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Erik Juul-Mortensen: A focus on Asia-centricity, technology and corporate social responsibility |
SINGAPORE. Asia Pacific will be the engine for growth in the world economy as well as the driver behind the global aviation and travel retail business over the decade ahead. That was the firm message from Monday’s TFWA Asia Pacific and Gate One2One Conference, held at the Suntec Centre in Singapore.
TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen insisted that the industry needed to adopt an “Asia-centric” attitude to business as economic power shifted rapidly from West to East. “We need to ensure we are in step with consumer’s tastes in this region, and customise our products for their needs. We also need to better exploit technology, and adopt a holistic approach to customer communication, such as we see on the high street.”
He also noted how corporate social responsibility would prove a core factor in driving companies’ business strategies in the future.
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Gate One2One kicked off this week’s TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore |
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Yuwa Hedrick-Wong: A powerful analysis of the future role of Asia in the global economy |
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Azran Osman-Rani: How Air Asia broke the rules of the aviation world, and succeeded |
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Lynn Arce of DFS with Martin Moodie at the Hand in Hand for Haiti display kindly set up by TFWA and manned by DFS staff all day |
Among the highlights of the day was MasterCard Worldwide Economic Advisor Yuwa Hedrick-Wong’s powerful analysis of the role of Asia Pacific in the global economy.
He said that the 2008-09 financial crisis was a turning point for “˜Emerging Asia’ (which he defined as Asia minus Japan). He said: “The post-crisis global economy will be shaped by Emerging Asia, while there is a truncated recovery in the US and a very slow recovery in Europe.”
China is the anchor on which Asia Pacific has returned to strong growth, he noted, adding: “The new Asia will not only be a powerful producer – as in the past – but also a powerful investor and a powerful consumer.
That means businesses need to adapt how they operate, and move from being product-centric to market-centric, creating goods specifically for the demands of these emerging markets.”
Air Asia X Chief Executive Azran Osman-Rani said the company’s strong brand allied to its fast-growing scale were among the keys to its success. “Airlines need to distinguish themselves from one another, in what is still a very homogenous industry,” he noted.
“One way we are doing that is by breaking new frontiers in the area of passenger services. We are going beyond the traditional onboard retail model and using our online distribution platform to create new revenue streams, such as ticketing for events or other services. We want 50% of our revenue to come from other non-traditional, non-aeronautical sources in the future.”
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Airport, retailer and supplier came together in Workshop A (“A tender success”) to offer a three-way perspective and discuss how stakeholders could work more closely to create an innovative retail offer aligned with consumer expectations: (from left to right) Mumbai International Airport General Manager Commercial Belinda Ohanoglu, Patrón Spirits International Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President John McDonnell, Aelia CEO & Chairman Jean-Baptiste Morin, and Abu Dhabi Airports Company Chief Commercial Officer Huraiz Almur Bin Huraiz |
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Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) President Sunil Tuli (top) and European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) Secretary General Keith Spinks underlined the key issues – both local and global – surrounding the duty free tobacco threat from the World Health Organization, and suggested ways the industry can act together to find common solutions |
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In Workshop C (“The fourth element”), Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Executive Chairman Peter Harbison (top left) and Strategic Energy Managing Consultant Carly Wieland (top right) illustrated how airlines can be integrated into the “˜Trinity’ model to produce a win-win situation for all stakeholders; the two speakers were joined by Air Asia X Chief Executive Officer Azra Osman-Rani (above, second from right) and Cairns Airport General Manager, Commercials & Terminals Kate McCreery-Carr (above, far right) in a panel discussion led by The Moodie Report Deputy Publisher Dermot Davitt |
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Changi Airport Group’s Tan Lye Teck on evolving trends in retailing |
The plenary session featuring Juul-Mortensen, Hedrick-Wong and Osman-Rani was followed by a series of workshops under the broad theme “˜Think Bold, Act Different’ (see images below).
The event included some strong and striking presentations, notably those in Workshop A, where Abu Dhabi Airports Company Chief Commercial Officer Huraiz Almur Bin Huraiz, Aelia CEO & Chairman Jean-Baptiste Morin, Mumbai International Airport General Manager Commercial Belinda Ohanoglu and Patrón Spirits International COO John McDonnell discussed airport-retailer-brand owner relationships. In many, though, the time for debate was squeezed by having too many speakers – still a regular problem at many industry conferences.
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Elaborating on the conference theme “˜Think Bold, Act Different’, Shaun Smith highlighted how the industry can bring this theme to life by drawing examples using case studies on companies such as TNT, Sixth Senses and Apple |
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Burberry Singapore General Manager Asia Travel Retail & Franchise Yvonne Chan showed how Burberry has re-positioned itself and driven sales through a strategy of product innovation, customer experience and distinctive marketing |
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Martin Moodie: How travel retail is playing its part in the reconstruction of earthquake-ravaged Haiti |
