Erik van der Veen, a well-known and respected figure in the travel retail industry with over 30 years experience in the channel, has set ambitious targets for his fledgling KAEF agency and consultancy company.
Based in Alicante, Spain, the former Dufry executive aims to represent stand-out, family-owned brands in the channel.
Van der Veen established KAEF (which stands for initials from his name, Klaas Frederik) in 2020, after over 13 years with Dufry. He joined the travel retailer as Director of Category Management based in the UAE, and went on to hold several positions including Regional Commercial Director and Global Retail Operations Senior Manager (in Switzerland) and, most recently, Retail Operation Director – Latin America and Caribbean, based in Florida.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was the push in the back to initiate the entrepreneur route, as the corporate life came to an end,” van der Veen says.
“When you are a well-respected director within a leading global company, you do not really take that step yourself so easily. The abrupt halt of the travel retail industry, because of the pandemic, and the necessary company restructuring, produced the opportunity. Every disadvantage has its advantage.”
KAEF has a ‘Business is Sport’ tagline, which reflects van der Veen’s approach to doing business. A successful sportsman from a young age, he was set to represent The Netherlands as a track runner in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 but missed qualifying by a few tenths of a second. At the age of 26, van der Veen turned his talents to the corporate world but never forgot his sports training and team ethics.
“In a team sport each player has a specific role,” he says. “The importance of the performance of the team is far greater than each individual’s performance. In an individual sport, or as an individual within a team, you work with long-term performance planning, which is being built up by daily training schedules.
“The same counts for corporate life with the help of organisation structures and its processes and people development and corporate improvement plans, respectively.
“I have learned that directing companies is directing people towards an optimum outcome. It is about maximising the capacity of your teams of people. Business is sport.”
KAEF’s portfolio includes family-owned brands which span a range of categories. Patriot is an umbrella brand of spirits, energy drinks and tobacco products, with a recent focus on the smokeless sector. White Snus [an oral smokeless tobacco product] is new to the line-up. It features a nicotine absorption mechanism which, according to the brand, allows for a much smoother user experience.
“I see this as a real travel retail opportunity, a viable solution and less harmful alternative for smokers on long haul flights,” van der Veen says.
Anthony Vincent is a jewellery brand sold and distributed by Mexican company, Grupo ATY. Its pieces feature cultured pearl, diamonds and crystals and are popular in Latin American markets. Anthony Vincent’s mission is to prove that pearls and diamonds need not be expensive.
Dubai-based Le Chocolate XTACY specialises in chocolates which can be personalised. Its small batch production centres on Belgian chocolate with French and Italian fillings and gourmet flavours. A destination assortment is a new addition to its product line-up.
Another Dubai-based brand, Beso Puro, offers ten fragrances for men and women in unbreakable, pocket or purse-sized containers. Each fragrance is presented with its own poem.
Artesanos del Vino Valencia (Craftsmen of Wine Valencia) produces sparkling wines using a traditional Champenoise process. Its expressions include the limited-edition 24K – with gold flakes in the bottles – and One which offers four varieties.
Barrister Gin is the latest addition to the KAEF portfolio. It is produced by St Petersburg-based Ladoga Group, a leading vodka producer which has turned its expertise to the gin market.
Barrister’s ‘secret’ is a separate distillation of aromatic spirits to accentuate herbal aromas and flavours. The range includes small batch Old Tom Gin, Barrister Russian Gin, Navy Gin Sea Label, Sloe and flavours Blue, Orange and Pink.
Van der Veen believes that travel retail, and especially airside duty free, remains a “unique form of retail”.
“When correctly done the exposure and sales volume are significantly higher than downtown. The present crisis will eventually come to an end, and we will see the captured audience will increase year on year for a long time to come. Every passenger is a potential customer.”
Van der Veen views his longstanding experience within the industry as a blessing in dealing with newcomers to the channel.
“At KAEF we understand what is necessary for any brand or product to have a chance to be successful in travel retail.
“I did procurement myself for duty free and negotiated with brands. I operated duty free stores and I have sat on all sides of the negotiation table, and understand what the other party needs. We are all in the same boat. You need a model that creates profitable revenues for all participants with a satisfactory proposition for the end consumer.”
“Since exiting Dufry I have been able to build up the representation for global duty free distribution of a group of manufacturers. All the companies I work with so far are family owned. This means low overheads and quick decision taking. On top of that they are very committed to the travel retail peculiarities with a strong product and terms & conditions (T&C) proposition for our industry.”
And what sets KAEF aside from other agencies? “There are many good and strong agencies. I do not know if it sets me aside, but I have experienced first-hand from within the travel retail platform what is needed to have a chance to be successful on the shop floor,” he replies.
“I did procurement myself for duty free and negotiated with brands. I operated duty free stores and I have sat on all sides of the negotiation table, and understand what the other party needs. We are all in the same boat. You need a model that creates profitable revenues for all participants with a satisfactory proposition for the end consumer.”
Van der Veen has his sights set on a worldwide KAEF network. “Eventually my vision is to have duty free agents around the globe so I can focus on supplier relationship management,” he says.
“I am looking at creating a team of agents, each responsible for a certain geographical area and possibly a key account agent. It is important that the agents understand and agree upon the business philosophy of KAEF. I can focus on optimising the relationship with suppliers and customers; a kind of holistic satisfaction management.”
