Capi Trading is looking to leverage its expanded network resulting from its recent acquisition by B&S International and increase the focus on its consumer retail business in 2013.
In a presentation at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last October, Royal Capi-Lux CEO Peter Wiggers recounted 2012 as a “turbulent year” because of the troubled economy and the company’s change of ownership in August.
B&S is an international trade and distribution organisation supplying foods, liquor, excise goods, and luxury consumer goods such as fragrances to a variety of markets. It is also a duty free retailer in the Netherlands, where it operates B&S Shop Fly at Eindhoven and Maastricht airports and has shops overseas.
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“Our ambition is to have the best and most inspiring electronics shop in every country where we are present“ |
Peter Wiggers CEO Royal Capi-Lux |
The vertical integration of B&S and Royal Capi-Lux is said to combine the strengths of both companies and opens up a new market of consumer electronics for the former. “Capi Trading is different to other wholesalers and distributors in consumer electronics because of our focus on and retail background in airport, travel and duty free,” Wiggers said.
While Capi has been running a profitable B2B business, price pressures from the 2008 economic crisis prompted the company to adopt a more consumer- and marketing-oriented retail strategy. “One of the things we learned back then is that the buying behaviour in airports is completely different from the buying behaviour in downtown retail stores. Airports (and cruise ships) are much more inspiring environments so we must also have different retail concepts,” Wiggers explained.
Since then the company has developed a retail concept that is especially designed for travellers’ convenience, as well as launched its private label, MiTone, which is exclusively available in travel retail.
Retail concept
Capi stores are designed to match the different buying behaviours of consumers, with a category-driven structure that makes shopping easier in the airport environment. To this end, Capi has introduced seven marketing concepts to cater to all types of customers, according to their specific needs and wants.
The “˜It’s Exclusive’ marketing concept dedicated to exclusive products of the highest quality, for example, once showcased a one-off pair of €6,000 Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones decorated with gold and inlaid with diamonds at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Customised by Antwerp-based jeweller Charles Leytens & Son Diamonds Belgium, this premium portable headphone set has an 18-carat white gold ear pad frame, with 56 diamonds forming the letters B and W set into the ear pads.
To match the aesthetic level of upscale airport environments, Capi used fashion, food & beverage and beauty stores as design references. “Electronics stores everywhere look the same, so we want to be different: Less products, less brands, more visuals and more illustrations. Our ambition is to have the best and most inspiring electronics shop in every country where we are present,” Wiggers underlined.
The company avoided the “˜techy’ look of most typical consumer electronics stores; instead it adopted “˜mood advertising’, using images of cityscapes and landmarks that also lent a Sense of Place. “This creates much more focus on the brands we sell,” he explained.
Capi has also streamlined its brand portfolio, focusing on leading “˜A’ brands such as Samsung, Apple, Nikon and Canon and stripping away the “˜B’ brands it felt were “not appropriate” for the airport. Besides “˜A’ brands, Capi also stocks a number of niche brands which are more expensive and exclusive such as Harman and Hugo Boss electronics accessories.
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Capi stores are designed to match the different buying behaviours of consumers, with a category-driven structure that makes shopping easier in the airport environment |
MiTone
For the more price-conscious consumer, Capi has launched its private and travel retail exclusive label, MiTone, offering high quality electronics at lower price points. The MiTone product portfolio has grown from 3-10 SKUs to about 80 across 14 categories since its launch, according to Wiggers.
MiTone comprises four segments:
• Street Life – A range of fashionable speakers, headphones and earphones that comes in several colours. The packaging features the “˜Travel Stories’ concept (see below)
• Outdoor – Practical electronics products for outdoor enthusiasts, including flashlights, solar charges, walkie-talkies, binoculars
• Headphone – A general line of noise-cancelling headphones and docking stations
• Essentials – Computer accessories such as adaptors and presenters
As reported, “˜Travel Stories’ invites consumers to submit anecdotes of their travel experiences for a chance to be featured on MiTone’s packaging design. For each story that is chosen to be printed on a MiTone product, the author will win a Bluetooth Twist Speaker.
Looking ahead, Wiggers said that Capi is set to roll out its B2B activities thanks to the newly expanded business network afforded by B&S International. The company is also ready to take its retail concept to new markets and is planning to take part in airport tenders within and outside Europe.
Additionally, Capi’s long term plan is to develop new retail concepts for B&S International’s liquor and perfume businesses. “We have full faith in the future,” Wiggers concluded.
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The travel retail exclusive MiTone brand offers high quality electronics at lower price points |
About Capi Trading
Capi Trading (part of B&S International) is a distributor of electronic consumer lifestyle products for airport retailers, travel retailers, ferry and cruise line companies, as well as military and diplomatic suppliers. Based on the available shopping space and the customer/passenger profile, Capi Trading offers several retail concepts, including a soft-franchise formula, a shop-in-shop and a wholesale option.
Capi Trading is a subsidiary of Royal Capi-Lux, Europe’s leading company in airport retailing in the field of electronic consumer lifestyle products, operating 38 shops at key airports in Europe and South Africa
Established in 1894, Royal Capi-Lux is one of the founders of the Amsterdam Airport Shopping Centre and has been active in airport retailing since 1957. It was a family business run by the Breuer family from the 1920s until B&S International acquired the company in August 2012.
In 2011 Royal Capi-Lux had a total of €90 million in revenues and employed more than 230 people.
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