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South American Duty Free Association ASUTIL this week revealed more details about the regional meeting it will hold to help operators and suppliers best develop the business in the new stores authorized on the Brazilian border. The meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5-6 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. See full story on page 3.
ASUTIL Secretary General Jose Luis Donagaray also confirmed that global travel retailer Dufry held the soft opening of its own border store on the Brazil border this week in Uruguaiana, with the official opening of the 850 sqm store scheduled to take place on August 22. For this and other news from South America, go to page 3.
PEOPLE
TMI is very sad to report the deaths of two industry people this week. Former Elizabeth Arden executive Gretchen Goslin passed away after a long illness.
We were also informed of the passing of Silvio Alejandro Vargas Martinez, General Manager of PLISA / DUFRY Nicaragua. Page 5.
BY THE NUMBERS
In TMI’s lead story this week, cruise ships in Asia will call at 306 different destinations in 2019, an increase of 18 destinations from 2018, said Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in its 2019 Asia Cruise Deployment and Capacity Report, which was released this week. For more highlights from the report, see page 1.
The U.S. is undergoing a steady decline in its share of the lucrative international travel market, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. Travel Association, which says that the decline could continue to at least 2022. Between now and 2022, this decline would mean an economic hit of 41 million visitors and $180 billion in international traveler spending. Read why this top market is falling and what the organization wants to see happen. Page 1.
A report by ForwardKeys indicates that tourism bookings to the Dominican Republic are showing some improvement after the disastrous jump in cancellations it suffered in May and June after a number of tourists died in hotels there. Page 3.
SUSTAINABILITY
Swiss company Duty Free Innovation AG (DFI) has announced it has launched a range of eco-friendly sustainable bags for the industry. Designed to allow retailers to either replace or upgrade their existing range of bags, DFI says that their range of bags match the quality and weight-carriage needs of the existing bags provided to shoppers across the globe but provide plastic-free packaging and meet the ever stricter legislation surrounding plastic that is coming into force. Page 2.
In related news, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced that it will prohibit the sale of water in plastic bottles effective August 20, 2019. This move will require all airport retailers, restaurants, airline lounges, and vending machines to sell or provide water in recyclable aluminum, glass or BPI-certified compostable bottles. More details on page 2.
SUPPLY SIDE
Lancôme to launch new improved version of its iconic Advanced Génifique serumwith a new formula based on microbiome science. Page 4.
British luxury brand Molton Brown will debut its new Fragrance Finder, a unique interactive profiling tool based on personality, in Cannes later this year. Page 4.
Brown-Forman and MONARQ Group have entered into a regional distribution partnership in which MONARQ will represent the Brown-Forman portfolio in 16 Caribbean markets. Page 4.
In two developments from Diageo, the spirits giant has introduced the new Lagavulin 10 Year Old exclusively with Dufry, and has announced the final release of the limited edition The John Walker with a portion of the last 330 bottles for sale in travel retail. Page 5.
Barry Geoghegan’s Duty Free Global has expanded its spirits portfolio with the brands of independent Scotch whisky blender and distiller Hunter Laing. Page 5.
