Through the Red Door with Tallink Duty Free’s Eve Purge – an Elizabeth Arden column

Born in 1881, Elizabeth Arden was a woman way ahead of her time. Fascinated by skincare from a young age, she went on to pioneer the international beauty industry with many firsts including travel-sized products and the cult Eight Hour Cream.

An ardent suffragette, legendary innovator and tireless entrepreneur, Elizabeth Arden was an early example of the ability of women to achieve success against the odds.

In a male-dominated era, she created a global empire with her famous Red Door Salons. Her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation, quality and excellence remain the soul of the company today.

In the spirit of Elizabeth Arden, this column sets out to recognise the women in our industry whose personal and professional stories make them deserving of industry recognition.

Tallink Duty Free Head of Business Development and Purchasing, Travel Retail, Eve Purge

Introduction: Eve Purge grew up in Estonia, a country which gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. An only child, she enjoyed a somewhat ‘privileged’ childhood but then had to work to make ends meet through her university years. Eve became a bartender, and a good one at that, before being introduced to the world of Tallink and travel retailing at sea. She talks with Colleen Morgan.

Tell us please about your childhood and growing up in Estonia.

Although Estonia was always considered the ‘West’ of the Soviet Union – a country offering more opportunities, and one which had retained its cultural heritage – I was well aware that I grew up in an occupied country, with heavily limited product availability and travel opportunities.

That said, being an only child of a wealthy working class family and active, capable grandparents, my childhood was very happy and full of possibilities. My father worked in the well-paid forest industry and my grandmother was a trade school administrator with many useful connections, which, at that time, was the key to coping.

I never felt threatened by poverty. We celebrated Christmas – and I received some beautiful gifts, the most remembered being a treasured walking doll that was made in East Germany – albeit behind closed curtains.

It was probably my grandmother who sparked my love of travel. Every year she would take me on a beach vacation to Crimea, many miles away in the Soviet Union on the beautiful Black Sea coast. I was also a good swimmer, representing Estonia in the Soviet Union championships, and managed to travel a lot around the region.

So, travel and especially flying was not something exotic and unachievable for me. At least through the eyes of a child.

As I grew, I saw things through quite different eyes. I was a teenager when the thirst for freedom was encouraging Estonians to take action to escape from the occupation. I remember that well. It was carefully planned, step by step for four years, with a combination of wisdom and great luck leading to Estonia’s independence in August 1991. Fifty years of forced occupation was ended without a single casualty.

I lived by the sea, which separated us as Estonians from Finland, just 80km away. As a family we had watched Finnish TV through secretly installed, self-made antennas. After independence, we were free to make the long sea trip and visit our neighbours who had been locked away from us for so many decades.

I believe that my love of the sea, and those seemingly exotic white ships disappearing into the horizon in my youth, paved the way towards my close relationship with sea travel. At the same time, I found the world of retailing, and all those products which has not been readily available to us for years, fascinating.

I wanted to get closer to those well-known global brands, which had seemed such an unbelievable deficit in my childhood.

What led you into business studies?

I was fortunate to be accepted to one of Estonia’s top schools, the Secondary School of Science. It appealed to my inquisitive nature and desire to learn. I believe the rapidly changing environment at the time, and all the unexpected opportunities to discover the new world of business, led me easily into studying International Business Administration.

Estonia’s independence came with a price, and with extremely high inflation a lot of its citizens struggled to make ends meet. I decided to work alongside my studies to manage my bills.

And that led to your involvement with international brands?

No, not directly. I was fortunate to join a company owned by two brothers who had studied at Harvard in the US. They were broad-minded and innovative, arranging concerts for world-famous artists such as Robbie Williams, Elton John, Depeche Mode and Madonna, while owning a few of the top nightclubs and lounges in my hometown of Tallinn.

Starting as a bartender, I soon became Service Quality Manager, responsible for creating and implementing service quality standards and educating team members. I continued bartending at a professional level, with good results in various competitions in Estonia and elsewhere in Europe and, at the same time, got involved in marketing agreements and dealing with suppliers.

As Estonia is a small country – where it seems everyone knows everyone else and networking is strong – one of my business associates recommended me to my future long-term boss and close colleague Aimar Pärna. He was Head of Tallink Duty Free, managing the onboard retailing on ships operated by the Tallink Group.

In those days Tallink was expanding and had acquired the Silja Line cruise company, which was actually bigger in size than Tallink itself. At the same time, Tallink acquired three Superfast ships operating on the Finland/Germany route. So, as the fleet and number of destinations grew in a very short period of time, a pair of extra hands was needed to manage the retailing onboard the newly acquired ships.

I was deemed the suitable person and took on the Purchasing Manager role in May 2006.

And the door to travel retailing opened?

Again, not directly. It was a new position, created so Tallink could take over the category management from Inflight Service Group, which had partnered with both Tallink and Silja Line. The target was to reorganise and unify the purchasing of consumer goods on all 11 vessels operating between Germany, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

My very first task was to find and negotiate the terms with ship chandlers from Germany, who had provided provisions and excise goods (tobacco and spirits) on the ships on the Finland/Germany route.

Was that a difficult task?

I have to say that it was very common back in 2006 that business negotiations were held by elderly, experienced men, especially in Germany.

My first meeting is etched in my memory. I was 30 and met by a respectable-looking elderly gentleman in a grey suit. He was the managing director of a well-known company, providing ship chandling services. He took one look at me and said, ‘Very nice meeting you, but when will your principal arrive?’.

So, it wasn’t just a new situation for me; it was also new for the business managers of an old world.

That said, I was accepted once they realised I was up to the task.

The following years were busy ones, focused on coordinating separate units in Estonia and Finland. We had to balance Silja Line’s heritage and welfare-based business with the young, expansion-oriented and highly motivated Tallink buyers. The main challenges certainly came from cultural differences and working standards but evaluating those days afterwards, I believe we managed well through a positive, friendly and respectful approach. I believe that is always important.

I should point out that both Estonia and Finland are countries with strong national cultures. Neither is very open to anything new nor to any wisdom offered by ‘outsiders’. However, maybe this common character trait is what has led to a good working relation throughout the years.

The other challenge was to build and effectively manage strategic customer relations with all the retail partners. Tallink was rather unknown at that stage as previous agreements had been handled by a third-party partner.

The only way to set the footprint was to venture out and meet the brand owners at their premises. We needed to introduce ourselves, outline our intentions and create enough trust to start a direct working relationship.

That was another area which was rather new for us. And first we had to create our procurement principles, which had to be ambitious enough to generate the respect of large and respected brand houses.

With my team I learned to juggle travelling and constant meetings with the synergies and structuring of buying units back home.

So, an ongoing learning curve?

Yes. The seemingly infinitive international business outlook, so many new connections to highly experienced professional people combined with a lot of travelling and the fascinating world of retailing, was so interesting and eye opening. I felt like a sponge, absorbing all the information.

Gaining new skills and discovering new ways of relating to people was so exciting that I felt much smarter and more experienced every new day.

And Tallink was expanding at the same time?

Yes. Besides acquiring Silja Line and Super Sea Fast ferries, Tallink invested aggressively into building and launching ships: the Galaxy in 2006; Star in 2007; Baltic Princess in 2008 and Baltic Queen in 2009. So, at the same time we had to plan, prepare and merchandise the new ships. Those were intense years for me and my team members.

Since then, of course, Tallink has grown considerably and secured its position in the world’s Top 25 Travel Retailers list year after year. We are rated as the top ferry company. Tallink also operates ferries with the world’s largest floating shopping facilities onboard. Its newest ships, the Megastar, which was launched in 2016, and MyStar, in 2022, have shopping facilities of 2,800 and 2,500sq m respectively.

As Head of Purchasing for 15 years, how would you describe your role in Tallink’s success?

My role is to lead a team, provide support and ideas, and to share my knowledge of the business to ensure that Tallink remains at the top of its game.

I started with leading the Wines and Confectionery category, moved on to Spirits and Tobacco and was part of a procurement team of restaurant food for a couple of years before heading into Fashion & Accessories and P&C categories management.

The charismatics and the differences within these categories, along with the people working in what are quite different fields, has truly been an enriching experience for me both personally and professionally. It has given me the priceless opportunity to get to know the people involved, their views on life and how they handle their work. I’ve been able to gather the best knowledge and skills from them and from the leading companies in different areas to use in my own work.

At the same time, I can use those learnings on a personal level; learning – always still learning – to look at life, and its opportunities, with my eyes wide open.

Let’s consider mentorship. What role has that played in your career?

I would have never managed without my best mentor and tireless boss, Aimar Pärna. His never-give-up attitude, and eagerness to commit on achieving set targets, is just exceptional.

I have always been given the opportunity to choose my own path to reach my goals, but I admire the way Aimar has been able to very protectively smooth over my mistakes to put me on the right track again. While doing that, he has always remained calm and never accusing, so my failings have been always with a soft landing and a friendly lesson to myself.

Another person who has been a mentor for me – and has taught me a different approach to building relationships – is my former long-time colleague and Tallink Duty Free Board, Magnus Skjörshammer. There aren’t many people who are so outgoing, full of ideas and always updated on the latest trends and new, interesting brands.

He also has the ability to see opportunities even if they are part of any problems. Magnus’s way of being always social, full of warmth and support, has taught me to use the building of long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships as the backbone to technical, economic and business relations.

You are now two years as Head of Business Development and Purchasing, with a focus on travel retail. What challenges has Tallink faced and is facing?

For many years, Tallink had been sailing on a ‘high tide’. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, followed by an ongoing inhumane war on Europe’s boundary that is not only destroying homes and people’s lives but also, of course, businesses. What I judge as a dark ignorance continues there.

Recovery has not been smooth and steady, but I do feel Tallink has managed to maintain its position as a respected partner on the global market. That is thanks to extremely valuable business experiences gathered throughout Tallink’s development. It all has made us, and definitely me, more resilient, more willing to adapt and be flexible in managing and maintaining the good partnerships we have.

Eve, what do you believe are your two most positive, and most negative, traits?

I’m sociable and build relationships very easily. The highest priority for me is goodwill. I also have high ethical standards and expect people to act accordingly. The resulting oriented and dedicated approach to my work may also be a not-so positive trait sometimes.

I’d say that my negative traits include being too analytical sometimes and possessing a deliberative mind, which requires more time to come out with the right decision. I prefer to think things over ten times before saying anything.

One stand-out learning in your career with Tallink?

With Aimar and Magnus, I have learned to be a driver. A driver in establishing business relations, to always be available, to be supportive and sympathetic in committing not only to my own expectations but also to those of my associates and business partners.

This supports my personal characteristics, to always enjoy the magic of the moment or the game, while at the same time being competitive and motivated in setting objectives for myself.

How important is family and leisure time in your life?

I know that I would not have managed everything without the tremendous support of my family. My loving husband, Ingmar, has been at my side for over a quarter of a century already, and we have two daughters, Evelin and Ingeli, and a son, Stig Silver. The respect, commitment, mutual understanding and always strong support of each other, whatever we are doing, has definitely given me the opportunity to do what I love and to reach where I am today in my career.

As Ingmar has more flexibility in planning his working schedule, we’ve always managed well and working away from home or late hours has never been a problem for me. We make the most of any leisure time. We holiday together, play sports, go out, take off travelling. And, of course, there are those lazy moments, eating popcorn and watching fun movies. They are equally important.

We are the same age and come from similar environments and share views on life and raising the children. Most importantly, we laugh at each other’s jokes.

Many would question my being with the same company and staying in a similar position for many years. I don’t; I have had the opportunity to enjoy the role and face challenges in so many different fields during my career. Building relationships and cooperating with people with different cultural and business backgrounds has been, and definitely still is, truly engaging and motivating for me so I can continue to do my work with passion and love every day.

*This article first appeared in The Moodie Davitt eZine. Click here for that version. ✈

Elizabeth Arden will supply each of the remarkable women who takes part in our series with a special gift box which will include: