MALAYSIA. Last year, Malaysia Airports, DR Group and The Hershey Company installed a Hershey’s flotilla buggy, a mobile retail concept, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The partners claimed the concept was a world first and a move to “disrupt the conventional way of doing business in travel retail”. Now, the Hershey’s buggy has moved to its second location, at Langkawi International Airport. Mark Lane talks to Dr. Afendi Dahlan, Business Development Director of DR Group, and finds out about the impact of the initial activation, the reasons behind the move to a new location and the partners’ plans for the promotion.
The Moodie Davitt Report: Describe the presence of the DR Group in the Malaysian travel retail market.
Afendi Dahlan: The DR Group is a diversified group with core businesses in travel retail, chocolate manufacturing and property management.
It is a pioneer in duty free business in Malaysia with a focus on beauty and confectionery concessions in all international airports in Malaysia, through its subsidiaries Colours & Fragrances Sdn Bhd and Chocolate Sales & Supplies Sdn Bhd (‘Choc Stop’).
In Langkawi International, DR Group operates and manages a duty free shopping mall, Jetty Point, since 1994.
DR Group is also known as the inventor and producer of Durianmisu chocolate (a unique combination of durian and tiramisu) that is quickly gaining popularity among Chinese travellers.
How did the original Hershey flotilla buggy Trinity collaboration come about?
The idea was mooted by the Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) Senior General Manager of Commercial Services, Mohammad Nazli Abdul Aziz, during a discussion between all parties at the Hershey’s booth at the TFWA World Conference & Exhibition in Cannes in 2017.
The first concept started its life as a humble pushcart and slowly evolved into a modified buggy that looks like a Cadillac (keeping with the USA theme – home of Hershey’s chocolates). This Trinity worked beautifully where DR Group purchased the buggy and was responsible for the design concept and modification, Hershey’s provided creative input and funded the cost of buggy modifications while MAHB facilitated the technical and commercial approvals for terminal use.
Given that there were no precedents, this has been one of the most challenging Trinity projects and the support from each party involved helped to ensure the buggy was officially finally launched in July 2018 at KLIA.
Describe what is in the buggy. Which Hershey’s products are being promoted?
The buggy has been designed to incorporate gondolas disguised as suitcases that allow complete merchandising of all Hershey’s travel exclusive product range including Hershey Kisses, Reese’s, Hershey’s Nuggets World Travel Collection and Hershey’s Premium Collection.
Would you class the activation at KLIA as a success? Did it boost Hershey’s sales?
In terms of enriching the customer experience, it was very successful in creating newness and excitement for travellers as part of their journey at KLIA. Being the first activation of its kind in the world, there was a steep learning curve for all parties involved.
The initial idea was that the buggy would be driven around the terminal building to cater to travellers near the boarding gate for last minute purchases. However the regulatory and compliance issues relating to duty free goods did not permit the full execution of the mobile retail concept.
That said, the buggy activation has helped to increase Hershey’s sales to some extent through creative customer engagement activities. It is encouraging to see the Hershey’s buggy activation has inspired another Malaysian airport retailer to do a similar activation for food and beverage services at KLIA.
How was the buggy moved from KLIA to Langkawi?
It was not an overly complicated process but required delicate care and planning to ensure that the buggy remained intact throughout the journey. From KLIA, the buggy was loaded into a lorry which then travelled 544km along the highway to a ferry terminal near the Malaysia/Thailand border. It then continued the journey on a ferry to Langkawi Island before finally arriving at its final destination.
Describe the DR Group’s interests at Langkawi International.
Langkawi International Airport had recently completed its terminal expansion and DR Group is currently the anchor tenant with four major concessions: perfume and cosmetics, chocolate and confectionery, beauty and bodycare and local packed food. These stores cover a total area of 588sq m. We are seeing a great increase in business there, with the confectionery product category at Langkawi alone increasing 40% in the year to date, compared to the same period last year.
What have you done to promote the buggy’s arrival at Langkawi?
In addition to promoting the buggy on Malaysia Airport’s social media platform, we have activated our own campaign in-store to encourage travellers to share their pictures on social media. Of course the location of the buggy in the airport helps to increase customer awareness. The activation coincides with the LIMA Exhibition.
What is the LIMA exhibition exactly and why did you want to tie the activation in with this?
Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), established in 1991, is the largest maritime and aerospace exhibition in the Asia Pacific region. This year LIMA hosted business delegations from 31 nations and a total of 390 defence and commercial companies. Official statistics recorded a total of 42,030 trade delegates and officials from 63 countries during the five-day exhibition.
LIMA is also a peak period for the tourism industry in Langkawi as tourists and aviation enthusiasts around the globe congregrate to witness the amazing airshow, which is part of the LIMA event. The event attracts large number of tourists and visitors into the island and this is a way to show our support to Malaysia Airports as a retail partner for this prestigious event.
How long will the buggy remain at Langkawi, and are there plans to take it to other destinations?
The buggy should remain at Langkawi at least two to three months. The beauty of this promotion is that it is mobile and we are definitely open to a roadshow around all international airports in Malaysia.
