ASIA PACIFIC. The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) today announced a key industry event themed ‘The Trinity Through A Crisis’, to be held on 13 October at the Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo.
The timely session is the latest initiative in the wide-ranging APTRA Exchange programme.
It will be held on Tuesday 13 October from 5.30pm Singapore time (UTC 09.30am/BST 10.30am) and will feature prominent industry executives discussing the issues facing travel retail in light of the COVID-19 crisis and debating strategies for recovery.
As a cornerstone of the ‘Knowledge Hub’ (a powerful five-day line-up of symposium and workshop sessions all geared around thought leadership and ‘The Road to Recovery’) during the Moodie Davitt Virtual Expo, the APTRA session is expected to attract a substantial global audience of retailers, brands, airports, airlines and other sector stakeholders. All registered Expo delegates have free access to the APTRA Exchange online event [registration is free for airports, retailers and other operators, and Expo exhibitors. To register click here].
With the aviation ecosystem in crisis, the road to recovery for travel retail is reliant on the actions of multiple stakeholders, from governments to airlines and landlords to investment partners, APTRA noted.
In Asia Pacific, the duty free and travel retail industry is evolving and adapting rapidly to the COVID-driven market changes. That evolution includes the surge in Chinese offshore duty free sales in Hainan province and the increased development of omnichannel solutions in response to greater digital adoption among shoppers, APTRA said.
The travel retail industry globally is looking to Asia Pacific for indicators of success as the first region to emerge from crisis and to adopt such policies and measures, the association added.
APTRA has brought together several highly experienced representatives from all aspects and geographies to represent the travel retail Trinity in a discussion panel:
Julia Bauer – Regional Manager, APAC, Imperial Brands
Philip Eckles – Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Duty Free
Erin Lillis – Travel Retail Director, Asia Pacific, Lacoste
Lucy Thomas – Head of Retail, Auckland Airport
The event will be moderated by Kevin Zajax, Chief Executive Officer, Ground Control Global.
APTRA President Sunil Tuli commented: “The Trinity Through a Crisis is designed to represent all core stakeholders of travel retail, i.e. the operators, the landlords, and the suppliers and brands.
“During this APTRA Exchange, we will share and learn how parties are working together to support each other – or not – as we focus on survival through this devastating situation. It is not intended to be critical of any party, but to show how the industry, if working together as a Trinity, can bounce back.
“Expect colourful debate on how stakeholders have co-operated and collaborated, what measures have been effective and, importantly, how we future-proof for crises of a similar scale. And yes, to answer everyone’s burning question, concession models are likely to be discussed!”
The APTRA Exchange is a strategic forum to create a platform for industry debate. Its first event at The Trinity Forum in Doha 2019 centred on discussion around the impact of changing regulations. It also saw the publication of a valuable study, the Economic Impact of Duty Free and Travel Retail in Asia Pacific (commissioned in collaboration with the Duty Free World Council).
This report highlighted the significance of the industry in Asia Pacific, noting that it provides over 300,000 jobs and a contribution of over US$15 billion to GDP in the region.
Find out more about APTRA Events https://www.aptra.asia/
Footnote: For details of the speaker line-up for the Virtual Travel Retail Expo, click here. The full programme will be published this week.
