After more than eleven years with TFWA, the last six as managing director, John Rimmer left the global travel retail association in November 2023. He returns to Cannes this year with a new advocacy role, and a wealth of knowledge to offer anyone with goals of growing their business in the travel retail channel.
In May, Rimmer announced he was forming JCR Consulting, which he tells TMI specializes in advocacy, communication, business development, events and tender management for the global travel retail industry he knows so well.
Then in July he was named Senior Advisor for Penta Group, where he will assist with their activities supporting the duty free and travel retail sector for the Washington, DC-based stakeholder solutions firm.
“My aim was always to take a break for a little while, which I was pleased to do. There were a couple of projects that I did in the first half of the year before the opportunity arose with Penta Group, who I am working with on advocacy issues relating to duty free and travel retail,” Rimmer tells TMI.
“With Penta, I’ll be working closely with MEADFA, hand in hand with their advocacy group that they established some time ago, on various advocacy issues in the Middle East and Africa.”
Rimmer is also working on other projects for his new consultancy.
“I enjoy the independence, the customers that I have, the people that I’m working with, and the fact that it enables me to maintain the contacts with people who I enjoyed working with very much during my time at TFWA and before,” he says.
“I’m happy to still be in the duty free and travel retail industry. If I have any value to offer, it is the knowledge and the contacts that I built over many years in this business.”
Rimmer has been helping companies with business development and in tender management.
“This is something that I’ve been involved with in the past, helping companies develop strategies for specific tenders: the communication, the preparation and the business planning, etc.”
Before his role as Managing Director at TFWA, Rimmer was Conference, Research, and Corporate Affairs Director for the association. He also spent time as Executive Director – Business Development for Moodie International, Deputy Director Business Development for Aelia Group (now Lagardère Travel Retail), and Editor at DFNI.
In Cannes, Rimmer says he looks forward to reconnecting with the many people he has met over his years in the industry.
“I’ll be seeing a few of Penta’s partners and clients in Cannes, and also a few of my own. After you take a bit of a break, hopefully you come out refreshed and motivated. And that’s definitely my case. I made a lot of good friends in this industry, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing them again, and hopefully there may be some business opportunities out there,” he says.
“I think there is something quite special about our industry and I’m really glad that I’m still part of it.”
