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Today, Travel Markets Insider focuses on numbers, research and acquisitions.
But first, we wish to take a moment to say congratulations to London Supply’s well- respected Business Development Director Francisco “Paco” Heredia, who is celebrating 30 years this month with the company in the duty free business. See story on page 4.
Research organization m1nd-set Generation has released its Forecast Report through 2025, and is predicting that the duty free and travel retail industry will double current sales within the next ten years. The number crunchers at the Swedish-Swiss joint venture calculate that the industry will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% over the next decade, a 0.5% higher rate than the average over the previous two decades. For more details see page 1.
In related news, m1nd-set Generation has appointed Professor Alex Seret as a consultant specifically to bolster their sales forecasting expertise. Page 1.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization held a global press conference this morning to announce details of its annual State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC), which will take place in Barbados on Sept. 14-16. Richard Sealy, CTO chairman and Barbados’ minister of tourism and international transport, announced that Sandals ResortsInternational CEO Adam Stewart will deliver the keynote address, and confirmed that the Caribbean is starting the year with record tourism arrivals. See the numbers on page 1.
M&A News. L’Oréal is acquiring the high-end, niche fragrance business of Atelier Cologne – page 2; Dolce&Gabbana licenses Shiseido Group for its beauty business – page 3; and Belgium cigar manufacturer J. Cortès has acquired US-based Oliva Cigars, which has branches in Miami and Nicaragua – page 3.
Bulldog Gin – which IWSR says is the fastest growing premium gin in the world, has appointed industry veteran Chester Brandes as Managing Director of its newly created Americas division, which will cover the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. In his most recent stint, for Groupe Belvedere, Brandes drove the sales of Sobieski Vodka to one million cases faster than any other imported vodka brand in U.S. history. Read the story on page 4.
Get ready to see a new “crowning glory” on the Miami skyline. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has signed an agreement to build a world-class cruise terminal at PortMiami, which will be RCCL’s largest cruise port in the world and serve as a home port for the line’s new 5,400-passenger Oasis-class ships. More details on page 2.
