CHINA/INTERNATIONAL. Tax Free World Association (TFWA) today announced that its May 2021 Asia Pacific event (10-13 May) will be called the ‘Hainan Special Edition’, incorporating both physical and virtual elements. Details are being finalised and more will be announced in early 2021, said the association, as talks continue with local authorities about hosting the event.
The event was one of the key topics discussed at a virtual press conference led by incoming TFWA President Jaya Singh today.
In a welcome move by the association, board members also contributed strongly to the dialogue with the media, with Vice-President Commercial Donatienne de Fontaines-Guillaume (Moët Hennessy), Vice-President Marketing Aude Bourdier (Brown-Forman), Vice-President Conferences & Research Gemma Bateson (JTI), Vice-President Corporate Sam Gerber (WorldConnect) and Vice-President Finance Frédéric Garcia-Pelayo (InterParfums) speaking on a range of association and industry issues.
The main conference will combine live-streaming, virtual meetings and a physical on-site event, said TFWA. In place of an exhibition, brands can host visitors in hotel and hospitality suites in line with local safety protocols.
Aude Bourdier said of the planned May event: “2021 is a year of transition so we need to adapt and to do things differently. Hainan is not a conference and is not an exhibition: it is the Hainan Special Edition. For those unable to travel, we want people to take part from distance. There will be a streamed conference and workshops, the One-to-One meeting platform that has been successful and that is available online. So the Special Edition will enable our industry to come together again.
“We are aware of the Hainan Expo [the inaugural China International Consumer Products Expo to be held from 7 to 10 May 2021 on Hainan island – Ed] that happens just a week before our event. We believe the two are complementary. We start our event as that Expo finishes.”
Of the planning for Hainan, Donatienne de Fontaines-Guillaume said: “We are confident that when travel comes back, we can provide the right platform. Hainan is a hotspot at the moment for duty free & travel retail. It was clear for us that this is the place to be. We are very aware of the financial situation most companies face so our role is to ensure we can provide a physical platform if that situation allows, but also a digital format. It is not an exhibition nor a conference but an opportunity to meet again.”
Building on the theme, she added: “We will partner with local Hainan authorities. On the virtual platform, we want to innovate. We are working to come up with a solution that is valuable for members and participants, and is user friendly.
“On pricing, we are aware of the financial challenges. We have to provide the most reasonable way to allow people to attend. The budget should not be a show-stopper. Therefore virtual is an option but ideally we can meet together and kick off a new era. We sell products, emotions; you need to see, smell, touch, but we also need to meet and virtual does not replace that face to face interaction.”
Speaking about the prospects for hosting an event in China in May, TFWA Managing Director John Rimmer added: “We have had universally positive comments but we are under no illusions either. We know that there are challenges.
“In terms of the evolution of the pandemic, and the travel restrictions, we know that there are things that we cannot control. But we are optimistic that things are going to move in the right direction, and already are moving in the right direction.
“We are working hard on the issue of visa applications with local government. We are confident that the reaction from them suggests that we’ll have assistance with regard to visa expeditions, and other logistical issues such as Customs.”
The association said it was too early to talk about the Asia Pacific event in 2022 but noted that “maximum flexibility and agility” were required about the future of its regional conference and exhibition.
Asked about the prospects for TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, De Fontaines-Guillaume said: “We will adapt so that it answers to the new needs of our industry. I can guarantee you that if we are able to meet physically, we will be meeting physically Potentially, we are looking at ways of making it more relevant in terms of content and in terms of duration. But this is work in progress.”
TFWA’s role in a new world
Speaking about the wider picture, and the role of TFWA in these uncertain times, Singh said that the “storm that has engulfed the industry” has called out the need for “speed, agility and flexibility, relevant to the times”.
He said he remained confident about the ability of travel markets to bounce back. But he also assessed how the business could track recovery at a time when balance sheets were under pressure and “cash and cash velocity” are being prioritised.
He said: “There is nothing that stops us from engaging in forums with other stakeholders, like airport authorities as well as retailers in trying to understand where they are at, what their priorities are, and how we can align better so that as an industry, we recover financially faster and better. We have operated in silos as an industry in the past but from my conversations so far there is an openness among airports and retailers to be more open with our business model having been shaken to its core. Minimum Annual Guarantees (MAGs) in my opinion cannot hold again in future given the levels of debt we see in the industry.
“So there will be open ears towards how we can collectively ease the debt burden as we transition and in doing that there will be greater transparency of data sharing, I feel. I am hopeful as there is a common interest.
“As an industry we have also been confronted with regulatory threats to tobacco and alcohol. We have to be mindful of these things, because we don’t want further restrictions imposed on the different categories that we represent. Regionally, we have many associations, and there is an opportunity for us to come closer and leverage the network into one powerful voice.”
Gemma Bateson added: “I think we will be firmly on the road to recovery next year, and TFWA has a really important and critical role in empowering businesses and providing the fuel for companies to strategise and recover.
“We are determined to restart the conference programme in 2021 to add the best value for all of our members and business partners. We look forward to developing that more with input and support from the rest of the industry.”
On recovery more generally, Singh said: “The general trend is towards an uptick, with vaccines and so on. If it happens faster than Q2 next year we must have the ability to scale up and do the basics quickly and well. Similarly we must be able to scale down quickly and efficiently, with agility. We can only do this collectively, aligned as an industry. But I do think the worst is over.”
Building on the theme of how TFWA addresses the future, Sam Gerber said: “We have to recall that we are ‘By the trade, for the trade’, so that is our DNA. We have to listen to our membership and understand their needs and expectations better.
“We have to be agile but also dynamic. Being dynamic as an association is key, but we need to listen better not only to our current base but to other people. The member base is not what it was; that membership will probably see new members, new sectors, new industries and new stakeholders coming in.”
In serving the industry, Singh said that TFWA’s cash reserves had allowed it to overcome crises and to plan for the future.
Garcia-Pelayo added: “We have been always prudent but things are different today. We will have to be quicker, consider, value and see whether we can do what we did before in the future. Some things maybe yes, others maybe not. But with the same aim of not leaving the association in any financial problems.”
Concluding, Singh said: “Collectively, we will steer ourselves towards a new future. The future is bright, I am totally clear on that. How we transition remains a question mark, but the ability to react fast and the ability to scale up, scale down and adjust as the situation changes, that is the foundation stone.
“Travel will never go away, there is a desire and aspiration among people, and that will continue, so this industry will be around for a long, long time to come.
“In the meantime, we go back to the need for discipline, the need to be financially prudent, and the need to ensure that whatever we do is sustainable in these unprecedented times.”
