TFWA CANNES PREVIEW: DIGITAL VILLAGE
“Hosting a technology area in a ‘retail’ exhibition was in itself a big challenge and impressive,” observes Kshitij Goyal, Founder,
DutyFreeList.com. “We were able to assess and
add/change our many features... the learning curve for all the stakeholders at the exhibition was one of the prime achievements of last year’s exhibition.”
Earlier start Alington says that while there was little to benchmark the exhibition against in its inaugural year, high expectation levels were ‘hugely exceeded’ over the course of the week. “One of my original concerns
was whether key decision makers in the industry would have time to leave their own stands in the Palais to get over to us, but needless to say, they did. “I think last year there were the
right number and right selection of exhibitors; there was very little overlap meaning that each exhibitor was offering something quite different to the next.” Last year’s TFWA Digital
Village began on Wednesday and finished on Friday, but the association has decided to begin the programme on the earlier day of Tuesday this October. Goyal believes the extra day will
work to attract a greater volume of visitors, but while the Tuesday start is welcomed by Alington she is not completely convinced of the value of concluding the programme on Friday. Meanwhile, for MyDutyFree,
its appearance at the 2017 event resulted in exploratory avenues for new business. “Last year’s event was extremely
beneficial for us,” confirms Katerina Furtak, CEO, MyDutyFree. “We had an opportunity to communicate with representatives of different branches of duty free and travel retail, received a lot of information and shaped our views on duty free sector needs. “As a result, we have recognised
a new potential client: the airports. Now we are developing a digital solution, and already have a few customers.”
SEPTEMBER 2018 Digital Village exhibitors will gain an extra day of business this year. Source: TFWA /Nathalie Oundjian
Overall, the Digital Village’s attempts to embrace the digital era seem to have been welcomed by every exhibitor TRBusiness spoke to for this report. “With every industry getting
disrupted or changing with technology, Digital Village by TFWA is a step in the right direction,” states Goyal.
Future potential “With more exchange and sharing of ideas among stakeholders attending the exhibition and Digital Village, more innovative partnerships and business models will follow. I am positive Digital Village will continue to take place in the future.” However, some exhibitors
believe there is still work to be done to capitalise on what is still an embryonic concept. “It is true that the duty free
business is far behind high street retail in terms of digitalisation,” comments Agnès Debains, Co- Founder, Marketing, airfree. “When we see that the most
advanced high street retailers are doing up to 20% of their business online, we truly believe that a solution like ours will help duty free retailers to catch up.” For Furtak, communication will
underpin the success of the Digital Village moving forward. “It is essential to build a dialogue
between different market players (operators, airports, digital providers, retailers) for the village to fulfil its objectives,” she says. “There is no better place for
creating an inspiring space for the communication than the summit. For example, this communication can be arranged in the form of panel discussions. This format can help to collect different views on some field problems and create a solution strategy that would benefit every participant.” On the Digital Village’s future
fortunes, Ethos Farm’s Alington has the final word: “There is no doubt in my mind that the TFWA Digital Village will only get bigger and better each year. “We are not only exhibiting the
next-gen versions of the products we showcased last year, but this year we will introduce new innovations like our Virtual Reality Training product. Digital is here to stay and we truly believe it is the blended approach of digital and people that is the game- changer for the industry.” «
“It is essential to build a dialogue between different market players for the Village to fulfil its objectives.”
Katerina Furtak, CEO, MyDutyFree
TRBUSINESS 35
Above: Kshitij Goyal, Founder, DutyFreeList.
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