicated announcements.

A highly preferential early bird registration rate for exhibitors is available until 1 June. 

Critically, every exhibitor at The Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo will have their own individual Account Manager, provided by Singapore and London-based integrated retail, marketing and design agency FILTR, The Moodie Davitt Report’s Virtual Stand & Experience Partner for the Expo.

The agency will also provide a full press centre service at the Expo to ensure unprecedented visibility worldwide for exhibitors.

This will include complimentary advertising in the official Expo Guide, and extensive coverage across The Moodie Davitt Report’s preferred B2B and B2C media partners in China, South Korea, the US and the travel retail channel.

Today, The Moodie Davitt Report hosted a Zoom conference call with leading public relations and communication agencies, who represent a range of clients from TFWA to airports to brand companies, to discuss the potential for their respective clients (and for the agencies themselves).

Retailers flock to Virtual Expo

Industry giants Dufry and Lagardère Travel Retail, plus Flemingo-owned cruise concessionaire Harding have become the latest travel retailers to commit to sending their senior management and buying teams to the Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo.

They join Aer Rianta International, China Duty Free Group, Dubai Duty Free, Ever Rich Duty Free, King Power Group (HK), King Power International (Thailand), King Power Traveler, Landmark Management Services, Lotte Duty Free, Qatar Duty Free,  Regent Travel Retail Group, Shenzhen Duty Free and 3Sixty Duty Free and numerous airport participants including  Fraport TAV Antalya, Heathrow, Ontario International Airport (California) and others.

Strong CSR credentials

As reported, The Moodie Davitt Report is to fund a life-changing cleft operation performed by international charity Smile Train for every exhibitor at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo.

Smile Train has supported over 1.5 million cleft surgeries since 1999. Every five minutes Smile Train-supported cleft treatment helps a child in need. Some 200,000 babies are born every year with cleft lips and/or palates. US$250 funds the cost of the 45-minute cleft surgery that transforms the life of a child – and that of his or her family.

Underlining the Virtual Travel Retail Expo’s CSR and eco-friendly credentials (no travel involved, no shipping, no stand construction etc), The Moodie Davitt Report will also be making a substantial donation to The Trinity Forest Project – a tree-planting initiative we unveiled at The Trinity Forum in Doha last October.