Travel retail and beauty industry veteran Mengfuan (Fuan) Tan has launched Emmef Communications, a boutique consultancy focused on supporting premium and lifestyle brands targeting growth in the Western and Asian duty-free markets.
Leveraging expertise in business management, brand marketing and retail operations, the consultancy offers strategic guidance to drive performance in complex retail markets worldwide.
Tan builds on 18 years of global expertise to help Emmef Communications serve as a strategic bridge, delivering tailored strategies that drive brand success.
Having worked across Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York, she brings a multicultural outlook, fluency in four languages and valuable insights supported by connections across diverse markets.
Fuan said: “Retail today is about more than just placement.It’s about making sense of the connection between brand marketing, retail creativity and operational reality. We guide curious minds to navigate the duty-free channel and domestic markets with confidence, backed by nearly two decades of boots-on-the-ground experience.”
Tan has been recognised for her leadership roles at industry giants L’Oréal Group and Pola Orbis Holdings, as well as for managing globally renowned beauty brands including Kiehl’s, YSL Beauté, Pola and Jurlique.
Her capabilities include go-to-market strategy and retail development, as well as duty-free channel expertise, specialised forecasting and in-depth retail operations knowledge.
She also provides customer-centric retail design advice and brand management, complex negotiations for contracts and commercial terms, and brand sourcing for unique and curated items in all lifestyle categories.
Strategic services for brands
Emmef Communications offers three core pillars of service:
- Consultation: Partnering with brands to solve challenges across duty-free expansion, marketing, retail design, retail operations and supply chain, with a specialised focus in the Asian market
- Negotiation: Leveraging 18 years of experience to secure prime placements in duty-free locations, win trade promotions, and negotiate the best commercial terms
- Introductions: Providing high-level industry connections. In the retail and duty-free world, the right introduction is often the difference between a missed opportunity and a successful launch
Emmef Communications is accepting new clients for domestic and travel retail strategy development.
Tan completed a marathon distance in New York for #KickCancerThon in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. After the planned 26-mile Lunar New Year Walk from Brooklyn to Queens Chinatown was cancelled due to severe weather, she adapted her approach, undertaking a series of city walks – beginning in Central Park – and even playing pickleball in Times Square. Between 20 and 25 February, she covered a total of 53.4km (33.3 miles). ✈
