AMERICAS. The International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) has announced further details about the conference sessions at the 2025 Summit of the Americas, which takes place on 8-11 March in Miami.
In addition to keynote speaker John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), who leads off the conference session programme on the morning of Sunday, 9 March, there will be four workshop sessions during the Summit.
The Moodie Davitt Report and Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) are co-organising one session themed around the viability of airport concessions and how our sector can evolve a business model that works for all parties. Titled ‘Creating a vibrant future’ this will take place on Monday 10 March at 1.30pm.
Co-moderated by The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt and ARRA Executive Director Andrew Weddig, speakers will include Paradies Lagardère Chief Development Officer David Bisset and Byrd Retail Group President & CEO Judy Byrd, with a further speaker to be named shortly.
The session premise is as follows: While passenger traffic in the Americas has roared back, led by domestic travel, giving the appearance that airport concessions are viable, in reality, a vibrant future remains a challenge in the face of rising labour costs – many now enshrined by airports in their terms – alongside lagging sales and unprofitable contracts.
In short, do we – as an industry – need a new framework? And, if so, what changes to our current model characterise a new framework?
Details of another Summit session have also been announced. DFNI Deputy Editor Chris Madden will chair a cruise-retail-focused workshop on 9 March at 1pm.
This will examine the shoppers who are driving growth in cruise retail, with a dedicated spotlight on younger, Gen Z travellers and how to meet their evolving demands at-sea.
M1nd-set Head of Business Development Anna Marchesini will present insights into the shifting habits of cruise shoppers. Heinemann Americas Managing Director Nicolas Hoeborn, Starboard SVP of Merchandising and Planning Benito Mendez and Catherine Restrepo, Founder & CEO of SYZYGY Strategies, will offer their views on the latest developments in the market, and how both brands and retailers are adapting to new opportunities.
Details of two other sessions led by ACI North America/ACI Latin America Caribbean and by TRBusiness/m1nd-set were previously announced, and can be found here. ✈
