Welcome to Cannes In Review

October 25th, 2009

Palais Exterior

TFWA World Exhibition 2009 proved to be an interesting event on many levels. The event celebrated its 25th anniversary, welcomed a record number of new exhibitors and, despite the global economic circumstances, attracted a strong turnout from the worldwide duty free and travel retail industry. Combined with a thought-provoking conference and workshop agenda, this year’s event was notable for the positivity and optimism that abounded, in spite of the challenges the industry faces.

This blog-style review provides a step-by-step account of TFWA World Exhibition 2009, looking at the event from several angles. Throughout the week TFWA spoke to exhibitors and visitors old and new, as well as conference speakers. The result is an account of the event which we hope will allow you to see TFWA World Exhibition from several different angles, some of which you may not have considered before.

Salon 2a

For those people new to the blog format, articles are filed chronologically – the newest at the top, the older entries below. To read about the event in the order that it happened, start at the first entry and work your way up. Alternatively, if you are interested in specific happenings or aspects of the event, the menu of blog topics to the right of the screen allows you to focus on articles relating to these aspects.

We hope you in enjoy Cannes In Review.

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An upbeat event draws to a close

October 23rd, 2009

Salon1It has been an unusual instalment of TFWA World Exhibition, set amidst trying global circumstances and a period of great uncertainty. But, as the feedback gathered on this review shows, it has also been a week of optimism; exhibitors seem keen to begin building for a brighter future and retailers are eager to engage them; the Opening Conference, although pointing to some big challenges in the future, looked at some very positive ways in which the industry can change the world for the better; and, on its 25th anniversary, TFWA and its events seem as relevant today as ever – even in times of crisis.

Salon2The final numbers for TFWA World Exhibition 2009 are also encouraging, under the circumstances. Total visitors were 5,013, down by 13% on a year earlier, while the total number of companies visiting was down 11% at 2,517. Importantly and, considering the global environment, impressively, key duty free and travel retail buyers fell by just 9%, with the number of companies represented by this sector stable.

Salon4The 463 exhibiting companies at TFWA World Exhibition – of which over 80 were new or returning this year –  represented some 3,000 brands. Fragrances & cosmetics accounted for 25% of stands, while the other key sectors were wines & spirits (22%), fashion & accessories (18%), jewellery & watches (12%), confectionery & fine food (11%), with the balance made up of gifts and toys, tobacco, electronics and home decoration brand owners.

Now the focus turns to the forthcoming Middle East Duty Free Conference, to be held in Dubai on November 23-24. Co-organised by TFWA and MEDFA, this event holds particular importance this year given the Middle East’s apparent resilience during the global economic downturn – although avoiding complacency will be a key message.

TFWA Asia Pacific & GATE ONE2ONE 2010 will be held in Singapore on May 9-13. It promises to be an exciting event, as well as another chance for the Asia Pacific industry to re-evaluate the economic situation and examine prospects for recovery.

Next year’s TFWA World Exhibition will be held in Cannes on October 17-22 2010. We hope you enjoyed the coverage of this year’s show, and look forward to welcoming you at TFWA World Exhibition 2010.

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Encouraging attendance from key visitors

October 23rd, 2009

A good representation of operators and landlords this week has underlined the importance of TFWA World Exhibition as an industry meeting place, even in times of crisis. Although total visitor numbers are down by 13% on 2008 figures, and visiting companies down by 11%, in the key visitor segment the number of companies visiting has dropped by just 4%.

The quality of buyers attending is also important. For example, all the companies featured in Swedish analyst Generation DataBank’s list of Top 30 Giant Operators were present this week, all bringing strong delegations including CEOs and buying directors.

The operator and landlord numbers also show a geographical evolution in line with the development of the duty free and travel retail market across the regions – meaning that attendance at TFWA World Exhibition continues to remain relevant, changing in step with the industry. Companies from the Middle East, Africa and non-EU European countries represented a slightly greater proportion of total landlord and operator numbers than in 2008, the share of Asian companies visiting remained stable and those from the Americas and the EU represented a slightly smaller percentage than previously.

In total the percentage of operator and landlord visiting companies represented by each region this year was: the EU (42%), Asia (20%), non-EU Europe (14%), Middle East (10%), Americas (10%), Africa (4%) and Oceania (1%).

The top 10 countries for buyers and landlords this year were France, the UK, the UAE, the US, South Korea, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Russia – although taking greater China as a whole (including mainland China and Hong Kong), the country overtook South Korea in key visitor numbers for the first time this year. In Asia, an increasingly important market for visitors to TFWA World Exhibition, the top five markets for operator, landlord and agent visitors were: South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, China and Singapore.

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The retailer perspective

October 23rd, 2009

As this review has shown over the past few days, TFWA World Exhibition has become a multi-faceted event, incorporating a conference and workshop program, social agenda and several satellite events alongside the central exhibition. But it is important to remember that the raison d’etre of TFWA World Exhibition remains to provide a business forum for the duty free and travel retail industry to meet with premium brands. That is the reason why the industry’s buyers return to Cannes again and again.

Bernstein

David Bernstein was a founding, permanent member of the TFWA buyers advisory committee before it was disbanded. In that capacity, and as a former president of fellow association IAADFS, he is well aware of how exhibitions must listen to their audience. He says: “TFWA has always taken the needs and requirements of buyers into account, and I think that is one of the reasons its events have been  so successful.  When I was on the buyers advisory committee, TFWA asked for our input on which suppliers to let exhibit and the format of the exhibition, as well as other aspects of the event. They made sure that the interests of retailers were well represented.”

The buyers advisory committee may no longer exist, but TFWA continues to ensure that it listens to the requirements of retailers – and buyers acknowledge the good work it does in creating a useful event.

GunnarHeinemann

Gunnar Heinemann, co-owner of Gebr Heinemann, explains why he believes TFWA World Exhibition is important for his company. He says: “We are here for business, and this is an excellent place to do it. The launch of new products is motivating to our customers, so this a very useful exhibition, in particular when business is not as good as used to be.”

MarkRiches

Autogrill UK CEO Mark Riches emphasises a similar point: “TFWA is galvanising for the industry, bringing together the industry at very high quality events and providing excellent business opportunities. And I think in a climate such as today’s that is all the more important.”

In the video below, more buyers explain the value they find at TFWA World Exhibition

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TFWA has long appreciated the need to maintain a virtuous circle – if you keep buyers coming, brands will continue to exhibit, and while the brands exhibit, buyers will have a reason to come. And, as the comments above explain, that doesn’t stop during times of trouble.

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Celebrating 25 years, and a successful week

October 22nd, 2009

Not even the driving rain over Cannes could dampen spirits tonight as more than 1,400 guests joined TFWA for the pinnacle of its 25th anniversary celebrations. The Celebration Evening, which replaces Le Premium Evening this year, started with a dinner cocktail at the Riviera Beach, allowing guests to relax, enjoy the ambience and conduct an unofficial review of the business week.

Celeb Eve Cocktail

As we have noted before, the mood throughout TFWA World Exhibition 2009 has been unrelentingly upbeat – a message that was reinforced by comments from participants tonight. Patons Macadamia general manager sales & marketing  James Kfouri told TFWA: “It has been an excellent event for us – our meetings have all been productive and, although the numbers were down, the people who came were the ones who really wanted to do business.”

Celeb Eve ZuccheroFollowing the cocktail, guests made their way to the Palais des Festivals for a concert by Italian rock star Zucchero, who entertained the crowd with a lively set featuring some of his best known songs. The high-energy performance lifted the crowd and, when everyone returned to the Riviera Beach for the after-concert part, a 14-piece band playing music from the 1980s kept people dancing through the night – an undisputable high note on which to conclude TFWA’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

For TFWA, providing a setting in which to share its celebrations with the business community, while remaining aware of the underlying business climate, has been one of the key challenges of 2009. Such events play an essential role in making TFWA World Exhibition a successful event.

Celeb After 2

Social events provide a different way for participants to connect with each other, and are also crucial for the image of the event and for gaining the loyalty of participants. There are over 300 buying companies that have attended every TFWA World Exhibition since it began, and many exhibitors who have been very loyal to the event – the social agenda has an important role to play in making sure that people come back to Cannes.

Tonight, TFWA was delighted to share in its anniversary celebrations and to thank its supporters for that loyalty.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

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Have a heart

October 22nd, 2009

Heart-2-art-paintings1At the beginning of the week, TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen launched the TFWA 25th anniversary legacy Heart 2 Art charity initiative at the Opening Conference. He said: “Each year we leave Cannes loaded down with gifts that we give each other worth much more than €25. With these works of art we have the opportunity to be generous to others.”

Heart-2-art-paintings2TFWA donated $25,000 each to Smile Train and The Lotus Flower Trust at the start of the campaign, and this week many in the industry have proved their generosity – MEDFA donated $10,000 to the initiative, and many other individuals have made significant contributions. But sales of the paintings themselves have been disappointingly low.

Heart-2-art-paintings3The prints will be made available after TFWA World Exhibition directly through TFWA, priced at a minimum donation of €25 for one, €100 for the set of four or at a discounted price of €2,000 for 100 prints. The four paintings were each painted by children helped by the two charities, and as such the limited edition prints make unique, meaningful presents or corporate gifts.

Heart-2-art-paintings4TFWA will also be auctioning the original paintings in a bidding process conducted through the trade media and lasting until December 7.

Anyone interested in placing individual or multiple orders for the prints, or in bidding for the original paintings, can contact TFWA directly either by phone: +33 140 740 986; or by email at: tfwacare@tfwa.com.

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