AMERICAS DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING

FDFA 2012

FDFA developsdigitally p. 6 FDFA exhibitor

spotlight p. 26p.12 ALFApower p. 38

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 • VOL 22, NO 4

Canadian border stores

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The Americas Duty Free & Travel Retailing

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The Americas Duty Free & Travel Retailing26 Pearl Street

Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2 CanadaTel: 1 905 821 3344; Fax: 1 905 821 2777

www.dutyfreemagazine.ca

PUBLISHERAijaz Khan

[email protected]

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

EDITORHibah Noor

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CONCESSIONS, LIQUOR & TOBACCO EDITORRyan White

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORMelissa Silva

[email protected]

ART DIRECTORPatrick Balanquit

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CONTRIBUTORSAndrew Brooks

ADVERTISING SALES

ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGERKim Carrera

[email protected]

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION MANAGERDeepa J

[email protected]

www.dutyfreemagazine.ca THE AMERICAS DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING 3

ccording to the Frontier DutyFree Association’s (FDFA) lat-est sales statistics at press time,year-on-year sales are up atland border and airport stores

across the country. Indeed, the first threequarters of 2012, with all but a few exceptions,have been stellar for Canadian travel retail.

Of course, increased travel and an improv-ing economy have helped kickstart the growth,but those familiar with the industry here arekeenly aware that there are other factorswhich have helped sales. The FDFA’s nationalmarketing campaign, conceived and imple-mented in cooperation with Matchignite(formerly Match OSL), has effectively giventhe industry a united online presence by pro-viding travelers with a one-stop website wherethey can link to specific store sites and learnmore about duty free in general.

Examples abound of operators that areworking hard to make sure the increasedawareness and traffic to their websites aretaken full advantage of. Blue Water BridgeDuty Free recently released an iPhone app thatgives travelers traffic and customs informa-tion in addition to the all-important com-munication of special offers at the store. Theresponse? Earlier today I checked iTunes andsaw only 5-star comments from travelerswho downloaded the app.

Peace Arch Duty Free is another land bor-der operator making sure that the increasedawareness afforded by the FDFA’s web por-tal is put to good use. The company regularlycommunicates special deals on Facebook andinteracts directly with consumers on Twitter.

I checked their feed today and as opposed tosimply tweeting, there are actual conversationstaking place, which is great to see.

Of course, all the developments aren’thappening online. In airport news, TheNuance Group has recently worked with bothBacardi and Brown-Forman in two separateactivations to bring a little theater to its storesat Pearson. In this issue you’ll also find newson LS travel retail North America, an oper-ator that has rapidly upped its profile in theindustry of late by concentrating on flexibil-ity in its retail model and getting results forits airport partners.

When speaking of getting travelers ampedup to shop in travel retail, it’s impossible toleave out the suppliers. Whether it’s newproducts, innovative promotions or a com-bination of the two, in this issue you’ll see someexciting developments from companies suchas Haleybrooke International, ALFA Brands,Distribution GVA, Godiva, DFX Distribu-tion and many, many more.

With sales up, a stronger web presenceand plenty to experience in store, it’s a greattime to be heading to Niagara Falls for theannual FDFA convention and tradeshow,always a highlight of the year’s event sched-ule. I look forward to seeing all of you thereand listening your 2012 success stories.

Kindest Regards,

Ryan WhiteConcessions, Liquor and Tobacco [email protected]

AGrowthin the north

Contents

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 • VOL 22, NO 4

EXHIBITOR SPOTLIGHT

Cream of the crop This year’s FDFA show will see abundant offeringsfrom exhibitors, from fragrances, watches and leatheraccessories to cosmetics and ancillary travel products

DFX DISTRIBUTION

Seasoned veterans With a solid foundation based on collaborativerelationships, DFX Distribution is ready to take it to thenext level

HALEYBROOKE INTERNATIONAL

A little help from their friendsHaleybrooke’s experience in the duty free arena,combined with distribution partnerships with anumber of top spirits brands, spells success inCanadian travel retail

ALFA BRANDS

ALFA power ALFA Brands stays ahead by continually ramping upproduct listings and promotional activities

DISTRIBUTION GVA

Something to talk aboutDistribution GVA sees keeping the cigar category freshas a prime objective, and as a result sees goodperformance from key brands in Canadian duty free

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Developing digitallyWe speak with FDFA Executive Director Laurie Karsonabout the organization’s marketing campaign andwhat’s on the table for this year’s convention

THE NUANCE GROUP

Mixing it upIn addition to strong sales in key categories, TheNuance Group’s operations at Toronto Pearson Airportare benefitting from a number of high-profile promotions

CANADIAN BORDER STORES

Border buildersFor Canadian border stores, one common themeseems to be the impact of new construction activity

LS TRAVEL RETAIL NORTH AMERICA

Cause and effectLS travel retail North America finds that strong growthis natural result of focusing on driving value for airportpartners and engaging consumers

TFWA WE REVIEW

Breaking records TFWA WE 2012 was a huge success, effectivelyproving the resilience of the industry at a time whenthe economic situation in Europe is anything but ideal

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Developing digitally

he Frontier Duty Free Association(FDFA) and Matchignite (formerlyknown as Match OSL) recently com-pleted their 2012 review of the DutyFree Canada national marketing

campaign. Good news for the industry inCanada, and indeed for cross-border travelers,is that original objectives have been exceededon a number of fronts. Americas Duty Freerecently sat down with Laurie Karson, Execu-tive Director, FDFA; Jeremy Wright, Vice Pres-ident – Digital, Matchignite; and Wendy Batch-elor, Vice President – Client Services, Matchig-nite, to get the details on the ground that hasbeen gained over the last half year.

We started by asking about the quantitative

results they’ve seen. Karson noted that theFacebook portion of the marketing cam-paign—designed to give consumers basic infor-mation about duty free allowances, store hoursand the like, as well as keep them informed ofcontests like last year’s “Road Trip Rules”—wasreceiving a warm response.

“I’m thrilled with the numbers,” she explains.“We were hoping to have 5,000 ‘likes’ on Face-

book by the end of the summer and as of the firstweek of August we’re approaching 16,000 ‘likes.’”

Furthermore, keeping a close eye on GoogleAnalytics has made it clear that thewww.dutyfreecanada.com website, launchedin early 2011 and designed as a sort of “hub” forInternet users to learn about duty free and thenmove on to specific store webpages, has been suc-cessful at driving traffic to operators’ sites.

T

A recent review of the FDFA’s national marketing campaign reveals thatresults have surpassedexpectations and garnered acclaim from land border operators BY RYAN WHITE

The place to be in duty freeThis year’s annual FDFA convention takes place November 11-14 at the Hilton Hotel & Suites in Niagara Falls, Canada. Just amonth shy of the event, Americas Duty Free caught up withLaurie Karson for an update on what attendees can expect thisyear. She told us that to the middle of October a total of 185 peo-ple had registered for the convention. “This is very similar to lastyear and we’re on track to meet 2011’s final numbers,” sheexplained.

In terms of the trade show portion of the event, Karson notedthat 21 vendors will be exhibiting in 31 booths. Furthermore, 47vendors and distributors representing multiple brands will havesuites this year.

Karson also told us that the exhibition element will likelyincrease in importance in years to come: “We definitely see thetrade floor component growing in future years. We plan to main-tain our current process of suites and a smaller trade floor in futureyears as this format simply works best for our membership.

However, we are looking at moving the convention from 2014onwards back to more urban centers such as Vancouver, Torontoor Montreal.

“As such, the hotels that would be hosting the show in theselocations would have larger facilities to accommodate a largertrade floor,” she continued. “Given the fact that we tend to getmore interest from new supplier members in these urban loca-tions, we certainly see the tradeshow becoming an ever-increas-ing component of the annual FDFA convention.”

The FDFA prides itself on organizing a friendly, social eventthat encourages networking. Indeed, this year will be no differ-ent, with plenty of social activities, such as the welcome recep-tion with charity auction and the gala dinner. Of course, Karsonalso notes that plenty of business will also get done.

“I think our members can expect a very positive show,” sheconcluded. “The fact is that we are seeing growth in our salesand as such, our buyers and suppliers will be quite busy this year!”

The FDFA prides itself onorganizing a friendly, social eventthat encourages networking


Frontier Duty Free Association

“The fact is that weare seeing growth in our sales and assuch, our buyers and suppliers will be quite busy this year!”

Laurie Karson, Executive Director,

FDFA

“We’ve welcomed over a quarter of a mil-lion unique visitors since the website waslaunched,” explained Karson. “I would like tosee a million visitors by the end of next sum-mer and I think that’s achievable.”

Karson tells us that Matchignite manages thewebsites of six operators and all have noticeda significant uptick in key traffic indicators.“We’re definitely building a core audience thatis proving to be a very active group that tendsto explore the operator pages. If you look at ourFacebook page they’re asking questions andclearing up misconceptions, which has reallyopened up a valuable dialogue.”

Of course, Karson notes that the national mar-keting campaign is just that—a national cam-paign. The campaign doesn’t replace local mar-keting initiatives on the part of each operator,and it’s up to FDFA’s operator members to makesure that their websites are up to date so that vis-itors thinking about shopping at a particular storecan find the information they need. The trafficis being driven by the national website and it’sreally up to operators as to how they take advan-tage of the traffic upswing.

In line with the above, Wendy Batchelortells us that Matchignite has very clearly laid outthe campaign’s objectives in a manner that willensure optimal results. While a couple of con-tests were run over the past six months to greateffect, the main objective is still very muchfocused on growing the base audience.

“We have a three-year plan,” she explains.“The first year was really about awareness.Having said this, it’s clear that we can’t con-centrate solely on acquisition. As such, you’veseen contests like the “Road Trip Rules.”However, at this point the balance ismore heavily skewed toward acqui-

sition and a little bit less toward engagement.As the acquisition numbers come up you’llsee that breakdown flip, where we’ll continueto do some acquisition but concentrate moreheavily on engagement.”

In terms of upcoming contests, Batchelor tellsus that consumers can expect something aroundthe holiday season. Furthermore, Matchignite

will up the ante in the New Year by starting toinvolve specific vendor locations in contests tofurther engage consumers by region.

While the FDFA and Matchignite make noqualms about the fact that much work is yetto be done, they should certainly be com-mended for what they’ve accomplished todate, which amounts to nothing less than cre-ating a unified online presence for an indus-try that desperately needed it in an undeniablydigital age. Where before there were only afew forward-thinking operators tweeting awaydiligently in back offices, unswerving in theirconviction in the potential that the Internetoffered, there’s now a much more level play-ing field across a network that spans the entirecountry. In the end, the true value of the ini-tiative at large will no doubt be gauged byhow many duty free retailers take full advan-tage of the considerable opportunity thatthe FDFA and Matchignite offer. c

“We gather theaudience online,make sure we’recommunicating withmultiple demo-graphics and finallyensure that there isa parallel betweenwhat we’re doingonline and what’s inthe stores.”

Jeremy Wright, Vice President – Digital, Matchignite

“As the acquisitionnumbers come up,we’ll continue to dosome acquisitionbut concentratemore heavily onengagement.”

Wendy Batchelor, Vice President – Client Services, Matchignite

Abe Taqtaq, Vice President/General Manager at Wind-sor-Detroit Tunnel Duty Free and President of FDFA,told us recently that the FDFA’s national marketing cam-paign couldn’t have come at a better time given the

fact that more Canadians are now traveling back and forth to the US.“The FDFA national marketing campaign, which was launched in

2009, has provided the membership with an opportunity to increasethe industry’s awareness and the public’s knowledge of the ben-

efits of shopping duty free when traveling to the United States,”he explained. “This has proven particularly useful consideringthe industry has experienced a reduction in the American trav-

eler and a shift to Canadians traveling south. “The use of social and modern media will eventually provide the

membership with a database to tell our story to the traveling pub-lic,” he continued. “Still in its initial stages, I am confident that the

investment being made today will prove to have a solid returnin the future when it will be fully utilized. We look forward

to working with our partners, Matchignite in con-tinuing to build on the program and continu-

ing to provide benefits to our membership.”

Frontier Duty Free Association


Gaining ground

T

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3:16 PM

The Nuance Group

Merchandising and Operations, The NuanceGroup: We currently operate a total of eightstores. Three are in Terminal 1 and five are inTerminal 3. Of the seven shops, five are inter-national duty free stores and three are trans-border locations.

ADF: What are your three top-selling cat-egories? Within each of the categories,can you tell us what is performing partic-ularly well?AR: Our top three selling categories are Per-fume & Cosmetics, Liquor and Tobacco. Interms of brands that are selling well, in the liquorcategory all brands of Icewine are selling well,including offerings from Andrew Peller Estates,

Americas Duty Free: Can you give us anupdate on your operations in PearsonAirport?Andrew Rattner, Vice President Buying,

Mike Weir and Inniskillin. Also popular areCanadian whiskies, cognacs and brandies.

In Perfumes & Cosmetics, the big win-ners are luxury skincare brands like Crème deLa Mer and Estée Lauder’s Advanced NightRepair. Sales of these are being driven bythe growth in Chinese travelers in Toronto. Inaddition, we continue to see solid perfor-mance from cosmetics brands such as Chanel,Dior, Lancôme and MAC. Fragrances in gen-eral continue to do well.

ADF: In terms of purchasing habits, are younoticing any major shifts lately? Who areyour main customers?AR: The most significant shift we have seen

mericas Duty Free recentlysat down with AndrewRattner, Vice PresidentBuying, Merchandisingand Operations at TheNuance Group, to discuss

the operator’s business at Pearson Air-port. In addition to strong sales in key cat-egories, Rattner tells us that The NuanceGroup is keeping travelers interested witha variety of high-profile promotions.

A

Start your enginesPassengers traveling through the Toronto Airport Terminal 3 were able to register towin a 2012 Indian Chief Classic motorcycle in one of the Tax & Duty Free by Nuancestores. This marked the first time Jack Daniel’s has partnered with the legendary motor-cycle brand in the duty free channel. The promotion ran through October 31, 2012.

Indian Motorcycle is the first North American motorcycle manufacturer. LikeJack Daniel’s, the company has been around for more than 100 years. The IndianChief Classic motorcycle is bathed in chrome and Indian Red sheet metal, has a 105ciPowerPlus engine, and a two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system. Beautifullydetailed, the Indian Chief Classic provides all you need to cruise the roadways instyle and comfort.

“Jack Daniel’s is excited to be partnering for the first time with Indian Motorcy-cle,” said Sylvia Murray, Brown-Forman Territory Manager, Americas Travel Retail.“By partnering with Indian motorcycle we have created a very impactful and attrac-tive promotion for travelers in Toronto. Having the actual bike on display acts as ahuge draw and really motivates people to consider purchasing Jack Daniel's.”

“Indian Motorcycle, like Jack Daniel’s, has a history and storied heritage like noother,” said Rod Krois, Director of Marketing for Indian Motorcycle. “We are proudto be associated with such an iconic brand for this special promotion.”


Mixing it upIn addition to strong sales in key categories, The Nuance Group’s operations at TorontoPearson Airport are benefitting from a number of high-profile promotions BY RYAN WHITE

The Indian Motorcycle display at The Nuance Group’soperations in Terminal 3 of Toronto Pearson Airport


Silver screen celebrationsThe Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)gets bigger and bigger each year, and Bacardi’sFrench vodka Grey Goose has been a keypart of the festivities for four years running, host-ing screening parties at high-end venues aroundtown and serving signature Grey Goose cock-tails to stars and fans alike. This year, though,Bacardi celebrates its 150th anniversary, mean-ing that there was more reason than ever to cel-ebrate. As such, the supplier ramped up activ-ities in Toronto with a large-scale activation atPearson Airport in addition to its usual about-town events.

In cooperation with HMSHost, the BacardiBar in Terminal 1 Departures was rebrandedas a Grey Goose bar, complete with trainedmixologists serving signature Grey Goosecocktails and hostesses informing travelersof a related promotion on Grey Goose (two bot-tles for CAD$86) just down the hall at Nuance

stores. Of course, with its annual Cruise Com-petition, Bacardi is a driving force in promot-ing mixology, and drinks cards with the recipesof each drink were also available for travelerswho wanted to give the signature Grey Goosecocktails a try at home.

The activation continued in Terminal 1 Arrivals,where a sampling bar was set up. Hostesses,trained by Bacardi’s Global Brand AmbassadorMarc Plumridge, offered travelers of legal drink-ing age the Grey Goose Le Fizz, one of the sig-nature cocktails served in Departures and alsogave tips on where to see the biggest celebri-ties during the star-studded week. Handy GreyGoose pocket maps were also given out as aquick resource for movie lovers. The maps high-lighted not only areas where the stars go toparty, but also on-trade establishments that arerecognized by Bacardi as being the best of thebest for finding a Grey Goose cocktail.

with Wayne Gretzky’s signature. As WayneGretzky is a legend within our country, this is seenas a great souvenir item for our Asian cus-tomers to bring home with them.

Along with the gift with purchase, there wasalso an opportunity to enter a contest wherebythe winner would receive a signed WayneGretzky hockey jersey from the EdmontonOilers. The winner was a proud mom of twoboys from Ontario, all of which love hockey.

In September and October we ran a pro-motion with Brown-Forman focusing on theJack Daniel's family of brands in Terminal 3.

This promotion features all of the Jack Daniel'sproducts and offers consumers a chance towin a motorcycle from Indian Motorcycles. Inone of our stores in Terminal 3 we actuallyworked with the Brown-Forman team and alocal Indian Motorcycle dealership to bring thebike into our store for display during thecourse of the promotion. It is displayed inour store in a corner window that is easily vis-ible to all passengers as they walk through thatportion of the terminal.

ADF: How did the recent Grey Goose pro-motion during the Toronto InternationalFilm Festival work out?AR: This Grey Goose-branded bar in Termi-nal 1 Departures and the tasting station in Ter-minal 1 Arrivals has been great for the brandawareness of Grey Goose, but within ourstore we also built on the promotion going onthroughout the terminal. We drove incre-mental sales of Grey Goose during Septem-ber and October. This is a win on our sidebecause it has brought together the airport,our stores and Grey Goose to tell a cohesivemessage to the customers. c

over the last couple of years is the growth ofthe Chinese passenger in Toronto. The Chinesecustomer focuses their purchases on luxuryskincare, luxury fashion, Icewine, cognacsand brandies and Scottish malts. In addition,we are seeing a decline in spend by Europeans,which is not surprising given the economic chal-lenges in Europe.

ADF: Have you run any noteworthy pro-motions lately? Which brands were involvedand what were the mechanics of the pro-motions?AR: Given the growth in Icewine, we introducedthe Wayne Gretzky brand in May/June with alarge promotion that encompassed our store,as well as concourse space in both Terminals1 and 3 tied together with our store. Weworked with Andrew Peller Estates to createan experience for our customer that wouldshowcase the history of Wayne Gretzky’scareer as well as an introduction to the Icewine.

The promotion began with a personal appear-ance by Wayne Gretzky at the airport activation.Then, for a two month period within our store,when a customer purchased a Wayne GretzkyIcewine product they received a hockey puck

“The most significantshift we have seen overthe last couple of years isthe growth of the Chinesepassenger in Toronto.”

Andrew Rattner, Vice President Buying, Merchandising and Operations, The Nuance Group

A proud mom of two boys from Ontariowon the signed Wayne Gretzky hockey

jersey in one of The Nuance Group’s mostrecent promotions at Toronto Pearson

Bacardi’s Global BrandAmbassador Marc Plumridge

makes a signature GreyGoose cocktail; the activity at

the bar was tied to apromotion on Grey Goose atThe Nuance Group stores

Canadian Border Stores


t. Stephen Tax & Duty Free Store is located at the first newCanada/US border crossing to have been constructed in thelast 27 years, near St. Stephen, New Brunswick, where a newfour-lane highway crosses the border to Calais, Maine. Thehighway at the crossing has been under construction for a

number of years now, but when Americas Duty Free spoke with Pres-ident John Marshall, he said completion was due within a month.

Unfortunately the construction has put a bit of a deep freeze on newactivity at the store in addition to slowing sales. “We’ve been waiting twoyears for the completion of the highway,” Marshall says. “With the newhighway completed, we’re hoping for an improvement in sales next sum-mer.” Sales so far in 2012 have been fairly flat, and it’s not just the con-struction—as Marshall points out, a US election year always impactscross-border traffic.

Promotional activity has been slowed down in a similar fashion,but there are now some positive signs. With the opening last year ofa partner duty free store on the US side, Marshall says there will soonbe potential for some joint promotional activities. Marshall is opti-mistic as relations between the two stores are good.

Additionally, St. Stephen Tax & Duty Free has begun a consider-able expansion of its tobacco category, including the addition of a newhumidor. Tobacco and liquor are the store’s two top sales categories.And Marshall says that after a couple of years of declining US traffic,he has finally started to see an upswing in US traveler numbers, a devel-opment that has given a boost to sales in the gift items category.

Abe Taqtaq, Vice President and General Manager of Windsor/DetroitTunnel Duty Free, is also hoping for positive impact from new con-struction activity near the store. “There’s a complete renovation andexpansion of the plaza we’re in, and they’re redoing and improvingthe facilities for the tunnel,” he says. “We’ll be redoing the exterior ofthe store—remodeling it so it fits with what they’re doing with the

new tunnel. We believe this will be very beneficial for us in future.”Over the past year the store has continued to expand its liquor offer-

ing, adding more SKUs in this top sales category. New fixtures havebeen added to boost fragrances and cosmetics, which is the secondbusiest category, just ahead of tobacco. The greatest sales growth—by percentage, not raw numbers—has been coming in impulse itemsand fashion.

“Sales are growing steadily,” Taqtaq says. “We had a rough 5-6 yearswhen sales were down, but this year sales are better than 2011, andwe’re optimistic for 2013. We’ve increased the capture rate, and it helpsthat we’ve added signage on the approaches to the store.”

Over the last 12 months, Taqtaq has overseen a big campaign directedto its Canadian base. Results include increased sales capture on the Cana-dian customer side, and a loyalty program has also been a big help. “It’sgiven us a big customer base, and we hope to use this information to

S

BY ANDREW BROOKSBorder buildersFor Canadian border stores, one common theme seems to be theimpact of new construction activity

Liquor is firmly on top as far as sales go at Windsor/Detroit Tunnel Duty Free


accessories, watches and convenience items. Product selection in thewatches category has been expanded to round out the CAD$200price range. Pearce says that the store is planning an expansion of theliquor area and a new signage program in the near future.

“We’re showing sales increases similar to the industry,” Pearcesays. “Going forward, we’re planning a substantial increase in aver-age spend as a result of our continued staff trainings, new signage andproduct offerings.”

Traffic patterns have remained steady over the past few years,Pearce says. He believes that the decline in US traffic, due in part topassport restrictions, has bottomed out, and anticipates a steadyincrease in numbers.

The primary new activity at Boutique Hors Taxes De PhilipsburgDuty Free has been the hiring of a marketing agency to improve in-store marketing and the store’s web page, says Buyer Nancy Enright.The store is located in Quebec on the east side of Lake Champlainat the crossing between Montreal and Boston. Roadside signage is nowbeing improved to give drivers more advance notice that they’re get-ting close to the store. The store’s exterior and interior signage is alsobeing reworked.

“On the website side, we’re still developing it,” Enright says. “Butthe focus is similar to the national site, highlighting the benefits ofduty free, reiterating the exemptions, the activities and promotionsin-store, and so on.”

Philipsburg is especially active with promotions in the fragrancedepartment during the peak summer season, dedicating a month eachto big lines like Estée Lauder, Lancôme, Clarins, Dior and others. “Dur-ing the month we complement the GWP provided by the companywith an in-store incentive for staff and our customers,” Enright says.“This is a very successful promotion for us—our customers are nowasking which month will feature their preferred products.”

Store sales are up slightly over last year. The most notable salesincreases have been in accessories—handbags, jewelry and watches.“It’s definitely a growing category,” Enright says. The top sellerremains fragrances, a category that includes skincare and cosmetics.

build sales,” Taqtaq says. “We’re really more of a road storethan a typical border store. People will cross here a few timesa week, so we work with our suppliers and if a customer buysa specific brand we can identify them and tailor our promotionsto them or do a GWP. You can’t usually do this in duty freebecause you only see a customer once, or once in a while.”Some 20,000 customers are now in the database.

Relations with US partners are one of the bright spotsat Peace Bridge Duty Free, which is located in Fort Erie,Ontario, at the crossing to Buffalo, New York. GeneralManager Jim Pearce says that the store has been workingon building strong partnerships with popular US pointsof interest. “This year we partnered up with many successful UShotels, retailers and attractions to offer exclusive packages and pro-grams,” he says.

Positive promotionsNotable among these initiatives was the successful “Stay, Park and Fly”promotion that Peace Bridge ran with the Days Hotel in Buffalo tocapture travelers flying out of that city. This offer was exclusive to PeaceBridge Duty Free, promising that lower prices couldn't be foundanywhere online and featuring value-added products and services.The objective was to get travelers to stop and shop duty free beforeleaving Canada with a CAD$5 Peace Bridge Duty Free Gift Certifi-cate included in the package. Another goal was to build generalawareness of Peace Bridge Duty Free as an option.

Another notable initiative was a fragrance promotion. “This yearwe made a very conscious decision to really promote our fragrancepricing and guarantee the lowest price against any major US orCanadian retailer on all our fragrances,” says Marketing Manager Bon-nie Gates. “To achieve this, we first made certain that our pricescould compete with both the Canadian and US retail market.”

Peace Bridge offered a guarantee that if a customer found a lowerprice on any fragrance at any major US or Canadian retailer, the storewould refund the difference plus an additional 10%. Staff were moti-vated to get behind the program, providing customers with a contactnumber they could use to call if they found a lower price somewhereelse. “We’ve turned the staff into promoters of the program,” Gates says.

A high level of promotional activity is a hallmark of Peace Bridge’sapproach, Pearce says. “We’re very active and have promotions targetedat different demographics, different seasons. The promotions thatadd benefit are most successful in terms of customer retention andprofitability. I think we've all beaten price down for short-term gains,but with little sustainability.”

The main duty free commodities—liquor, beer, wine, fragrances,cosmetics and confectionery—continue to be the top sales drivers.The store has also seen a good increase off lower volumes in fashion

Some of the signagefor Peace BridgeDuty Free’s fragranceprice guarantee

Some of the signagefor Peace BridgeDuty Free’s fragranceprice guarantee

Canadian Border Stores


Beating breakageOne especially interesting initiative has been a new wrappingservice that the store offers for liquor buyers. “Many customersthrough our port are flying out of the airport in Burlington,Vermont,” Enright says. “Burlington doesn’t have a duty freestore, so we’re in fact the duty free shop for the airport, which is 45minutes from here. We often heard the comment that customers did-n’t want to buy alcohol because they knew they’d have to put it in theirluggage and breakage was an issue.”

In response the store purchased bubble wrap that could be usedon bottles but wouldn’t add weight to customers’ luggage, and offeredto wrap bottles for customers who were headed to the airport. Thestore also developed signage to advertise the service. “Customersappreciated our proactive move, and we’ve seen an increase in salesas a result,” Enright says.

Peter Raju, President of Peace Arch Duty Free, at the border cross-ing in Surrey, B.C., is a bit ahead of the game when it comes to ben-efiting from new construction. Here a significantly upgraded cross-ing has been in place for a while now thanks to development activi-ties associated with the 2012 Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouverlast February.

“There’s more traffic because the border crossing is now complete,”Raju says. “We now have more lanes going over into the US.” Whilespend capture is down somewhat, the increased traffic levels haveensured that net sales numbers are around 8% higher than last year.Cosmetics have shown a huge sales increase, as has the store’s uniquelineup of designer watch brands. Among notable new listings havebeen the latest Michael Kors handbags and watches, which Raju sayshave proven to be extremely successful.

“We’re seeing more younger customers and a lot more Asian cus-tomers, which is why we’re up on cosmetics and expensive designerwatches,” Raju says. The new customers have deeper pockets and aregoing for lighter drinks—the vodkas and rums rather than thescotches. Raju says they are also driving an increase in cigarette sales.

For Woodstock Duty Free, located at the road crossing in central NewBrunswick to Houlton, Maine, sales for 2012 have been up over last year’snumbers by about 5%. Manager John Slipp is looking for similar growthin 2013, but his enthusiasm is tempered by a couple of factors.

“There’s been a higher degree of traffic growth than I’ve capturedin sales, so we’re not getting the sales penetration that I’d like,” Slippsays. “This relates to border lineups. With the high volume of Cana-dian traffic, especially during busy periods, our entrance area is totallyblocked off by traffic going into US customs, so that’s an ongoing issuewith customer access. But we can’t do much about it at the moment.”

Woodstock incentivizes its customer base with direct mail, and ismaking a strong effort to capture more sales through a noticeableincrease in motor coach traffic over the last couple of years. Con-fectionery has been a lead category for Woodstock, while fragrancessales have been flat or in a slight decline. In addition to confec-tionery, liquor and spirits, gifts, jewelry, travel accessories and per-fume continue to be strong performers for the store. There’s been achange on the tobacco side, with more sales now going to generic brandslike Canadian Classics and John Players Standard. Notable new prod-uct listings include wine presenters from Pronto, jewel scarves fromCarmel, “My Family Car” stickers from The Sticker Family, assortedactivity pads from Melissa & Doug and Silver Forest earrings

For Canadian customers, liquor remains top dog, and Woodstockis serious about keeping prices very low. “One thing we do here is com-pare our pricing to New Hampshire tax free liquor stores and the Stateof Maine and Duty Free Americas,” Slipp says. “We work very hardto make sure they won’t find cheaper prices on liquor products. Yes,it’s tough on margins, but we’ve identified liquor as a key volume cat-egory to attract customers into the store to buy other things.” c

Philipsburg’s monthly brand blitzes on names like EstéeLauder and Dior have generated great customer response

Philipsburg Duty Free is upgrading signage inside and out

Cause and effect

“While we are getting involvedin many areas of the business,we only do so where we candeliver on our commitments.In the end, we are there tohelp our airports achieve theirgoals in terms of driving expe-rience and revenues.”

Gerry Savaria, President and CEO, LS travel retail North America

t’s been a stellar year and a half for LS travelretail North America (LS). The operatorhas opened 14 retail locations since thebeginning of 2011 and another 8 to 10stores are set to open to the traveling

public in the coming months. Across the com-pany’s various retail concepts, including Relayconvenience stores, Boutique iStore and someinnovative automated retail solutions for air-ports that don’t have the space for a full-sizediStore, LS currently operates a staggering 270retail locations in Canada, the US and theCaribbean.

The operator has proven to be exception-ally versatile in the depth and breadth of its retailofferings and very proactive in its dealingswith airport operators, and President andCEO Gerry Savaria tells us that the companyhas no plans to stop at the current number oflocations. Upcoming is a recent deal to opentwo 7-Eleven stores at Dallas Ft. Worth Airport(DFW), a partnership with Hudson’s BayCompany that will see the first Hudson’s BayCompany airport store in the world opened atToronto Pearson Airport later this year, con-tinuing plans to open more automated Bou-tique iStore retail locations in cooperationwith Zoom Systems and a greater concentra-tion on the F&B side of the business.

Staying on the ballThe growth the company has experienced of lateis due to a number of factors, but high on the

list is a clarified strategy that places creating valuefor airport partners as a prime objective. “Webelieve that we now have a good game plan—one that is in alignment with LS travel retail glob-ally but also targeted to address the needs andopportunities of our specific region,” Savaria says.

LS recently underwent a personnel reor-ganization that was designed to ensure thatresources were organized appropriately inorder to fully support the company’s newly laidout game plan. Vadim Motlik, previously CFO,was assigned the responsibility of managingdevelopment activities. Furthermore, IvanaKrpan was promoted to VP of Finance. As aresult of her promotion, other internal changeswere also made. LS also recruited a Directorof Marketing in Tod Dalberg.

ILS travel retail North America finds that strong growth isa natural result of focusing on driving value for airportpartners and engaging consumers BY RYAN WHITE

With tablets, MacBooks and a wide range ofelectronic accessories, iStore has become a one-

stop shop for travelers who prefer electronicmedia over more traditional forms

LS travel retail’s iStore in Boston Logan Airport

LS travel retail North America


THE BEST PART OF TRAVELLING THE WORLD IS

STOPPING TO ENJOY IT.

“These appointments are there to supportthe deployment of our strategy, including veryspecific activities with our airport partners, ourbrands and a strong focus on the travel retailconsumer, in addition to supporting ongoingorganic growth,” explains Savaria.

Clearly as a certified reseller of Apple prod-ucts, LS knows the value of innovation, but stay-ing one step ahead isn’t just a quality that theoperator values in the products it sells to con-sumers; for Savaria, the last piece of the puz-zle in terms of managing growth and ensur-ing continued success is making sure LS isinnovating behind the scenes as well.

“We continue to invest in innovation tostay ahead of how our customers evolve,whether it's with technology through thedeployment of a new enterprise resource plan-ning system and point of sale technology orthrough initiatives focused on concept R&D,”he explains.

Closing the dealOf course, operators can plan extensively andhave a large network of stores across a givenregion, but it really all comes down to closingthe sales at the point of purchase. Organically,growth for the first half of this year has beenprimarily in Canada, but Savaria expects to seesales pick up in the US over the second half on

the back of the slowly improving economy.Additionally, hopes are high for the company’snew operations in Jamaica’s Sangster Airport.

As a gateway to Jamaica—a major interna-tional tourist destination elected “Caribbean’sLeading Destination” by the World Travel Awardsfor the past several years—Sangster InternationalAirport serves in excess of 3.2 million passen-gers each year. It is the busiest of Jamaica's threeinternational airports and one of the largestand more modern airports in the Caribbean.

LS first opened a Relay store and aCaribbean-tailored concept called Island News& Coffee. These initial store openings werefollowed in May by a second Relay store. Allthree locations represent a grand total of 280square meters of retail space. Featuring mer-chandise assortments perfected by decades oftravel retail experience, the two Relay loca-tions offer an extensive selection of readingmaterials as well as a wide range of conve-nience-related products, health and beautyitems, travel-related accessories and Jamaican-themed gifts and souvenirs.

Of course, it should be noted that in the ageof tablets and smartphones, LS is in a partic-ularly enviable position in that its Relay storescater to those looking for a more traditionalpaperback or newspaper, while its BoutiqueiStores offer the latest in tablet technology for

those who prefer their reading material in elec-tronic format.

“In terms of consumer spending, we haveseen a shift since 2011 from the traditional cat-egories of reading materials into categories ofmerchandise such as electronics accessories,”Savaria says. “That is why we have been devel-oping the iStore concept, which generates veryhigh sales productivity. We actually sell not onlyiPads but even MacBooks as we have the rightdemographics to spend $1,500 just becausewe're saving them a trip to the mall.”

Tailoring the offerIn discussing sales across geographical locations,Americas Duty Free also asked Savaria aboutwhich nationalities are purchasing the most andhow LS caters its offering depending on the air-port. He tells us that each geographic locationreally has its own identity in terms of the trav-elers’ and airport’s needs.

“Sometimes the profile of an airport in theUS will be closer to that of a Canadian airportas opposed to another US one,” he explains. “Wetherefore use a methodology aimed at cap-turing these unique identities and specificneeds to tailor our concepts, brands and prod-uct offering around them.”

For example, Savaria says LS will positiona brand like Porsche Design in a large inter-national terminal irrespective of the countryand conversely an affordable fashion and acces-sory concept in a less affluent, similar-sized air-port. He does note, however, that there are nocatch-all solutions for determining what willwork best in a given location.

“Canadian airports are constrained by thebreakdown of traffic into three zones—Domes-tic, US and International—which often makethem less efficient than US airports of similarsize from a traffic exposure viewpoint,” hesays. “In the Caribbean islands, duty freebecomes the dominant offering while the rest

A rendering of LS travel retail’s Porsche Design shop; the operator focuses onluxury when demographics indicate a significant proportion of affluent travelers

LS travel retail North America has turned the decreasingdemand for traditional printed magazines and books

into an opportunity to reorganize the product offering inits Relay stores according to traveler needs



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Changes in the core news and convenience business have led LStravel retail to explore various initiatives outside of the Relayconcept, such as the forthcoming 7-Eleven stores at DFW

All Black Dog products reflectthe brand’s maritime-related,nautically inspired lifestyle.

of the mix is tailored for visitors often flyingon charter airlines and therefore features asignificant share of souvenirs and grab-and-go food items.”

With regard to the highest spending trav-elers, it’s no surprise that Asians top the list.“They’re brand-focused and for them bring-ing items back from their travels is part of theculture,” says Savaria.

In terms of top-selling products and cate-gories, LS considers the move towards digitalreaders an opportunity to make changes to theoffering and ensure that popular products arereadily available in its Relay stores. “There hasbeen a repurposing of space to ensure thatstrong trending products like Beverages, Con-fectionary and more recently Electronics flour-ish within our stores,” Savaria tells us.

Changing timesChanges in the core news and conveniencebusiness have also led LS to explore variousother initiatives outside of the Relay concept.Earlier this year LS announced that a venturebetween the company and the Dallas-basedSierra Airport Concessions was awarded aretail package of four locations as part of aRequest For Proposals for new concessions inDallas/Fort Worth International Airport(DFW). Already the winner of a package in Ter-minal A last year, LS will now operate an addi-tional 288-square-meter concession space inTerminals B and E.

Ranging from convenience, news and cof-fee, gifts and souvenirs, and apparel and acces-sories delivered through a blend of national andinternational brands, the new stores areexpected to generate about US$40 million insales throughout the term of the contract.

Located airside in Terminal E, 7-Elevenwill combine convenience and coffee to pro-vide DFW guests with everything they needfrom magazines and health and beauty itemsto sandwiches and beverages, including thebrand’s signature Slurpee and coffee to go.

Complementing Terminal B’s SpecialtyRetail offering, Texas Territories and ARTI-ZAN will offer unique gifts and souvenirs.Created specifically for DFW, Texas Territories

will feature a full range of Texas and Dal-las/Fort Worth-themed gifts and memora-bilia, clothing and accessories, food items andtoys, all sourced from local manufacturers,while ARTIZAN—one of North America’spremier jewelry and accessories retailers—will offer DFW fashion-savvy customers the lat-est trends in clothing and accessories.

Finally, already present in DFW, SierraNews is teaming up with Ruta Maya Coffee tooffer DFW Terminal B guests the latest newsand travel-related items, combined with locally-grown and fairly traded organic coffee.

A Canadian classicPerhaps the biggest news for LS lately from aCanadian perspective is this month’s open-ing of the first ever Hudson’s Bay Company air-port store at Toronto Pearson Airport’s Terminal1. The Pearson Hudson’s Bay Company storewill carry the most sought-after fashion andhome accessories from the Hudson's Bay Com-pany Collection, which includes everythingfrom artisanal candles to classic sweaters formen, women and children, with each itemrooted in quality, style, heritage and crafts-manship. Inspired by the company's unique his-tory, the line is anchored by the popular HBCPoint Blanket and features the iconic signaturestripes in green, red, yellow and indigo.

With an unrivalled 342-year history inCanada, The Hudson’s Bay Company isrenowned for its historical role in the devel-opment of the country. Today, the retailer isCanada’s leading department store and hasestablished a reputation for quality, serviceand style, and the partnership with LS is aclear indication of how hard the operator hasworked to stay on its game in the competitiveworld of airport retailing.

“Hudson’s Bay Company is indeed an iconicbrand, not only in Canada but also abroad, andwe are quite excited to launch it at Toronto Pear-son,” Savaria says. He also hinted at the pos-sibility of other Hudson’s Bay Company loca-tions in the future. “[Hudson’s Bay Company]has such a vast heritage and recognition thatit would be a pity not to offer this brand to otherairports. There are indeed plans for more butnothing that I can disclose at this stage!”

Savaria also told us that plans are ongoingto open other retail concepts throughout NorthAmerica. Upcoming projects include Bou-tique iStores planned for Indianapolis, JFKNew York and Toronto Pearson T3 before theend of the year. In addition, renovations andrelocations will be happening at Austin, Vail,Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau Air-ports this year.

We concluded our conversation with Savariaby asking about what’s next for LS. “You shouldexpect us to start moving gradually more intothe food and beverage side of our industrywhere there are lots of opportunities to enhancethe experience for travelers and airport oper-ators alike,” he explained. “Having said that, Ican tell you that we have airports and brandsapproaching us and sometimes it feels like weare running out of bandwidth to pursue all theseopportunities simultaneously. LS travel retailis indeed a large group but we don't haveunlimited supplies of people, time and capi-tal so ironically an important part of our jobis also to decide what not to pursue.

“While we are getting involved in manyareas of the business, we only do so where wecan deliver on our commitments,” Savariaconcluded. “In the end, we are there to help ourairports achieve their goals in terms of drivingexperience and revenues.” c



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TFWA WE Review


Breaking recordsTFWA WE 2012 was a huge success, effectively proving the resilience of the industry at a time when the economic situation in Europe is anything but ideal BY RYAN WHITE

FWA World Exhibition, whichclosed on Friday, October 26,2012 in the Palais des Festivalsin Cannes, exceeded expecta-tions across the board, reports

the organization. A record 462 exhibiting com-panies, of which 39 were new to the show orreturning after an absence, displayed thou-sands of products at this the 28th show, com-pared with 457 companies last year.

For the first time, the number of trade vis-itors to the exhibition and conference eventexceeded 6,000. A total of 6,074 people—up4% from last year—from 2,877 companies(+5%) visited the exhibition during the week.This compares with a final figure of 5,868people from 2,737 companies last year.

Of the above total, 4,260 (70%) were keyduty free and travel retail operators, landlordsand agents from 1,726 companies. The topten originating countries of the visitors wereFrance, UK, Germany, UAE, USA, Korea, Rus-sia, Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

The Conference on Monday, October 22,entitled “A Brand New Dimension,” wasattended by a record 894 people who crowdedinto the auditorium to hear fascinating pre-sentations by Dr. Madeleine Albright, formerU.S. Secretary of State and Chair of the Albright

TThe Conference on Monday,October 22, entitled “A BrandNew Dimension,” was attendedby a record 894 people

Crunch. Go nuts.* Krispy Kernels only uses premium-quality U.S. peanuts

Given the sheer number of exhibitors at the show, attendees walking the floor saw no shortage of new and innovative products

From supplier events to TFWA-organized evenings, the 2012Cannes show provided plenty of opportunities for networking

TFWA WE Review


Stonebridge Group; Jean-Charles Decaux,CEO of JCDecaux; Kjell A. Nordstrom, econ-omist and author; and Erik Juul-Mortensen,TFWA President.

The two focus workshops organized byTFWA were fully booked, with the Airline andRetailer Workshop entitled “Touchpoints: com-municating with customers in travel retail”attracting 149 people and the “China, Russia andBrazil Market Watch” drawing in 167 delegates.

The week started with a range of pleasantleisure activities on Sunday, October 21, whichwere designed to get delegates re-acquaintedwith business colleagues. Golf, jogging, hik-ing, pétanque, a perfume workshop, a wine tast-ing and soccer gave over 280 delegates thechance to network.

The elegant Opening Cocktail at the PalmBeach, attended by 1,406 people (more thanlast year), was lit by a fireworks display cour-tesy of the City of Cannes. The Scene privateafter-hours venue was moved to a smart newlocation at La Gare Maritime. On Thursdayevening the White Cats performed live beforea packed audience of show delegates.

The most glamorous event organized byTFWA during the week for about 800 guestswas Le Premium Evening on Thursday, Octo-ber 25 at the Palm Beach. The theme of theevent was “Viva la Vida” and an energetic dis-play of Hispanic music and dancing by Manoloand the Gypsy Guitars was enjoyed by all.

A number of popular technological aidswere installed this year for the benefit of all del-egates, including navigation touchscreens in theexhibition villages, apps for Blackberrys andiPhones, an online TFWA Product Showcaseand an online TFWA Press Photo Service.

Next year TFWA World Exhibition willtake place from October 20 to 25 in Cannes.Before then members of the duty free andtravel retail community will assemble at theMEDFA Conference on November 26 and 27in Dubai; at the inaugural Industry Conferenceon China in Beijing from March 5 to 7, orga-nized by TFWA and APTRA; and at the TFWAAsia Pacific Conference & Exhibition fromMay 12 to 16 in Singapore. c

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séxual strategizing–

Exhibitor Spotlight


t’s no secret that duty free customers are price driven, whichis why companies in the industry must develop pricing strate-gies for border duty free stores. Fragrance company MichelGermain took this approach with its decision in June to base

the prices of its two new séxūal fragrances on US retail pricing.“Our new duty free prices are a 40% savings for the Cana-

dian duty free shopper,” says Anne MacDonald, InternationalTravel Retail Region Manager for the Americas and Caribbean,Michel Germain. “We expect a surge in sales because of this sav-ing.” Michel Germain’s expectations were fulfilled, with thecompany reporting an increase in sales over the past few monthscompared to last year thanks to the price change.

“We wanted séxūal to be more competitively priced in the dutyfree market, where the customer is very price driven,” MacDon-ald explains.

The two new fragrances, which will be launched at this year’sFDFA show, are séxūal fleur and séxūal noir pour homme.Séxūal fleur opens with pink grapefruit, macadamia nut and pinkdaisy, building to a heart of purple plumeria, pink freesia, Egypt-ian jasmine and plum. The fragrance rounds off with musk, woodand dulce leche. The fragrance is available in a 75ml and 125mleau de parfum vaporisateur spray and as a four-piece gift set.

Séxūal noir opens with Italian bergamot, crisp grapefruitand cardamom and builds to a heart ofwild coriander, lavender, orange blossom,musk and honey. The juice rounds off withnotes of moss, sweet tobacco and tonkabean. The fragrance is also available in a75ml and 125ml eau de toilette vaporisa-teur spray and as a two-piece gift set.

Although prices have changed to reflectAmerican pricing, the product is first and fore-most Canadian, which is something MichelGermain wants to emphasize. “One of the keygoals of Canadian duty free shops is to pro-mote the Canadian economy,” explains Mac-Donald. “Selling Canadian products such asMichel Germain’s séxūal fragrances achievesthis goal.”

I

Cream of the crop

BY MELISSA SILVA

CI brands, distributors of Guess Jew-elry, Stila Cosmetics and most recentlyKenneth Cole Reaction business cases, lug-gage, handbags and wallets, has lots of news

in duty free and travel retail, all reflecting the company’sstrategy of focusing on quality, selection and pricing.

With sales up over last year, the company says thatits customer base has increased, with more interest in

Guess Jewelry—ACI’s bestseller—and its Stila Cosmetics division.

The Stila brand has launchedthree successful duty free accountswithin the last year. “We have beenfortunate to work with great teamsand have had great support and

exposure at store level,” says Christine Tessaro, Sales andMarketing Manager for Stila. “We will continue tosource gift and travel sets that bring value and exclu-

sivity to the duty free market as well as provide store level support throughevents and educational demonstrations this coming year.”

The Stila palettes have been the biggest success for ACI in the duty freeenvironment, and the company plans to launch a new matte shadow paletteas well as the Stila 10-in-1 HD Beauty Balm which is on par with cosmetictrends for fall, and already a bestseller in the Canadian market.

“Stila’s famous pallets are ever evolving with the latest runway trends in colorand texture along with its famous eyeliner,” says Tessaro. The Stila division willbe taking appointments for makeup applications at this year’s FDFA show.

In addition to featuring Stila, ACI will be launching its new line, KennethCole Reaction business cases, luggage, handbags and wallets, at the exhibition.The products from the line will be offeredat introductory pricing, and the companyfeels FDFA will serve as an excellent plat-form for advertising and generating brandawareness.

“The FDFA hasdone an excellent jobadvertising and edu-cating the consumerabout duty free and its benefits,” says CathyWilson Account Manager, ACI Brands Inc./Star Case Canada Inc. “With the Cana-dian dollar doing so well, border traffic isup and people are learning that it pays tomake a stop at the duty free location beforethey cross the border.”

AIn the know Michel Germain’s two

new séxual fragrances,séxual fleur and séxual

noir pour homme

–– –

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This year’s FDFA show will see abundantofferings from exhibitors, from fragrances,watches and leather accessories to cos-metics and ancillary travel products

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atches have become the new jewelrylately, with consumers makingwatch purchases to satisfy theneed for both a statement acces-

sory and timepiece. Accordingly the demandfor stand-out designs has increased, andwatch company Citizen is taking note.

“Watches are an adornment. They are ‘jew-elry that works,’” says Douglas B. Irwin, VicePresident Sales, Canada, Citizen. “Consumerstoday want to wear a watch that reflects theirpersonal style. We are not just selling timepiecesanymore; we are selling an accessory.”

In order to appeal to this new trend, Irwin says Cit-izen—known for its technical watches—is “doing morewith color,” specifically black ionplating and rose gold ion plating.

“White ceramic for women isselling well. Colored straps inleather and polyurethane make astatement. Big oversized technical watches are still a staple ofour brand and larger ladies’ chronographs and even ladies’ diamondwatches with 35mm and 40mm cases are selling this season,” says Irwin.

The bar has been raised when it comes to design, but pricing mustbe lowered, or at least adjusted accordingly. Without an attractive price,fashion-forward timepieces will only go so far. For a mid-priced watchbrand like Citizen, having a range in both price and style is a key con-tributor to success.

“We offer a range of styles and price points through duty free retail-ers across Canada,” says Irwin. “Consumers seem to appreciate the valuethat they find at duty free retailers when purchasing our more expen-sive technical watches and diamond models. A bestseller for us is justa simple titanium dress watch with a domestic retail of CAD$375(US$383). It is a bestseller everywhere.”

Sales for Citizen Canada have continued to grow each year in theduty free channel with an increase of 18% as of the end of August 2012.

This fall Citizen is launching a powerful advertisingcampaign leading up to the holiday season, making 1.8

billion impressions with print advertisements andseven consecutive weeks of commercials on Sun-

day NFL coverage on FOX and NBC. Citizen’sbrand ambassador, New York Giant quarterbackEli Manning, will be featured in the campaignalong with ambassadors Matt Kenseth, DionPhaneuf, Paula Creamer and Victoria Azarenka,

who joined Citizen in August as the company’snewest international brand ambassador.

The number one player on the WTA Tour,Azarenka joins the others as brand ambassador for

the Citizen Eco-Drive Unstoppable media campaign.Citizen made the announcement on the occasion of its20th anniversary as the Official Timekeeper and offi-cial watch of the US Open Tennis Championships,held in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Citizen has signed a multi-year agreement withAzarenka that covers North and South America, theUnited Kingdom, Ireland, Oceania and Asia. Printmedia will break in late fall along with television, digi-

tal and in-store platforms. At the FDFA show, Citizen will be previewing its Spring 2013 col-

lection of Eco-Drive light-powered watches. Eco-Drive watches arefueled by light and never require a battery. Also set for display is a newcollection called Drive by Eco-Drive, which is aimed at Generation Y.It is sporty, fun and colorful and takes some design and color inspira-tion from the automotive industry with green, blue and matte black ABSover stainless steel with a clear coat chroma finish.

Citizen will also introduce a new light-powered perpetual calendarchronograph timepiece called Proximity with Bluetooth 4.0 LE, whichcan synch with the iPhone 4S and the new iPhone 5.

“We will also add a new radio-controlled watch called the WorldChronograph AT, which is the most accurate watch in the world,” saysIrwin. “The Blue Angels World Chronograph AT is particularly strik-ing with its blue and yellow accents.”

WCitizen savvy

Citizen’s Blue AngelsWorld Chronograph AT

watch, an Eco-Drive radio-controlled chronograph

world timer, featuring non-reflective sapphire crystal

A large orange totebag from ClubRochelier’s Zoey

collection, featuringbraided detail

Club Rochelier’snew collectionfeatures brightcolors, like thisblue satchel withbraided detail

Exhibitor Spotlight

ith its airport store sales up this year over 2011, manufacturerand supplier of small leather goods and accessories CBM Inc.is confident that it has a good handle on what the duty freecustomer wants. The company’s bestsellers include ticket wal-

lets, ladies’ clutches and handbags.“Customers are looking for practicality,” says Louisa Brito, Senior

Sales Manager, CBM Inc. /Meade Ray International. “We really seethis with our handbags, with customers being driven towards thecrossbody style with easy access compartments for full function-ality for traveling.”

At this year’s FDFA, CBM will be introducing its Spring 2013Club Rochelier handbag line, which includes the Zoey collection.Brito describes the new line as trendy, colorful, functional and value-oriented.

“We will be having special show prices at the FDFA, which will allow cus-tomers to get the best possible price for our products,” she says.

Also set for display are small leather goods in the Roots and ClubRochelier brands as well as lightweight scarves.

WPotent practicality

The Duty Free Show of the Americas is THE place to do business, with all primary show events taking place in one venue. Visit www.iaadfs.org/dutyfreeshow for more information and registration, or call +1-202-367-1184 for assistance.

The Duty Free Show of the Americas is hosted by the International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores, representing the duty free industry for more than 45 years.

Pack your bags to join us for the most important week for your business.

“I’ve been attending for over 25 years and it always pays for me to be present.”“Exceeded all expectations, we will be back in 2013 for sure.”

“Very impressed with the show in terms of the decision makers that attend this event.”- 2012 Attendees

2013DutyFree Show of the

Americas

international association of airport duty free stores

April 7-10, 2013Orlando World Center MarriottOrlando, Florida, USA

Want more? Visit us online to catch upon regional industry developments in oure.Newsletters and read recent print issues.

www.dutyfreemagazine.ca


Exhibitor Spotlight

Pronto’s progressor Gary Hause, Executive Vice Pres-ident of Pronto Innovations, two fea-tures are regarded as “hallmarks” inthe duty free industry—quality of

manufacturing and craftsman-grade packaging.The company’s double-digit sales increases in2012 reflect its attention to both factors.

Pronto’s Travel Club Program continues tobe one of its bestsellers, contributing substan-tially to the company’s 2012 increases. Com-plementing the Travel Club line and sales isPronto’s broad range of wine presenters. Hausesays the highest new growth area for FDFAmembers is the Jos Van Arx Collection, whichhe says presents a great variety of gifts at anattractive price range.

The Jos Van Arx executivegift line comprises a line ofcufflinks, pen sets andchronograph watches, andwill be on display at FDFA.Pronto will also be launch-ing new products in itsCanada souvenir range,

which includes ceramic gifts and Canadiana-designed felt organizers. The company willalso be offering special dated programs andpre-book offers at the convention.

Aside from gifts, Hause feels the consumeris always on the lookout for travel accessoriessuch as converters, power adapter plugs, andcomfort and organization items. “In these areas,the leading product choices are our Comfyzzzpillows, Universal Adapter with USB port andour recently launched Folding Back Pack,” hesays. “The gifting area is also very strong, whereour functional Canadiana coffeemugs and tea pots are checkingout at record levels.”

F

Comfyzzz travelpillow in blue

Travel Club’s universal traveladapter with USB port

Jos Von Arx gift setincluding leather-strap

watch (Movado Movement),cufflinks, rollerball pen

(Cross ink refill) and silver-plated keychain

Pronto’s “biker”wine presenter

DFX Distribution


SeasonedveteransWith a solid foundation based

on collaborative relationships, DFX Distribution is ready to take it to the next level

BY MELISSA SILVA

To ensure the company has adequate cov-erage to support these new lines, Beler tellsAmericas Duty Free that DFX will be expand-ing its team by bringing additional brandmanagers on board.

“DFX is constantly striving for efficienciesand better ways to serve their clients,” explainsBeler. “To that end, additional senior staffwas hired to focus more on operational effi-ciencies with an aim to generate an immedi-ate impact.”

Speaking of support, Beler says that the suc-cess of DFX is largely due to its great team ofpeople who understand the duty free business,namely Vice President of Marketing and SalesAlexandria DeBellis and her marketing team,

along with Vice President of Operations Cas-sandra Cassar and her operations and IT team.

DeBellis, who is just starting her 20th yearwith DFX, has encountered many challengesin the industry over the years, including SARS,9/11, the cancellation of the GST rebate pro-gram, the new passport regulations regardingtravel between Canada and the US, and ofcourse the economic crisis. This year has beenmuch more promising for the company,

according to DeBellis, due to the new higherCanadian allowance and the new influx ofChinese tourists.

“You are only as good as your team,” saysDeBellis, “and I believe we have an amazingteam of people that have been very support-ive and extremely understanding, which hasmade my job more rewarding and fulfilling.”

Cassar, who has worked for DFX for 16years, feels the company’s mission has alwaysremained the same—to be as automated andefficient as possible. “I would say every otheryear or so, we find a way to be more efficientthan in previous years,” says Cassar. “Ourgreat team is also what makes DFX run as wellas it does.”

In addition to DFX’s core team, Beler alsorecognizes the direct impact of its beautyadvisors and demonstrators, all of whom areintegral to the company’s success. “Theirspirit, enthusiasm and passion makes all ofus look good—we can’t thank them enough,we are so lucky to have them,” says Beler.“Keep up the great work!”

DFX takes great pride in its partnershipswith what Beler calls the “passionate profes-sionals in the industry,” and he’s grateful forthe suppliers as well as the marketing and salesteam of dedicated professionals that he andhis team have worked with over the years. It’sthe continued support and enthusiasm ofDFX’s retail partners that Beler also feels isessential to the company’s progress. “We lookforward to a ‘scent- sational’ future in all cat-egories,” he says.

As DFX's focus is the Canadian duty freemarket, Beler explains that the company willcontinually strive to strengthen its role as akey player in travel retail. “We will continueto pursue our goal of becoming the biggestand the best distributor in the industry.” c

FX Distribution (DFX) isexhibiting at the FDFA con-vention for the 25th consecutiveyear in 2012. To commemoratethe company’s 25th anniversary

in the Canadian duty free industry, DFX willrun special promotions that President MichaelBeler hopes will highlight the core valuesthat the company was founded on: price,presentation and promotion.

“We are very proud to be a part of theCanadian duty free industry and we thank allof our suppliers and clients for their contin-ued support,” says Beler.

Looking ahead, DFX plans to pay closeattention to inventory management at boththe warehouse and client level. “Our objec-tive is to achieve fill rates of at least 92%across all of our lines with a turnaround ofthree to five days,” says Beler. “We anticipatethe introduction of several new lines nextyear—some of which we will present duringthe FDFA convention—to complement ourexisting range.”

D

“We are very proud tobe a part of the Cana-dian duty free industryand we thank all of oursuppliers and clients fortheir continued support.”

Michael Beler, President, DFX Distribution

The head office for BHI—parent company of DFX— islocated close to Pearson International Airport andconsists of 2,300 square meters of warehouse andoffice space, showroom and support facilities


Confectionery News

Maple Syrup producer Turkey Hill Sugar-bush has been performing well in the Cana-dian duty free market this year, with sales toFrontier Duty Free operators increasing by11.7% over last year. Sales for the com-

pany overall have increased by 20%, thanksto its bestselling products—maple creamcookies and maple syrup.

At this year’s FDFA show, Turkey HillSugarbush plans to introduce new glassbottles featuring a maple leaf motif along withthe expansion of its maple chocolate line.

The company feels the show is an excellentvenue for brand exposure.

Turkey Hill Sugarbush believes that maplesyrup is transitioning from a Canadian sym-bol into a global “superfood,” a trend thatbodes well for the company’s future.

Sugar rush

Turkey HillSugarbush’s maplecream cookies

The Chupa Chups Smurfs Markers travel pack containseight markers, seven lollipops and one Smurf coloring book

Perfetti Van Melle (PVM) has had a busy year

on both the sales and management fronts.

The company recently announced plans to

restructure its travel retail management team,

effective December 1, 2012. The changes are

in response to the continuing growth of the

travel retail market for PVM and its core brands

Mentos and Chupa Chups, as well as ongo-

ing global expansion.

Susan de Vree will take over the role of Direc-

tor Travel Retail, replacing Mark Laros who will

focus exclusively on the rapidly growing domes-

tic business. De Vree has been working with PVM

since 2003 in various sales and marketing roles

and most recently was responsible for the Chupa

Chups Toys & Gift range worldwide.

Regarding the Canadian travel retail mar-

ket, PVM is currently working to plan. The

company’s Canadian exclusive distributor DFX

Distribution has worked diligently at getting the

company’s Mentos and Chupa Chups items

listed at most of PVM’s border stores and air-

ports. PVM’s number one product in the mar-

ket is the Mentos Jumbo rolls.

Area Manager for Global Travel Retail Eric

Vermetten is convinced that the six new items

PVM plans to launch at the FDFA show will con-

tribute to the company’s goal of increasing its

brand visibility. The six items set for launch are:

Mentos Jumbo roll in Tutti Frutti flavor, Meller

White Jumbo roll, new characters Chupa

Chups Cool Friends Backpack, Chupa Chups

Pouch Bag Exotic Tropic, Chupa Chups Smurfs

Markers and a Mix of Minis bag.

The new Chupa Chups Smurfs Markers is

a travel pack containing eight markers and

seven lollipops and one Smurf coloring book

which will be hitting duty free shops in April

2013. The Chupa Chups Pouch Bag Exotic

Tropic consists of 25 lollipops in two flavor com-

binations: banana and strawberry and coconut

and pineapple. The lollipops are covered with

little spots that offer a different flavor sensa-

tion. The Chupa Chups Backpacks are avail-

able in a red monkey and a blue crocodile

with yellow straps for children.

The Mix of Minis Bag is a combination bag

of PVM’s bestselling sweets: Mentos Mini rolls

and Chupa Chups Mini Lollipops (both in

strawberry/orange/cherry and cola flavors)

and Fruittella pixels. Each Mix of Minis bag con-

tains 36 pieces in total.

Russian brand Meller’s White

Jumboroll is a combination of

chewy caramel with a soft, white

chocolate filling on the inside.

Looking ahead, PVM plans to

increase its visibility. “Next year

we will need to take the next

steps with retailers by optimizing

our assortment and increasing

the visibility for our products,”

says Vermetten. “This will for

sure allow the confectionery

category to grow, especially

sugar confectionery.

Candy craze

The Chupa Chups Mix of Minis bag contains an assortment of PVM’s bestselling sweets


Since 1876 Jakeman’s Maple Products hasspecialized in maple syrup products. That spe-cialization is paying off, as sales have increased13.6% this year over 2011.

Bestsellers for the company in Canadianduty free include maple mints, maple creamcookies, maple popcorn—its newest product—and of course, maple syrup.

With a strong demand for products madewith natural ingredients that don’t sacrificeflavor, Jakeman’s has responded by alteringthe ingredients of its maple cream cookies,using only natural, non-hydrogenated oils andno food coloring.

The maple cream cookies will be on displayat FDFA along with Jakeman’s maple popcornand maple icewine syrup. The syrup, made with pure maple syrup

and Canadian icewine,recently won the OntarioPremier’s Award for Agri-innovation presented byOntario’s Ministry of Agri-culture, Food and RuralAffairs. The award rec-ognizes innovators whocontribute to the suc-cess of Ontario’s agri-food sector.

Godiva’s Souvenir Box is part of its Souvenir Collection

Krispy Kernels has been producing health-oriented

snacks for 60 years. Although 2012 marks its first year

in the travel retail market, the company has already

made impressive strides, with the opening of five new

locations. Krispy Kernels plans to double that num-

ber with the exposure it will gain at this year’s FDFA.

The company will launch Almond Trio, a new

almond mix, at the show. Mixes have done well for

the brand, as its bestsellers in the Canadian duty

free include a new deluxe mix, which

features almonds, cashews and pis-

tachios, and Vitality, its new fruit and

nut mix. Its salted cashew and fruit

mixes are also performing very well.

With consumers continuing to show a pref-

erence for healthy and convenient snacks that

don’t compromise on taste, Krispy Kernels

looks to be in a profitable

position.

“There is also a trend

towards luscious, deluxe

and savory mixes, and this

is where we shine with

our innovative nut mixes,

such as Vitality, Soy City

Mix and Almond, Cashew

and Pistachio mix,” says

Julie Rivest, Brand Man-

ager, Krispy Kernels.

For Godiva, chocolate has meantone thing for the last 86 years: goodbusiness. And in duty free, that businesshas recently gotten even better, as Godivahas experienced a 20% increase in salesthis year compared with 2011. As Godivaoffers a wide selection of novelty and gift itemsthat can’t be found in the domestic market,it’s probable that sales will continue to grow.

At this year’s FDFA, Godiva will be intro-ducing a Souvenir Box from its Souvenir Col-lection made specifically for Canadian cus-tomers. Inspired by iconic images and keylandmarks from locations around the world,the Souvenir Collection includes destinationssuch as Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, HongKong, Italy, US, Canada and others.

The boxes are described as “quirky yetstylish,” and have been designed by graphicdesign students from La Cambre, one of themost prestigious art and design schools inBelgium. Students drew on their own travelexperiences to create a sense of nostalgiafor the consumer.

“The Godiva partnership was interesting

as they really encouraged the students togenerate very innovative ideas—there wasa wide range of possibilities, they couldplay with the ideas, the cities and the des-tinations.” says Aline Baudet, Professor atLa Cambre.

Consumers can interact with the boxesthrough their Smartphones by scanning theQR code, which offers information about theSouvenir Collection and plays a short filmshowing the students’ artistic process andthe inspiration behind each box design.

The Souvenir Box contains an assortmentof 15 chocolates from Godiva’s core col-lection. Flavors include smooth praliné, darkchocolate, caramelized hazelnut, velvet

ganache, milk chocolate, rich coffee, pas-sion fruit, macadamia nut, white chocolate,Madagascar vanilla, roasted almond andshortbread biscuit.

Already introduced to several airportlocations in Canada, the Souvenir Box hasproven to be a top seller for the brand. “TheCanada Box is one of our newest destina-tion products and is exceeding our salesexpectations in every location where it issold,” says Diane Buchanan, InternationalTravel Retail Region Manager for the Amer-icas and the Caribbean, Godiva.

The Souvenir Box will be positioned onspecial fixtures, and tasting events will be heldfeaturing chocolates from the collection.

Chocolate bound

Jakeman’s newestproduct and bestseller,

Maple Popcorn

Mary Jakeman and son Devin accepting theOntario Premier’s Award for Agri-innovation

Syrup savvy

Krispy Kernals’new almond mix,Almond Trio andAlmond, Cashewand Pistachio mix

Canadian crunch

Haleybrooke International

In fact, Haleybrooke points outLouis Royer as a significant up andcomer in Canadian duty free givenits success in Asia-Pacific and thelarge numbers of Chinese travelers

passing through key land borders and airports. Another productthat is expected make waves is Mickey Finn Irish Apple Whiskey,which Haleybrooke will showcase at this year’s FDFA show. “Thisbrand has just launched in the US domestic market successfullyand capitalizes on two hot trends in North America: IrishWhiskey and Flavored Whiskey. We believe it will do very wellin duty free in Canada and the US,” says Thompson.

In addition to the latest launch, Haleybrooke hassecured a number of new listings for its existing brands.

Paul Sapin’s MLP wines have recently beenbrought on at Blue Water Bridge Duty Free,Niagara Duty Free, Ambassador Duty Free,Boutique Hor Taxes Philipsburg and Boutique

Hor Taxes de la Beauce. Furthermore, Patrón-owned Ultimat Vodka and Distilleria Bottega’swines are cited as products that are steadily beinglisted at more and more pointsof sale in Canadian duty free.

As Haleybrooke is also veryactive in US duty free, we

ended the conversationby asking Thompsonabout his opinion on the general stateof affairs in travel retail throughoutCanada. He tells us that the uniquenature of the land border model in thecountry, combined with a vibrant air-port retail environment, has made forsome excellent supplier-operator col-laborations in the past and will no doubtpave the way for more in the future.

“I can only speak for our brands, butbusiness for Haleybrooke Internationalin Canadian duty free is growing as fast as anywhereelse,” Thompson explained. “We’d like to thank ourmany operator partners for their continued support.We’re looking forward to building on this with the endgoal of even bigger success for everyone involved inyears to come.” c

A little help from their friends

oger Thompson, Vice President of Haleybrooke Interna-tional, tells Americas Duty Free that if business keeps upin Canada during the fourth quarter of 2012, the companywill end up closing the books on its best year to date in thecountry. Indeed, a number of different factors have inter-

sected of late to Haleybrooke’s advantage, including a general upswingin Canadian border and airport duty free sales, as well as a consumertendency toward higher-end spirit expressions. Perhaps most impor-tant to Haleybrooke’s success, though, is its strong portfolio, whichincludes brands such as Patrón Tequila, LouisRoyer Cognac, Distilleria Bottega and Paul Sapin.

While the above brands are well knownthroughout Canada, it should come as no sur-prise given 2012 sales statistics from the Fron-tier Duty Free Association (FDFA) that Ontario,British Colombia and Quebec are the three provinceswhere Haleybrooke is enjoying the highest sales. Nonethe-less, the company isn’t putting all of its proverbial eggsin one basket. Travelers across the country can find its prod-ucts in most every Canadian border store they enter.

“We have one or more of our main brands in almostevery land border store from coast to coast, but sales areparticularly impressive at Peace Arch Duty Free, PeaceBridge Duty Free and Blue Water Bridge Duty Free,” saysThompson. “With the airport operators, we are veryhappy with our business in Canada with Nuance,World Duty Free Group and Aer Rianta. This said,and because of the makeup of the Canadian dutyfree arena, it is important that each and everyone of the Canadian duty free operators be rec-ognized for their support of our products.”

Standing outUnique offerings and shelf standout are partic-ularly important in duty free, and luckily forHaleybrooke its brand partners make a point offinding ways to set their products apart from thepack. With the holidays just around the corner,traveling consumers can now find Patrón’s lim-ited edition tins in store, Distilleria Bottega’saward-winning and unmistakable gold packag-ing, Paul Sapin’s lightweight and unbreakableMLP bottle format and Louis Royer’s gift-readyboxes for its XO and Extra expressions.

RHaleybrooke’s experience in the duty freearena, combined with distribution partner-ships with a number of top spirits brands,spells success in Canadian travel retail

BY RYAN WHITE

Patrón’s premiumvodka brand Ultimat;Haleybrooke asserts

that listings of the spiritare picking up acrossCanadian duty free

Paul Sapin’s2008 ChâteauBlomac in anunbreakable

and lightweightMLP bottle

Louis Royer XO, completewith a gift box just in timefor the holiday season, hasbeen gaining momentum inCanada given the large

number of Chinese touristsvisiting the country


Great Maple Wine, Canadian Style

www.tenutesantarelli.comwww.tenutesantarelli.com

QuebecVINIPASSION IMPORTATIONS INC.Tel: [email protected] www.vinipassion.ca

USAJoseph CramarossaTel: [email protected]

EUROPATENTUE SANTARELLI ITALIATel: 011.39.085 62842 [email protected] www.tenutesantarelli.com

Ontario / Western CanadaCALIBER FINE WINES & SPIRITS Tel: 905.859.8205 [email protected] www.winevintages.com

Sapling Sparkling Wine Venerable White Wine Maple Ice Wine

ALFA Brands

ALFApoweristributor ALFA Brands has madegood progress in the Americas travelretail market this year, especiallywhen it comes to brand representa-tion, thanks in large part to strategic

additions to its team and its product portfolio.ALFA recently welcomed new Sales and Mar-

keting Coordinator Shawna Fallmann, alongwith Bernie McCloskey, a former DavidoffCigars executive who will focus primarilyon ALFA’s tobacco lines: Ashton Cigars,Rocky Patel Cigars and Accessories, RayTobacco, Murano Cigarillos, SpeedwayCigarillos and Vendetta Flavored Cig-arillos in the Americas.

The agent has opened up severalnew accounts for Jelly Belly this year, andsales continue to be strong for the brand.On the liquor front, ALFA is increasingdistribution and promotions with Ice-berg Vodka in the US.

Amy Hildreth, Operations Manager,ALFA Brands, tells us Iceberg Vodka isrevamping its label. On the new label, amaple leaf will be printed with a thermalink so that the color of the leaf willchange from white and teal to a shade ofred when the bottle is chilled. “This willbe the first vodka to have a label thatchanges color when chilled,” says Hildreth.

The new label will be printed with aholographic foil to create maxi-

mum impact on the shelf andback-bar. The font was cus-tom designed for the frontlabel, which reads “Madewith Pure Iceberg Water.”The bottles will have neckhangers printed to advertise this key feature.

The Iceberg cap will feature IcebergVodka’s new tagline “Break the Ice” and“Made with Icebergs” to reinforce the keypoint of differentiation from other brandson the market. “We have new marketing,POS and promotional material available tosupport this new label,” Hildreth says. In terms of confectionery, the natural line

from King Henry’s continues to be popular,posting a 14% increase in sales from last year.

The company also continues to offer PillitteriEstates Winery’s Exclamation! Icewine Decanters,which are available in a Gewurztraminer Ries-ling and a Sauvignon Blanc, packaged in a250ml Red Leaf Icewine gift box. Both winesare duty free exclusives.

Boosting the brandsWith plans to expand its already impressive

portfolio, ALFA Brands has sought out a numberof brands to help diversify its product offering. “We

D

ALFA Brand’s President FrancoGabriele with OperationsManager, Amy Hildreth

ALFA Brands stays ahead by continually ramping up product

listings and promotional activitiesBY MELISSA SILVA


give attention to all of our brands,” Hil-dreth tells Americas Duty Free. “When we

launch a new brand or line extension,we try our best to make sure ourcustomers and the media areaware of it.”

Also new for the companyis Piedmont Distillers, pro-ducers of Junior JohnsonMidnight Moon and Mid-night Moon Fruit Inclusions.Midnight Moon is hand-crafted in small batches,made from American cornand triple-distilled to pro-duce a smoother, “clean-tast-ing” spirit.

“We introduced the DutyFree Industry to PiedmontDistillers’ Junior Johnson'sMidnight Moon Moonshineat the IAADFS, and we justshipped our first order tothe Ontario Land Borderstores and the product is nowin distribution,” Hildreth says.

Introduced last year, The Mid-night Moon Fruit Inclusions is moonshineinfused with pieces of fruit such as cherry,strawberry, blueberry and cranberry. “We don’tput artificial flavors and colors in the bottle andcall it a day,” says notable moonshiner andNASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. “Weput whole pieces of real fruit in each jar whichrelease their natural color and flavor into thespirit, so you get a true all-natural fruit flavor.”

Duty Free Americas listed Junior Johnson'sMidnight Moon Fruit Inclusions—Apple Pie(70 proof) and Strawberry (100 proof)—onthe northern border and the product is nowon the shelves, Hildreth adds.

Piedmont Distillers alsoproduces Catdaddy SpicedMoonshine, “Catdaddy”being the name given toonly the finest moonshineduring prohibition. Un-aged, Catdaddy is alsomade from American cornand is triple-distilled andhandcrafted in smallbatches. This Carolina con-coction is infused with aproprietary blend of nat-ural spices and flavors, suchas vanilla, nutmeg and cin-namon, making for a spicy yet sweet taste.

Diamond Estate Wines and Spirits hasalso been added to ALFA’s portfolio, bring-ing with it an array of products including 20Bees, Dan Aykroyd Wines, Hat Trick NHLAlumni Wines, EastDell Estates, LakeviewCellars, De Sousa Wine Cellars, Fresh Winesand Sundance Wines.

Rounding out the portfolio is Torie andHoward Organic Hard Candies, distributorsof hard candy made with all-organic, naturalingredients. “The packaging is very unique andeye-catching with designs lending itself togreat gifts as well,” says Hildreth.

Eye candyALFA has been busy creating effective in-store displays and interactive promotionalactivities. The company recently installed aJelly Belly floor display unit for InternationalShoppes at Logan International Airport inBoston and is currently working on a floordisplay in the Philadelphia store.

On the interactive front, ALFA started aJelly Belly sampling program this past summerwith key accounts, which saw staff don Jelly Bellyaprons and serve samples to consumers instores during peak hours. Also this summer, thecompany implemented in-store tastings of itsGirls’ Night Out wine from Colio Estate Wines,

which will continue for the remainder of 2012.In order to boost sales in Canada, ALFA

offered operators a 5% discount on Pretzel Peteproducts during the summer months.

Looking forward, ALFA Brands has manymore promotions planned. These include twobottles of Pravda Vodka for CAD$55 (US$56)until the end of the year and an Iceberg Cana-dian Vodka discount of CAD$2 in Americasduty free stores until December 1. And a sim-ilar discount on one bottle of Midnight MoonMoonshine through November and Decem-ber at Duty Free Americas stores.

At this year’s FDFA convention and tradeshow, ALFA Brands will be exhibiting a num-ber of products from its three main cate-gories—Tobacco (cigarettes, cigars and acces-sories), Liquor (wines and spirits) and Con-fectionery & Fine Foods. A number of theproducts set for display are new additionsto the company’s portfolio, including thearray of wines and spirits already mentioned.

Notable among the new brands is RockyPatel Cigars and Accessories, specifically itspremium cigars. The blender is known for pro-ducing premium cigars with high-end tobac-cos. ALFA Brands has been selected as RockyPatel’s duty free/travel retail agent, and recentofferings include the Deluxe Toro Tubo Sam-pler and the Limited Edition 50th Anniver-sary gift pack.

“This newly formed strategic partnershipwith ALFA Brands will help us expand the dis-tribution of our products in duty free and travelretail stores, and in order to gain additionaltrademark recognition we’ll develop exclusivepackaging and product selection for this mar-ket segment,” says Rocky Patel, President andCEO of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars.

“This is a terrific opportunity for us andwe are honored that they have chosen ALFABrands as their agent,” says Franco Gabriele,President, ALFA Brands. c

Rocky Patel's Deluxe Toro Tubo Sampler

ALFA Brands’ Jelly Belly floor display unit for InternationalShoppes at Logan International Airport in Boston

ALFA Brands recently implemented in-store tastings for its Girls’ Night Out winefrom Colio Estate Wines, which willcontinue for the remainder of 2012

Rémy Cointreau GTR innovates across its portfolioSt-Rémy à la Crême has enjoyed success north of the US borderand Rémy Cointreau is now hoping to continue this success in otherparts of the world. The variant was released in Ontario, followedby Quebec and BC, with a fabulous “agri-cool” display of cowsand grass to pick up on the creaminess of the brandy liqueur. “Weexpect to release it in the “fertile meadows” of the US markets soon,”says Matthew Hodges, Marketing and Business DevelopmentDirector for Rémy Cointreau GTR.

It’s no secret that Rémy Cointreau’s brands, especially theCognacs, are outperforming their respective categories in Asia, and

thankfully the not insignificant number of traveling Asians is pick-ing up the slack from the still slow economy in the US: “All our brands,but particularly Mount Gay Rum, Rémy Martin and St-Rémy, areperforming pretty well across the Americas market with growth fromAsian consumers compensating for the downturn in sales to trav-elers from Europe,” he explains.

With more innovations in the pipeline, including another limitededition Rémy Martin bottle designed to appeal to the Asian trav-eler, it appears that Rémy Cointreau GTR is in a good position mov-ing into the last quarter of 2012.


Liquor News

St-Rémy à la Crêmedisplayed at PeninsulaDuty Free in Canada;Rémy Cointreau GTR isplanning a larger rolloutto the US for the highlypopular brandy liqueur

California-based Prowood Wine & Spirits’ (PWS) offer-

ing in Cannes this year was steeped in the mystique and

luxury of premium spirits. The brands showcased were

led by the aromatic and spicy but delicate Arman Cognac

from France and an Armenian brandy called Kilikia,

made from finest grapes grown in the Ararat Region.

The importer and distributor of exclusive brands for

the United States, Canada and Mexico, PWS is billing

Arman Cognac, available in both the XO and VSOP

expressions, as the jewel in its portfolio, with the “Sig-

nature of a royal man.”

The company says Arman Extra Old Cognac is a

blend of a hundred rare and selected eaux-de-vie from

the premier growing areas of France kept in oak barrels

for 20 to 50 years to achieve perfection.

Kilikia brandy, on the other hand, is available in the

XO expression and is named after the Armenian kingdom

called Kilikia or “Little Armenia.” This Brandy is aged for

10 years. After tastings, experts described it as strong

yet delicate, while at the same time leaving a definite hint

of toasted wood and touch of cinnamon.

“Since we established PWS in 2003, we have con-

tinued to expand the portfolio by responding to consumer's

desire for quality and exceptionally smooth spirits,” says

PWS owner and President Henrik Sargsyan. “And that

is why we observe the market situation with attention,

to do our best to provide quality spirits with excellent

taste and one of a kind packaging.”

In the US, the company also actively targets

different markets with strong promotional

media support and sponsorships. It spon-

sored the USA and World Bartenders'

Championship in 2006 and partici-

pated in the "internationally spirited

vodka sipumentary." The company

says that over the past few years

it also has become one of the

largest importers and distributors

of Russian vodka in the US.

Prowood offers premium Arman Cognac from France, Kilikia brandy from Ararat

PWS is billing Arman Cognac as the jewel in its portfolio, while Kilikia brandy is aged for 10 years and described as strong yet delicate

with hints of toasted wood and cinnamon

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Liquor News


While bartending nearly five years ago, Sales Manager and co-founder of BBbarfly Brian Becker noticed that although flair bar-tending was gaining in popularity, most of the impressive movesand related paraphernalia were confined to the activity of mix-ing cocktails. As most bars sell more beer than mixed drinks, Beckerwas continually struck by how mundane the act of opening a bot-tle of beer was, even when that bottle was served by a skilledflair bartender.

What started as a rough sketch on a napkin of an instrumentthat looked like a cross between a butterfly knife and a bottle openerhas now grown into big business for BBbarfly. Needless to say,bartenders all over the world first began to take notice, but it soonbecame apparent that the openers were more than just a tool ofthe trade made for a select few in the drinks industry—the gen-eral public caught on and the company began taking orders viaits website from both individuals and companies around theworld. A good indication of the product’s fast-growing popular-

ity is that the openers arenow available at BeerStores across Ontario.

Given the feedbackfrom domestic retailersregarding the product’sability to attract shop-pers at the point ofsale, BBbarfly hasbegun targeting the duty free industry as a matter of priority, saysBecker. “I feel the openers are suited perfectly to duty free giventhe industry’s concentration on new, unique products and offer-ing the customer quality items that aren’t yet available everywhere,”he explains. “Furthermore, it’s already clear from speaking withconsumers in the domestic market that our bottle openers makegreat gifts and we see the gifting opportunity as huge in duty free.”

Notably, BBbarfly is able to print nearly any conceivable logo

Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum recentlydebuted a new ad campaign enticing con-sumers to “Live Exceptional.” PeterHottmann, Appleton Estate’s Sales andMarketing Manager – NAFTA Region, tellsAmericas Duty Free that this latest devel-opment fits in with Appleton’s goal of grow-ing the brand aggressively across domes-tic and duty free markets over the nextyear. Given the fact that third quarter salesare up significantly in Canada and the US,it certainly appears that the objective iswell within reach.

The campaign is aimed at recruitingnew, younger consumers, says Hottmann.Victoria Day saw the launch of a racy TVad that features a trendy couple at anightspot with the tagline “We like ourfriends like our rum. Genuine, full of char-acter and naturally spicy.” The ad wasdirected by LA-based director Cliff Skeltonand features music from Chin Injeti of Baseis Base fame.

Of course, Hottmann notes that Apple-ton Estate Jamaica Rum has always prideditself on offering something for every typeof rum drinker, and while the ad campaigntargets young trendsetters, the launch ofAppleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rumin Canadian duty free is sure to delightmore experienced rum drinkers. It’s wellknown in the spirits industry that the pop-

ularity of rum—and particularly rum withhigher age statements—has skyrocketedin recent years, and travelers looking for anultra premium rum-drinking experience willbe able to find this sought-after expressionin select Canadian duty free shops in timefor the busy holiday season.

The rums that make Appleton Estate 50Year Old Jamaica Rum were specially setdown over 50 years ago and very carefullymanaged over time to create the minimumaged 50-year-old rum to celebrate the 50thAnniversary of Jamaica’s Indepen-dence. The expression is packagedin a bespoke hand crafted, crystaldecanter, the design and shape ofwhich was inspired by Appleton EstateJamaica Rum’s iconic bottle. The etch-ings and gold screen printing on thebottle take their cue from Jamaica’sNational Symbols and it is finishedwith a gold finished brass andcork stopper and presented ina black lacquered gift boxwith gold finished brass hinges.A commemorative bookletthat outlines Jamaica’s marchto Independence and thejourney of the AppletonEstate 50 Year Old JamaicaRum is also included.

“The new ad campaign

will help drive sales in Canadian and US dutyfree,” says Hottmann, “and the launch ofAppleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rumin Canadian duty free is sure to capture thegrowing number of rum connoisseurs whoappreciate craftsmanship, tradition andrarity in the spirits they choose.”

Appleton Estate targets young trendsetters and experienced connoisseurs alike in Canadian duty free

BBBarfly set to bring someflair to the duty free industry

or design on the openers, making them perfect asGWPs or standalone items in travel retail. “We’realready well versed in working with a variety of com-panies on promotions, and I see BBbarfly as being avery good option for operators and suppliers thatwant to give travelers a quality branded productrelated specifically to the wine and spirits category,”Becker continues.

BBbarfly bottle openers are constructed usingfood-grade, high-quality stainless steel and areguaranteed never to rust. Furthermore, the com-pany produces the openers on-site as a means ofensuring quality and promptness in shipping.

BBbarfly’s unique bottleopeners are customizableand made to order fromfood-grade stainless steel


Liquor News

Intrabrands finds successin Canadian duty free withportfolio of high-end spiritsBarry Parkinson, President of Intrabrands, tells AmericasDuty Free that the company has seen a significantupswing in the sale of spirits atCanadian duty free stores overthe last year or so. Of course, itdoesn’t hurt that the company isresponsible for the distribution ofa number of high-profile brands, including Forty CreekWhiskey, Crystal Head Vodka, El Dorado Rum,Broker’s Imported Gin and Iceberg Vodka.

The newest spirit that Intrabrands is repre-senting in Canadian duty free is Ungava Gin,which Parkinson says is now available for order.Particularly suited for gifting in Canadian duty free,Ungava is distilled using 100% natural ingredi-ents harvested by the Inuit. The gin is infused withNordic juniper, wild rose hips, cloudberry, crow-berry, Arctic blend and Labrador tea, which thebrandowners say impart a distinctive color and“fresh, floral and spicy flavor.” The bottle has acontemporary design, with a sleek shape andclean lines. Furthermore, the thick, pristine glassgives the brand strong on-shelf stand-out value.

Whether talking about gin or any of the otherspirits in Intrabrands’ portfolio, Parkinson tells usthat there is a lot more interest lately on the partof consumers when it comes to higher-end spir-its. “El Dorado is a great example in the sensethat travelers are now looking for premium rumswith higher age statements,” he says. “Given ElDorado’s commitment to making some of the world’sbest sipping rums, in addition to variants that areperfect for mixing cocktails, dutyfree shoppers are sure to find theright expression for their needs.”

Also fitting perfectly into thetrend toward upmarket spirits isForty Creek Whisky. The brandcontinues to receive accolades from the industry andbrandowner Kittling Ridge has now sold off the wineportion of its business to focus solely on the whisky,which has become a real player in North Amer-ica both domestically and in duty free.

And speaking of well known brandsin Canada, Parkinson tells us thatvodka aficionados will have a chanceto meet Dan Akroyd when he signsbottles of his Crystal Head Vodka atPeace Bridge Duty Free on Novem-ber 16. “We’re very pleased to offersuch a unique event to cross-bordertravelers,” Parkinson says. “It’s a greatway to add value for both consumersand our operator partners, which isalways the end goal.”

The newest spirit thatIntrabrands is representingin Canadian duty free is

Ungava Gin, distilled using100% natural ingredientsharvested by the Inuit

The tendency towardhigher-end rums hasmade El Dorado

expressions such as15 YO popular amongairport and bordertravelers in Canada


“We just recentlybegan offering Davidoffcigars at Vancouver Air-port,” Dumulong explains.“There are huge opportu-nities right now. Based onour sales, it’s safe to say that David-off is moving a lot of product. It'staken a while to get these cigars listed withWDFG but we’re very happy with the results.”

Staying in line with trends Because Distribution GVA imports severalother world-renowned brands, the companyhas been able to work with its associates tointroduce a lot of new products never beforeseen in the duty free channel in the country,both at border shops and airports. Dumulong

notes a trend toward smaller packages, includ-ing sampler packs that contain six, five oreven four cigars. Also popular are tubos, espe-cially sought after by travelers because they areconvenient and don't damage the product.

“In response to this need we've intro-duced more tubos and smaller packs,” Dumu-long explains. “We've introduced a longfillercigar handmade in Nicaragua called Santa Ana,which is a very convenient Corona-sized tubothat has a lot of body and is a lot stronger thanmost cigars.”

Of course, strength means nothing with-out taste, and Santa Ana cigars strike a per-fect balance between these two all-importantcharacteristics. Distribution GVA owns the

brand and has beenintroducing it in

Canadian travelretail over the course

of this year.Along with the trend

toward tubos and smallerpacks, Distribution GVAhas also introduced ArturoFuente’s King four-packin a bespoke tin; Opus XChateau de la Fuente ina three-pack; LouisMartinez in a samplerpack; Perdomo, Ash-ton and VSG cigars,

also in smaller packs; and BrickHouse Samplers.

The benefit for retailersWhile the stores that enjoy a higher traffic vol-ume tend to be the ones that carry a widervariety of cigar brands, Dumulong tells us thatmany of Distribution GVA’s smaller opera-tor partners have benefited in a big way fromensuring that the cigar smokers who passthrough their shops have a respectable selec-tion of product from which to choose.

“We’ve started to build a rather large data-base of smaller shops that are now starting tocater to cigar aficionados,” says Dumulong.

Of course, in many of the smaller shops,more affordable brands are popular. Fortu-nately, despite focusing largely on premiumbrands, Distribution GVA also has a wideselection of cigars for nearly every price range.In line with this, Dumulong notes that thecompany has seen great success with bundlesfrom brands such as Quorum.

“For us, it's like in any category,” Dumulongconcludes. “It's very important for retailersand suppliers alike to keep the category dynamic.This is why we're always looking to give oper-ators new lines and products in order to keepthe offering fresh. It's encouraging that we'regetting such a positive response from so manyof our valued retailer partners.” c

istribution GVA has been knownfor many years as the go-to dis-tributor for retailers in Canadianduty free when it comes to higher-end cigars. As such, the company

is a good reference point to determine cigartrends in Canadian duty free airport and bor-der shops.Americas Duty Free recently spokewith Luc Dumulong, Vice President of Salesand Marketing at Distribution GVA, about thispopular travel retail category and how it’sperforming in Canada specifically.

“One of the constants in the marketplace isthat Davidoff cigars remain one of the cigar cat-egory's most vibrant brands,” Dumulong says.“Generally speaking it represents up to 50% ofcigar sales in duty free.”

This, of course, has to do with the qual-ity of the cigars in addition to the savings thatduty free offers. While most products tend tobe less expensive in duty free given tax sav-ings, the gap is particularly noticeable withDavidoff cigars. As such, it’s no wonder thatconnoisseurs are taking advantage of theconsiderable tax savings by purchasing at theborder or in airports.

D

Somethingto talk about

“It's very important for retailersand suppliers alike to keep thecategory dynamic. This is whywe're always looking to give oper-ators new lines and products inorder to keep the offering fresh.”

Luc Dumulong, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Distribution GVA

Distribution GVA sees keeping the cigar category fresh as a prime objective, and as a result sees good performance from keybrands in Canadian duty free BY RYAN WHITE

According to Distribution GVA, bundles are alsovery popular in many Canadian duty free stores

Smaller pack sizes are a hit in duty free,such as this offering from Luis Martinez

Distribution GVA

Mars ITR is a leading player in the confectionery category. We combine insights, vision and global strength with powerful brands to create fantastic in�store opportunities. Take M&M’s for instance, the great promotions, shop�in�shop concepts and fun merchandising makes the brand a very powerful sales driver. Contact your local account manager and see what M&M’s can do for you!

Let’s face it, if consumers can’t resist M, how can you?

They sell as good as they taste

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US AT 905 .606 .2222 | INFO@BILS I .COM

WWW.BILS I .COM

We have over 30 years experience in the Canadian duty free

market and a commitment to excellence. BILSI staff are experts

in Canada Customs regulations, transportation management and

3rd party logistics. Our mission is to provide our clients with the

highest level of customer service covering their shipments to and

within Canada and the USA.

Importing and Transportation Management Specialists

PROVIDING COMPLETE AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Date post:	21-Mar-2016
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