LEADER/NEWS


Risks or opportunities? Leader


Since publishing the news of Lagardère Travel Retail’s appointment of Sountou Bousso, Chief Executive Officer of the company’s Senegal and Gabon operations, TRBusiness has been keen to gain clarity on the travel retailer’s ambitions for the African continent. Of course, we also wanted to gain a better


understanding of how Lagardère Travel Retail was responding to the Covid-19 crisis in the region. Bousso was able to deliver insights on both fronts in his first trade media interview


with Andrew Pentol this month (p34), highlighting Lagardère’s commitment to West Africa and the desire to expand its footprint there, presumably once market conditions begin to normalise. Bousso highlighted the importance of meeting rising consumer


demands for quality and breadth of range in the company’s Senegal and Gabon stores, regardless of the current low volumes of traffic. While he is heartened by the early signs of traffic recovery,


Bousso admits that ‘there is a long way to go until traffic reaches pre-Covid-19 levels’. Traffic analyst firm ForwardKeys concurs with Bousso’s


sentiments, as Luke Barras-Hill discovers on p31. Olivier Ponti, VP Insights at ForwardKeys, says that Sub-Saharan


Africa is somewhat of a bright spot in Africa’s still very fragile recovery thus far. “However, to say recovery is on its way for Africa is overly


optimistic,” he comments. Beauté Luxe CEO David Dayan is more optimistic in his exchanges


with Charlotte Turner (p38). A champion of the African travel retail market, Dayan makes it clear that the region still holds ‘extraordinary potential’ for those willing to play the long game.


Fresh insights from the Middle East In our sister report on the Middle East region, TRBusiness is delighted to share in-depth insights from m1nd-set regarding consumer spending habits for travellers specific to the Middle East and Africa. We reveal exclusive post-Covid insights on p25. Providing crucial insights of another nature on p27, Dubai


Duty Free’s Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi shares the company’s up-to-the-minute research on store footfall and staff interaction levels and what conclusions it has been able to draw as a result. We also hear from MEADFA President Haitham Al Majali, who


highlights that the association is not just fighting fires related to Covid-19 at the moment; to ignore other threats and challenges – such as new regulations and restrictions – would be at its members’ peril. Still, while the picture remains gloomy, all our interviewees were


able to leave us with a positive message this month. I am particularly fond of Bousso’s sign off: “Every day brings a new lot of risks and opportunities. It’s on us to turn these to our advantage.”


Charlotte Turner, Editorial Director NOVEMBER 2020 TRBUSINESS 9 New impetus for EU arrivals


duty and tax free shops A campaign to persuade EU lawmakers to permit duty and tax free sales on arrival at airports is gathering momentum following the publication of research that outlines the economic merits. The European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) and Airports


Council International (ACI) Europe have renewed calls for the EU to change legislation and authorise the shop sales in a bid to deliver essential support for beleaguered airports and their commercial revenue partners. During a virtual briefing held on 28 October, York Aviation


Partner James Brass presented findings from an independent report commissioned by the ETRC. The report models a series of potential economic scenarios that


the DF&TR lobby believe will add weight to a campaign launched in the summer. The report focused on three important EU markets: Germany,


Italy and Spain and drew input from major retailers, among other sources. It is well established that irreparable damage is being caused


to Europe’s aviation ecosystem due to Covid-19, with ACI Europe revealing that close to 200 airports are facing liquidation unless the traffic situation improves in the coming months. “It has become clear that the pockets of the government across


the EU are not bottomless and we need cost-effective ways to maintain the aviation ecosystem,” commented Nigel Keal, President at ETRC. “This is not a new concept; it is a proven business model and can deliver consistent and reliable revenue streams.” In a presentation, Brass reminded viewers that commercial


revenues are core enablers of airports’ viability and duty and tax free sales on arrival presents a new stream of non-aviation revenue for the EU. However, the concept of duty and tax free arrivals shops is not


new and already well-established in European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EU countries, with many jurisdictions such as Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Australasia and the Middle East reaping the sales rewards. Currently, EU legislation means only passengers leaving the EU can shop duty free and tax free.


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