The Travel Markets Insider newsletter is attached to this post as a PDF file. To open the PDF file, please click on this link.
Congratulations to the board and staff of ASUTIL, the Association of South American Duty Free Stores, who organized an information-packed, relevant conference and networking meeting in Santiago, Chile earlier this month.
The 2016 ASUTIL Conference marked the 20th annual meeting of the Association, a true milestone. Entitled “Step by Step in the Right Direction,” the goal of the conference was to give attendees data and tools to navigate the difficult conditions in the marketplace today.
Congratulations also to Teddy Taratuty, Chairman of Argentine travel retail operatorLondon Supply, for his well-deserved win of the Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The London Supply stores are some of the most innovative and iconic in the industry anywhere in the world.
The next issue of TMI will carry a more extensive summary of the Conference. For now, please see page 1.
In more news, UK-based research group Verdict Retail reports that the Americas duty free market will reach US$7.4 billion by 2020, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 5%. The US will remain the largest duty free market in the Americas, and account for $5 billion of that amount. See more details on pages 1-2.
Louis Vuitton remains #1. LVMH’s flagship brand is the world’s most valuable luxury brand for the second year in a row, according to the 2016 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking compiled by Millwood Brown and WPP. To see who else made the top 10 list – and the only other two luxury brands on the list to show growth this year – go to page 2. TMI readers may download the entire report here.
A TMI Feature Interview: One on One with Brown-Forman’s Marshall Farrer. It has been a little over one year since Marshall Farrer took over as Brown-Forman Managing Director Global Travel Retail from Jim Perry. In that short period of time devastating political, socioeconomic and exchange issues have impacted the entire category. Farrer sat down with Travel Market Insider’s Michael Pasternak in Brown-Forman’s Louisville offices and explained how the 140-year-old family-run spirits giant has not only weathered the storm, but is well-positioned for growth in the future. Just days later, Farrer, a fifth generation descendant of company founder George Garvin Brown, was named one of three new members of the B-F Board of Directors. Full interview begins on page 3.
Supply Side. Godiva and DFS team up to present exclusive 90th anniversary events with artist Oli-B at SFO and LAX. Page 5
Revlon Inc. has announced that it will acquire 100% of Elizabeth Arden in a deal worth $870 million. Page 5.
Courvoisier celebrates its Paris heritage with a new GTR exclusive Artisan Edition. Page 5.
Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. to acquire Swiss watch group Frederique Constant; Duty Free Dynamics adds Braun clocks and watches to its duty free distribution portfolio. Page 6.
