GERMANY. Gebr. Heinemann Director Corporate Affairs & Compliance Dr. Jennifer Cords has been named as President of the German Travel Retail Association (Deutscher Travel Retail Verband) for a two-year term, after a general meeting of the group today.
She succeeds Gunnar Heinemann, Co-owner and member of the Gebr. Heinemann Supervisory Board, in the role. As a founding member and past President he steered the course of the association for more than three decades.
Benjamin Dillmann, Corporate Affairs Manager at Gebr. Heinemann, was named Managing Director of the association. He succeeds Dr. Christian Breitzke, who held the position for more than 30 years. Along with Gunnar Heinemann, Breitzke was one of the founding members of the group – which was titled the ‘Association of customs- and tax-free retail companies in Germany’ when it was established in 1987.
In other moves, Fraport Head of Retail and Properties Karl-Heinz Dietrich was elected as Vice-President and Markus Kohrs-Lichte – CEO of Hamburg-based company Borco-Marken Import Matthiesen GmbH & Co. – was elected second Vice-President. He takes over the role from Kay Engelke-Engfeld, who previously represented the same company. Cash Auditing will be managed by Tobias Baude, Head of Corporate & Legal Affairs at Imperial Brands.
Gunnar Heinemann said: “I look back on eventful and great years at the DTRV. Commitment to our industry is very close to my heart and I am certain that the future of travel retail is stronger than ever. Travellers appreciate the privilege of shopping differently at airports or onboard ships. It has been part of the travel experience for over half a century, and it is important to strengthen the political dialogue about this special marketplace with its international character. I wish Dr. Cords and Mr. Dillmann great success in their new roles.”
“I would like to thank the members for their confidence and I would especially like to thank Gunnar Heinemann and Dr Christian Breitzke on behalf of the entire association for their decades-long successful leadership. They have decisively shaped the DTRV in this time,” said Cords.
Regional collaboration
DTRV represents the interests of the German duty free and travel retail industry at national level with policy makers, administrators and the public. Its members come from the retail, aviation and shipping sectors as well as from the manufacturing industry. DTRV is a founding member of and works closely with the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC), which represents the interests of the travel retail industry at European level.
ETRC Secretary General Julie Lassaigne said: “ETRC coordinates the advocacy for the sector but it is crucial that our messages are relayed to decision makers at national level. Germany is a key member state in the European political landscape and therefore the role of DTRV is essential to continue strengthening the industry in Germany and in the EU. I am very pleased that Jennifer Cords is taking on this responsibility for DTRV together with the Executive Committee, placing the association in an ideal position to help shape the market conditions of the future.”
Uniformity of regulations
Among DTRV’s points of focus is the creation of uniform political and tax regulations that take into account the interests of both the industry and travellers. Key current topics include how retail in airports can operate safely in pandemic conditions and the proposed introduction of arrivals duty free at EU airports, which ETRC and member associations have been pushing for since mid-2020.
Addressing some of the industry’s challenges, Karl-Heinz Dietrich said: “Travel retail is a highly controlled market environment that operates daily under rigorous customs checks. As boarding pass checkpoints make the travel market both clearly defined as well as small in relation to the domestic market, it also needs appropriate regulations. Things that we take for granted – and that arise in our complex, day-to-day life in dealing with travellers, customs issues, air safety or product-specific regulations – require a lot of awareness-raising and dialogue with political decision-makers.”
