Evolution revolution
Widely respected for his long tenure as CEO of Tax Free World Association, Andrew Ford was always going to be a tough act to follow. Some seven months after his departure, however, successor Olivier Charriaud has made the position his own – and, what is more, appears to be relishing its many challenges and the actual nature of the organisation he now oversees.
“I find myself very fortunate to lead such an energetic and professional permanent team,” he tells Frontier. “While a non-profit association in essence, I find that TFWA has very little to envy in more traditional business units. I have also been impressed by the personal commitment of the board members to the association, besides their ‘normal’ jobs.”
Forty-four this year, Charriaud came to TFWA with considerable and varied commercial experience, including sales and marketing roles at United Distillers (subsequently Diageo), Moët Hennessy Distribution and, most recently, the Rémy Cointreau Group. A sequence of prestigious positions at Rémy culminated in the role of managing director Europe, Middle East Africa and global travel retail.
Charriaud’s latterday workload at TFWA surely rivals that of any of his previous roles. His executive responsibilities include the organisation’s two annual travel retail exhibitions (TFWA World Exhibition and TFWA Asia Pacific), various conferences, the Gate One event, the Middle East Duty Free Conference organised on behalf of MEDFA, and the TFWA Research programme.
With TFWA’s role as a unifying force at the heart of global travel retail arguably more crucial than ever before, what does Charriaud feel that he brings to his position at the organisation’s top table? “Because my professional background is not 100% duty free and travel retail, I try to put things into perspective,” he says. “Part of my role is demonstrating that duty free and travel retail not only develops business in a classic way, but also creates sustainable value for the brands, the retailers, the airports and passenger carriers. And while we act business to business I always keep in mind that the traveller’s experience is the starting point.”
That must surely count as wise advice for the entire industry, too, as the annual TFWA Asia Pacific exhibition appears on the horizon once again.
What should visitors expect from this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific exhibition and conference?
TFWA Asia Pacific will be a very busy and energetic forum as always with just under 200 exhibitors and around 2,000 visitors coming in from all over Asia and elsewhere. This year we have 45
companies which were not on the floor last year, half of which are new brands to the show, so they bring a fresh range of products and ideas.
The show in Singapore is also a rare opportunity for the duty free and travel retail industry to get together and face up to issues of crucial importance to the area, such as the new security regime at airports, which is causing such consternation among passengers, and the changes in terminal facilities and retail policy caused by growth in passenger numbers. Our TFWA Asia Pacific Conference has been organised to stir up debate around these issues, and there is also the opportunity to go into depth at the Gate One commercial revenues conference on-site on Monday 14th May.
We have also increased the networking time by extending the opening hours of the popular TFWA Asia Pacific Bar in the Suntec Centre to make it an all-day meals and refreshments facility.
What is the category mix this year?
TFWA Asia Pacific has virtually the same number of exhibitors as last year with a similar balance in terms of category: 27% beauty companies, 16% or so each for jewellery & watches, wine & spirits, fashion & accessories, with the balance spread over a diverse range of tobacco, confectionery gifts and electronics companies. This breakdown closely reflects the weighting of the industry as a whole.
In what ways is TFWA going to be reflecting the tremendous growth and new opportunities in India and China?
The TFWA Asia Pacific Conference is titled ‘The Indian Retail Revolution and its Effect on Asia Pacific’. Rather than just have a presentation by a keynote speaker and a Q&A session, a panel of experts made up of retailers, suppliers, analysts and service providers will assess this burgeoning market and its potential for duty free sales, while delegates will have the chance to participate in a live debate. Last year, TFWA put China centre stage in a similar vein.
In addition, there will be a special workshop on Thursday morning at which ACNielsen will present the results of their consumer and market research conducted for TFWA in India and China, which will update the work previously done in this area.
How would you define the strategy towards the formulation of the conference and workshop programme?
TFWA starts planning conferences many months ahead but it can, to some extent, adjust the focus if issues develop. We had decided from the beginning that India was the focus this year, but the importance of the security issue soon made it apparent that this could not be just a side workshop. It had to be a principal theme so we brought the live debate with a panel of regulatory, industry and campaign speakers into the plenary session.
The conference programme is a slightly different format anyway this year with a panel of speakers instead of a keynote presentation. The idea is to bring the audience into the discussion, wake them up and get them thinking. After all, the future of duty free and travel retail in the region is in their hands – not those of a professor who predicts growth.
How do you see duty free/travel retail developing in India and China?
The World Tourism Organisation, the local Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation and our own industry analysts Generation AB have projected terrific growth in travel for Asia Pacific over the next 20 years.
Tourist arrivals in East Asia and the Pacific are predicted to reach 397 million by 2020, compared with 81m in 1995. The traffic growth forecast for China alone is +14% each year until 2010. Indian air travellers are expected to increase from 15m passengers to 50m in the next five years.
In terms of duty free and travel retail, Asia Pacific is expected to reach 40% of global duty free and travel retail sales by 2010, up from 26.5% in 2005. And everywhere you look in Asia and the Middle East there are airports and terminals being constructed, with retail facilities high on their agendas. Our major operators – Nuance, Alpha, DFS, as well as more regional ones like Lotte – have recognised this potential demand and are hoping to snap up retail outlets across the region.
Suppliers, too, have recognised that with high spending profiles the Indian and Chinese travellers are well worth cosseting. Our own research found that 99.9% of Chinese travellers shop; it is a key motivation for travelling, second only to sightseeing. 88% shop in the high street and 61% shop in duty free with an average spend on shopping of US$987. That is business worth pursuing.
As for India, according to the Malaysian Tourism Board, Indian visitors spend about 25% of their travel budgets on shopping, and Singapore maintains that Indians are the top spenders per capita.
What’s the latest news with regards to Gate One?
The programme for Gate One is coming together nicely with an excellent range of panellists for each of the sessions. This year we focus on five themes: ‘The airport scene’ (how do airports differ from region to region and why); ‘From hubs to cities’ (the ultimate airport experience); ‘Airport marketing mix’ (how will/must it change); ‘Airport strategies in the new aviation environment’; ‘Managing risk’ (anticipating change and how to prepare for it –
security focus).
How do you see the overall TFWA Asia Pacific event developing in the future?
The Asia Pacific region is a melting pot of cultures and races, each with its own distinct requirements. On top of this you have the phenomenal growth which is projected for the next 20 years and beyond. There is certainly a need for a regular forum at which these players can become acquainted and develop their business. Although our ‘Gateway to China’ project will not materialise in 2007, its original concept and the needs it is designed to meet very much remain on our radar.
We constantly review and refine our offer, always trying to improve on the year before. This is true for all our events. TFWA Asia Pacific and Gate One are no exception to this ongoing process, as we believe that their positioning can and should be refined.
How do you think TFWA might change in the future? What is on your agenda?
‘There is no standing still’, and this is the one and only thing on my agenda. Having said that, changing for the sake of changing is all too easy, especially when a new manager comes on board.
Strategically, we need to update our sense of purpose, and refine the positioning of our offer to fit with and even anticipate the industry’s developments. Operationally, we have already initiated a major shift towards a new database – coming from almost thirty different sources – in order to improve the quality of our service to our members, our visitors and exhibitors, and ultimately build a performing direct marketing tool. n
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