NORDIC REGION. A powerful working group, representing airport authorities, airlines, ferry operators, concessionaires and suppliers has been formed to address a worsening image crisis in the Nordic duty free and travel retail market.
In an industry first, all sectors of industry are coming together to advance the industry’s cause and to address a number of urgent concerns that are afflicting one of the world’s most important duty free regions.
The working group arose out of the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar held in Copenhagen yesterday. The meeting, which was sold out, attracted a packed audience of well over 100 delegates from all sectors of the business and all countries in the region.
A statement was issued at the end of the conference, which read: “This gathering of the Nordic travel retail and duty free industry believes that the business in the region faces a major image crisis and a number of serious issues that all elements of the trade – retailers, suppliers and landlords – must address if the industry is to go forward in the future. These include:
* Low penetration rates
* The price proposition post 1999, particularly in light of the enlargement of the EU and Norway’s ultimate access to the EU
* Adapting the business model to a win/win/win model in which all parties – landlords, retailers and suppliers – view themselves as stakeholders in the business to the ultimate benefit of the end user, the travelling consumer
* Poor consumer perception of travel retail
“As a result, it has been decided, with immediate effect, to create a Nordic-wide working group, representing all sectors of industry, to address these issues and seek resolutions. The group will report back through the Danish Duty Free & Travel Retail Association to ensure that these issues and the measures put in place to address them are aired throughout all sectors of the business.”
The Nordic working group so far includes the following individuals (more will be seconded if necessary):
Erik Thomsen, Inflight Service; Dan Kongsted, A&E Petersen; Johan Båsk, Silja Line; Lars Hjartbo, My Travel; Kenneth Guldbjerg, Copenhagen Airports; Patrick Sjöberg, SAS Trading; Gordon Jacobsen, Color Line; Kim Aakgaer, Saether; Alan Bork, Danish Duty Free & Travel Retail Association; Göran Nord, Stockholm Arlanda Airport; Claus Langer, Pernod Ricard and others to be named.
A full report on the seminar will appear on The Moodie Report.com soon. The event was held on the DFDS vessel, the M/S Pearl of Scandinavia, took delegates from Copenhagen to Oslo during the dinner after the seminar
Comment:. The conference, which was moderated by the writer, was one of the best, I have attended in recent years. An industry-driven event, it offered extraordinary value for money and attracted all key sectors of the business in this heartland of the duty free industry. The frankness of the debate was surprising, as was the widespread recognition that this is a business and a region facing crisis.
The consumer price proposition and the industry’s financial model (both closely inter-related) came under particular attention and it was encouraging to see the meeting close with a clear call for action – one that mirrored the mood of change at a global level seen at the Trinity Forum in June. The Danish Duty Free & Travel Retail Association should be congratulated on an outstanding initiative and for taking the lead in addressing the industry’s problems.
