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RUSSIA. Alexander Baev, Founder and Chairman of Russian travel retailer RegStaer, has been named The Moodie Personality of the Month for January, in association with The Dalmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
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Alexander Baev: Investment set to drive expansion |
The Moodie Report Personality of the Month is a regular online feature, supported by leading Highland malt The Dalmore. It aims to recognise those individuals who by their deeds, attitudes and behaviour advance the industry’s cause.
Baev has been the driving force behind RegStaer’s emergence and rise as a key player in the Moscow duty free market over the past 14 years. That drive for growth prompted last month’s move to take on Dufry as an investor and strategic partner (the Swiss group acquired 51% of a new joint venture between the two companies). It’s a development that sets up RegStaer for a new phase of expansion, says Baev.
The new alliance comes amid continuing consolidation in Russia’s duty free market. As an independent, Baev felt that RegStaer required a strategic partner to maintain its strong growth trajectory of recent years, notably at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, but also at Vnukovo Airport.
He told The Moodie Report: “We have almost exhausted our internal resources for growth”¦we needed to have other sources to facilitate growth.
“By combining our forces with a global travel retail company, using their experience and financial resources, and adding our local expertise and professional team, we will have more chances of getting involved in bigger projects than before.”
Click here to read our exclusive interview with Baev on the Dufry alliance, which featured in The Moodie Report e-Zine of 19 January.
Previous Personalities of the Month in association with The Dalmore include The Nuance Group CEO Europe Andrea Belardini, Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager – Commercial Services Puan Faizah Khairuddin, TAV Airports CEO Sani Sener, Incheon International Airport Corp CEO CW Lee, Dufry CEO Julián Díaz, Dubai Duty Free Vice President of Operations Sean Staunton, Neutral CEO Enrique Urioste, China Duty Free Group President Lu Lu, Gebr Heinemann Co-Owners Gunnar and Claus Heinemann, King Power International Group (Thailand) Chairman Vichai Raksriaksorn, Tourvest Duty Free CEO Selwyn Grimsley, Auckland International Airport General Manager Retail Adrian Littlewood, DFS Co-Founder Robert Miller, Aer Rianta International-Middle East Managing Director John Sutcliffe, Zürich Airport Chief Commercial Officer Peter Eriksson, Schiphol Group Business Area Consumers Managing Director Otto Ambagtsheer, Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Colm McLoughlin and former Sydney Airport General Manager, Retail Derek Larsen.
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