AMERICAS DUTY FREE

CANADIAN ISSUE 2010

Mixedsignals p. 16 DFX’s savvy

incentives p. 24 Diverse FDFAexhibitors p. 30 New &

Notable p. 42

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 • VOL 20, NO 4

IT’S NOT SCOTCH.IT’S NOT BOURBON.IT’S JACK.

Letter From The Editor

Happy 25th anniversary to the FDFA

he Frontier Duty Free Association has been con-necting suppliers and operators in the Canadianduty free industry for 25 years, providing endlessopportunities to all. To celebrate this milestone the organization has

several fun events planned for this year’s convention in NiagaraFalls. One of these events will be a welcome reception with an ‘80stheme, complete with a disc jockey playing retro music from thatera, fire works, a full bar and lots of ‘80s memorabilia. The gala will feature memorable performances by Cirque de

Soleil, as well as a Beatles tribute band. The FDFA Convention Com-mittee has worked incredibly hard to make this year unforgettable,and I’m sure it will be a big success.I hope you enjoy this issue, which is dedicated to our fellow

Canadians and their successes in the duty free market.Please join me in congratulating the FDFA team on 25 years

of success, with many more to come.

Kind regards,

Hibah [email protected]

T

The Americas Duty Free & Travel Retailing (ISSN 0962-0699) is published four timesa year February/March, August/September, October, November/ December) by GlobalMarketing Company Ltd., 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2 Canada. Itis distributed throughout Central America, South America, the United States, Canada,U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. Pacific islands and the islands in the Caribbean.

Subscriptions: $200 for one year. Art and photographs will not be returned unlessaccompanied by return postage. The views expressed in this magazine do notnecessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher or editor. November/December2010, Vol. 20, No. 4. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprintedin whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. © 2010 GlobalMarketing Company Ltd.

The Americas Duty Free & Travel Retailing26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2 Canada

Tel: 1 905 821 3344; Fax: 1 905 821 2777www.dutyfreemagazine.ca

PUBLISHERAijaz Khan

[email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES

ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER

Kim [email protected]

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONMANAGERDeepa J

[email protected]

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

EDITORHibah Noor

[email protected]

CONCESSIONS, LIQUOR & TOBACCO EDITORRyan White

[email protected]

ART DIRECTORPatrick Balanquit

[email protected]

CONTRIBUTORAndrew Brooks

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • V O L 2 0 , N O 4

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

4 THE AMERICAS DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

IN BRIEFKiehl’s awarded “Shop of the Month” in Atlanta � Privateequity firm acquires controlling interest in SNI � RISTappoints ETC as agent for Americas TR

ASSOCIATION NEWS

A consolidated messageFDFA’s Laurie Karson discusses this year’s conferenceand trade show while touching on the importance ofpromoting a unified voice for Canadian duty free

OPERATOR NEWS: AER RIANTA

“In a good position”With a new trans-border store in Halifax and stablesales growth over last year, Aer Rianta is exactly whereit wants to be heading into the holiday season

OPERATOR NEWS: ALDEASA VANCOUVER

The journey ahead With Freda Cheung now at the helm as CEO, AldeasaVancouver lists new products, develops new storeconcepts and continues catering to passengers’ needs

CANADIAN BORDER DUTY FREE

Mixed signals2010 has been a good year for Canadian border dutyfree, but within the generally positive trend, individualstores seem to be seeing different trends

INDUSTRY NEWS

Airport duty free leads the wayWhile Canadian land border duty free sales in Septemberremained essentially flat over last year, sales in airportstores provided a low double-digit boost for the industry

COMPANY NEWS: H2O PLUS

Making waves with marine scienceThe H2O Plus market differentiator is the skincarepotential contained in the world’s oceans – and newscientific discoveries keep things moving

COMPANY NEWS: DFX DISTRIBUTION

Savvy incentivesDFX Distribution pulls out all the stops when unveilingoriginal promotions and incentives

BEAUTY BEAT

The buzz around beauty Newest scents, skincare and cosmetics are ready to bescooped up in the Canadian travel retail market

FDFA EXHIBITORS

Diverse FDFA exhibitorsA whole slew of exhibitors ready themselves to welcomebuyers from East to West during this year’s Frontier DutyFree show

LIQUOR REPORT: FAST-GROWING BRANDS

Booming businessAmericas Duty Free examines the explosive growth ofthree brands in Canadian travel retail, discovering that aconcentration on quality is foremost in the minds ofsuppliers and consumers alike

COMPANY NEWS: DIAGEO

Back in BlackWith the release of Crown Royal Black and JohnnieWalker Double Black, Diageo continues to offer travelersin Canada innovative takes on premium favorites

NEW & NOTABLEComfyzzz Travel Pillows � Adidas Timepieces �Classic Messenger Bag

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 • VOL 20, NO 4 2416

Contents

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In BriefKiehl’s awarded “Shop of the Month” in Atlanta

Parbel’s traditional apothecary skin-care brand Kiehl’s was named “BestShop of the Month” for August at theAtlanta Airport.

Nearly 90 million yearly passengers thattravel through the airport have a large num-ber of retailers to choose from when it comesto shopping. In August, the Kiehl’s boutiquedistinguished itself from the rest of the storeswith its commendable performance. The award, which is granted monthly by

the discerning Atlanta Airport Authority, ismeant to recognize companies that provide

excellence in customer service, with an attrac-tive and original look, and maintain the high-est standards of cleanliness and friendliness.The Kiehl’s team was competing against othertop brands such as Lacoste, L’Occitane, Sal-vatore Ferragamo, Swarovski and ErmenegildoZegna.Parbel said the achievement itself is even

more impressive when the relative newnessof the store and the duty paid concept in theKiehl’s airport environment is taken intoaccount. Established not even a full year ago,the November opening was the first duty

paid Kiehl’s store in the United States.According to the company, this was Kiehl’s

and HMSHost’s (the store operator at theairport) first joint venture into the duty paiddomain and it has been a lucrative one. Thestore boasts impressive profitability per squarefoot. It is a case of one of the fastest growingfirms within the beauty industry partneringwith one of the cornerstones in travel retail.The fact that Kiehl’s products cater to

such a wide audience and are becomingincreasingly popular as gifts has also been agreat boost to sales.

Private equity firm acquires controlling interest in SNI

A lumni Capital Network (ACN), a pri-

vate equity firm, has acquired a

controlling interest in SNI Group, a

fashion accessories wholesaler and

innovator of the popular “Everything’s $10”

retail concept.

Founders Todd and Randy Cohen will

continue to lead SNI, now known as Sourc-

ing Network International, and hold a large

equity stake. Located in Bensalem, Penn-

sylvania, SNI sources, produces and dis-

tributes items of high perceived value, such

as handbags, watches, jewelry, ties, scarves

and wallets, to more than 3,000 retail out-

lets in airports, casinos, cruise ships, muse-

ums, hotels and other tourist destinations.

SNI also supplies a variety of more

upscale products to its Luxury for Less

stores and owns the Clöudz brand of travel

pillows and accessories and museum arti-

facts line of silk ties, scarves and watches.

“The Cohen brothers have invigorated

the fashion accessories industry by offering

shoppers incredible quality at the US$10

price point,” said Jim Honohan, Chief Exec-

utive Officer of ACN, a New York City-based

private equity fund created by former part-

ners of the global management consulting firm

Accenture. “We're thrilled to become partners

with such dynamic entrepreneurs and are

confident we can help them take their busi-

ness to even greater heights.” Honohan has

been named chairman of SNI’s new board.

The Cohens started SNI, formerly known

as Silk Neckwear International with their

father, Stan, as a purveyor of silk ties and fash-

ion accessories to hotel shops 22 years ago.

“We wanted to expand our company and

chose ACN as our financial partner because

we were convinced it had the best resources

and talent to help us accelerate our growth,”

explained Todd Cohen, SNI Chief Execu-

tive Officer. He said the transaction signifi-

cantly enhanced the financial position of the

company, which has no third-party debt, a

strong balance sheet, specific capital targeted

for growth and access to future funds.

SNI plans to use the influx of capital to

broaden its sourcing networks, enter new

markets globally, install new information

technology, hire more employees and stream-

line operations.

“These changes will allow us to make our

customer partnerships better than ever,”

said Randy Cohen, SNI Executive Vice Pres-

ident. He explained that new business

processes and computer systems will make

it easier to track product availability, customer

orders and profitability. “We’ll also expand

our Clöudz product line, offer an even wider

variety of boutique products and introduce

creative marketing campaigns to bring more

shoppers into stores,” he added.


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Colorful, in-trend watch brand RIST has announced the appointment ofETC as its duty-free/travel retail agent for the Americas.

The agreement covers all inflight, airport, border and cruise shipshops in North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean.

The agreement is effective immediately and includes the complete RIST range ofwatches along with the KIDRIST and PLASTICK brands. It will also include otherRIST lifestyle lines as they are introduced over the next year.

Elizabeth Taylor, President of ETC, commented: “I am very excited to repre-sent the RIST brand. There is a strong demand for colorful timepieces and theRIST collections meet the full criteria. They are perfectly positioned for DF/TR instyle, color, quality, and price. What also captured my attention is that they arevery lightweight, making them wonderfully comfortable on the wrist. Travel Light– in Travel Retail. RIST is a perfect fit in the ETC group portfolio.

“The PLASTICK brand of ion sports watches is also a lot of fun with hologramsand tourmaline to enhance feelings of well being. I’ve already shown the brandto a couple of major groups in the U.S. and the reaction has been very positive.”

RIST’s CEO Mick Armstrong comments: “We’re delighted to be working withETC; Elizabeth has come highly recommended and is incredibly enthusiasticabout the brand, which is very encouraging for us. We’re also now talking to otheragents regarding distribution in other regions and hope to make further announce-ments very soon.”

CRIST appoints ETC as agent for Americas TR

KIDRISTby RISTdistributedby ETC in theAmericas


Laurie Karson, Executive Directorof the Frontier Duty Free Associ-ation (FDFA), recently spoke toAmericas Duty Free about theorganization’s 25th anniversary

conference and trade show. She also touchedon recent Canadian duty free sales statisticsand the FDFA’s national marketing and brand-ing initiative aimed at communicating the ben-efits of shopping duty free to consumers. Karson went on to note that by all accounts,

this year’s FDFA event should dazzle atten-dees. With delegate numbers up from 2009,a number of very special celebrations plannedand consumer confidence gaining traction inthe Canadian travel retail channel, there’scertainly more than one reason for operatorsand suppliers alike to be excited about attend-ing the event in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Americas Duty Free: Can you tell us howmany people have confirmed attendance tothis year’s FDFA conference and trade show?How does this compare to the previous event?Laurie Karson, Executive Director, Fron-tier Duty Free Association: So far a total of85 companies have confirmed attendance tothis year’s FDFA convention and trade show.The breakdown is as follows: 62 operatordelegates and124 supplier delegates for a totalof 186 attendees.

Last year’s convention attracted 184 dele-gates, so we’ve already surpassed last year’snumbers. It’s important to note that we still havequite a bit of time to increase the numbersfurther as registration is still open.

ADF: How do you feel the duty free indus-try in Canada is performing compared to thistime last year?LK: Based on the overall land border dutyfree sales, we are seeing sales increases in thePrairie region, the Quebec/Atlantic regionand in other areas across the country. Whilethe growth has not been tremendous overall,there is an increase compared to last year andwe believe this is attributed to more passportusage amongst Canadians and Americans, aswell as improved border infrastructure, whichassists in traffic movement at the borders. I think there is a greater consumer confi-

dence and desire for both Canadians andAmericans to travel across the border com-pared to when the recession was at its height.Notably, airport duty free stores have seenincredible increases this year.

ADF: The FDFA is working on anumber of initiatives to increasecommunication of the value of pur-chasing duty free in Canada. Canyou give us an update as to how theproject is coming along? What haveyou accomplished and what remainsto be done?LK: The FDFA has undertaken anational marketing and brandinginitiative that we are very excitedabout. The project is currently in the

implementation stage right now. We are cur-rently completing the brand focus componentand the national website is being completed. We hope to show the land border stores

the initial website at our upcoming conven-tion meeting in November. The purpose ofthis national marketing initiative is to promoteCanadian duty free to the general publicwhile identifying the benefits of shoppingduty free, educate the consumer on allowancesand direct consumers to our store locationswith a consolidated message.

ADF: This is the FDFA's 25th anniversary.What special events can visitors expect?LK: We have many wonderful events plannedthis year, such as our welcome reception,which this year has an 80s theme that includesfireworks, an 80s disc jockey, an 80s bar anda lot of other fun memorabilia. Our gala this year will feature Cirque de

Soleil performances and a Beatles tributeband. The FDFA Convention Committee hasreally paid attention to the fine details this yearto make this the most memorable conventionof all time. We hope that those who are not current

supplier members to the FDFA know thatthey still have an opportunity to join theconvention via our trade floor and are wel-come to contact the FDFA about the poten-tial of joining this year’s show. c

A consolidated message

FDFA’s Laurie Karson discusses this year’s conference and trade showwhile touching on the impor-tance of promoting a unifiedvoice for Canadian duty free

Association News

BY RYAN WHITE

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Operator News: Aer Rianta


Aer Rianta enjoyed a good deal ofsuccess in 2009 due in a largepart to moving four of its storesdownstream from security areas.In cooperation with airport

authorities in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax,Ottawa and Montreal, the company managedto turn the challenge of the liquid, aerosol andgel (LAG) restrictions that have plagued manyan operator into a bonafide success story. Most recently, the company’s trans-bor-

der location in Halifax, Nova Scotia, whichwas little more than a kiosk a year ago, wasexpanded into a walkthrough store measur-ing 40-square-meters. While not a large storeby any means, the real draw for Aer Rianta wasits prime location.“The store is quite small but superbly

located,” says Philip Eckles, Regional Managerfor North America and the Caribbean, Aer

Rianta. “We could have had a bigger locationin the main lounge area but agreed with theAirport Authority on a walkthrough loca-tion in the main thoroughfare immediatelyafter US Customs and Border Protection.”The previous kiosk only sold a few core per-

fumery, liquor and tobacco items, but the new

store now offers a complete range of productsin these categories, along with some giftingitems such as Swarovski and Guess products,as well as watches and pens. Largely as a resultof the increased product selection, the locationenjoyed an 82% increase in sales in Q3 2010compared to the same period last year.“Of course, all of this wouldn’t have been

possible in the previous kiosk, so as a resultsales have increased,” explains Eckles. “Infact, the increase in sales has been tremendousat all of our downstream locations in Canada.”Aer Rianta’s sales for the past 12 months

to September 2010 were up in Canada by9.4% over the previous 12-month period.Indeed, this is compared to merely a marginalincrease in departing passenger numbers.With PAX numbers essentially flat, Aer Rianta’ssales boost is largely due to an increase in aver-age customer spend of 9.4% and similarly ris-ing capture rates.This year, the company has also made

great strides in ensuring that the right prod-ucts are in the stores at the right time. Aer

“We had a good year in 2009. As a result,although our increasesover last year are stillgood, we may not beshowing the same bigincreases as operatorsin other regions.”

Philip Eckles, Regional Manager for NorthAmerica and the Caribbean, Aer Rianta

With a new trans-borderstore in Halifax and stablesales growth over last year,Aer Rianta is exactly whereit wants to be heading intothe holiday season

“In a good position” BY RYAN WHITE

Aer Rianta’s main Canadian operation inMontreal is currently reaping the rewardsof recently added routes to Athens,Copenhagen, Rome and Brussels

The new Halifax trans-border location has been expanded to 40-square-meters, giving thecompany more space to showcase products and resulting in an 82% sales increase in Q3 2010

Please contact Deepa J at +1 905-821-3344 ext.#21 or email [email protected]

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Rianta has managed to reduce on-hand stock by 9.5%, which inturn has resulted in a 17.5% improvement in the company’sreturn on investment. While the above statistics aren’t the drastic double-digit increases

that operators in other regions of the world have seen this year, it shouldbe noted that in the region Aer Rianta is coming off a 2009 that wasextremely successful in terms of sales growth over 2008. In October2009, Aer Rianta’s capture rate was around 107% ahead of the pre-vious twelve months.Indeed, all of the Canadian stores that were moved downstream

from security saw increases—some of 35% and some as high as 90%.As an organization, Aer Rianta ended 2009 at 6.5% above 2008.“You have to bear in mind that other regions are having a

tremendous 2010 compared to last year,” explains Eckles. “Withus, however, we had a good year in 2009. As a result, although ourincreases over last year are still good, we may not be showing thesame big increases as operators in other regions.”With regard to the rest of this year and 2011, Aer Rianta will

build two new stores in the new James Armstrong Richardson Inter-national Airport terminal. The trans-border store will measure 103-square-meters, while the international location will measure 30-square-meters. Construction was originally scheduled to begin thisyear but has been postponed until the new year.“We have just completed the request for proposals process for

our general contractor for the construction of the stores,” notesEckles. “There are slight delays with the overall airport project, whichwill mean that we probably will not actually start construction onthe new stores until early in the new year with an opening a fewweeks thereafter.”While both the International Air Transport Association and Air-

ports Council International note that the double-digit increases seenin passenger numbers in many regions of the world this year willlikely shrink to more subdued increases into 2011, Eckles assertsthat Aer Rianta has a lot to look forward to in the coming months.“The feedback we’re getting from the airport authorities is that

2011 will be a good year,” he says. “In Montreal, where our mainCanadian operations are located, there have been new routes intro-duced to Athens, Copenhagen, Rome and Brussels, so this is cer-tainly a positive sign. We’re also looking to boost spend with an upcom-ing promotion planned in cooperation with a Montreal-basedcharity for homeless youth called Dans la Rue.”As part of the initiative, passengers will be able to buy plush

toys at a discounted price with a qualifying purchase. Of course,customers can buy the toys at regular price without meeting theminimum purchase requirement. All profits from the sales of thetoys will be donated to Dans la Rue. Furthermore, Aéroports deMontréal is supporting the initiative by waiving all concession feeson the toys sold during the promotion. “The fact that we are able to help homeless kids during the hol-

iday season and through the Canadian winter is good news,” con-cludes Eckles. “Additionally, we’ve got many other promotionsplanned for the holiday season, although it’s too early to givedetails. Furthermore, the charter season starts earlier this year andwith increased capacity we will likely generate additional sales inour smaller regional stores. We feel we’re in a good position at themoment. All in all, we’re expecting stable growth that will remainahead of passenger numbers in 2011.” [Ed: At press time, it was announced that Philip Eckles was namedthe Head of Aer Rianta - Middle East. Americas Duty Free wishesPhilip the best of luck in his new role with the company.] c

Operator News: Aer Rianta

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In July, Freda Cheung took over as CEOof Aldeasa Vancouver from AntoniFelany, who was promoted to Presi-dent of Aldeasa’s US operations. Notlong before that, Craig Duncan took the

post of Vice President of Operations, bring-ing with him over 20 years of experience inthe retail industry.The success of the company—both prior

to and after the personnel changes—is a tes-tament to Aldeasa’s concentration on main-stays such as customer service and productselection, as well as its commitment to the con-tinued evolution of its Canadian duty freeoperations. Most recently, the company hasopened a corner dedicated to Etro productsin its Les Boutiques store at Vancouver Air-port and plans on opening a wine specialtystore in the airport’s international terminalbefore the year’s end. Finally, Cheung andcompany are also currently featuring an inno-vative promotion in cooperation with Chanel,as well as a very impressive display of RémyCointreau’s Rémy Martin Louis XIII BlackPearl, as a means of enticing passengers to pur-chase at Aldeasa Vancouver’s stores.Sure to capture the attention of travelers in

Vancouver is the new Les Boutiques Etro cor-ner. The 40-square-meter space is the only dutyfree Etro shop in Canada and the second Etrolocation in the country. Etro’s women’s andmen’s prêt-à-porter collections made theirdebut in the 1990s and were immediately praisedfor their stylistic inventiveness and research,both in the materials and the workings. The

artful use of prints and colors—combined withextraordinary craftsmanship, attention to detailand modern cuts—has enabled the Etro labelto enjoy ongoing growth.“Aldeasa firmly maintains its commit-

ment to offer the most important brands inthe world,” says Cheung of the new listing. “Wefocus on ensuring that our commercial spacesreflect the effort we make to offer our cus-tomers only the best and highest qualityproducts. This new opening is a good exam-ple of that commitment.”The operator is also planning on opening

a wine specialty store in the internationalterminal of the same airport later this year.The majority of the 120-square-meter storewill be dedicated to local Canadian winesgiven the strong market demand for them.The remaining space will be dedicated topremium cognacs and Scotch whiskies.Aldeasa’s current “lounge” promotion, run

in conjunction with Chanel’s launch of Chance

Eau Tendre, is another example of how thecompany is keeping things fresh for passen-gers. Cheung explains: “With the lounge pro-motion, passengers can relax on a comfort-able lounge sofa and experience this incred-ible new fragrance, which has proven to be agreat success since it was launched in April.”While the lounge promotion can certainly

be described as unique, Rémy Cointreau’sRémy Martin Louis XIII Black Pearl displaygives an entirely new depth to the word. Only358 bottles were produced worldwide, and theflask located at Aldeasa Vancouver’s store isone of the few still available on the market.This ultra premium, unbelievably rare spiritisn’t just on display, but also available forpurchase. In fact, Aldeasa Vancouver hasactually sold two bottles priced at a stagger-ing CAD$34,000 (US$32,230) each. As for the future, Cheung is looking forward

to increasing passenger numbers into 2011and to receiving an influx of Chinese visitors:“For the rest of this year as well as next year,we are expecting passenger numbers to continuein a positive trend as they have so far this year,”she says. “Canada was recently granted ApprovedDestination Status by the Government ofChina, so we are also very focused on ensur-ing we cater for this new group of visitors.“As a leading travel retail operator, we

are constantly striving to improve anddevelop our business and meet the needs ofour airport partners and our customers,”Cheung concludes. “I look forward to lead-ing our Vancouver team toward an amazingjourney ahead.” c

“We focus on ensuringthat our commercialspaces reflect the effortwe make to offer our cus-tomers only the best andhighest quality products.”

Freda Cheung, CEO, Aldeasa Vancouver

Operator News: Aldeasa Vancouver

The journey

aheadWith Freda Cheungnow at the helm as CEO, Aldeasa Vancouver lists new products,develops new store concepts and continuescatering to passengers’ needs BY RYAN WHITE

With Freda Cheungnow at the helm as CEO, Aldeasa Vancouver lists new products,develops new store concepts and continuescatering to passengers’ needs BY RYAN WHITE

Altan Duty Free Shops in Coutts, Alberta, is having a positive 2010,with sales at this point up by 10% over 2009, says Manager Jan-ice Beagle. The American mix in the store’s customer base hasfallen, Beagle says, thanks to stricter customs requirements

that require travelers from the US to Canada to bring a passport or validequivalent. The new rules are part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Ini-tiative introduced in 2004 by the US government. The restrictions werein the works for a long time, but that doesn’t seem to have persuaded very

Mixedsignals

Hitting the highway

For Boutique HorsTaxes, 2010 is aturnaround year

“The move was definitely worthwhile,” says John Mar-shall, President of St. Stephen Tax/Duty Free Storein St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Marshall is referringto the store’s relocation last February to a border loca-

tion on a new four-lane bypass highway at a new crossing a fewmiles south of St. Stephen. Previously, the store was located in thetown itself, in an old building with poor parking facilities. What’smore, the traffic was seriously congested, making it difficult forshoppers to visit the store.Now, traffic isn’t a worry and there’s more than enough park-

ing space, Marshall says. On top of that, retail space is now 279-square-meters, double what it was in the old store. And despitesome hiccups, signs are that business is on the increase.“The first summer we weren’t happy with some of the highway

signage,” Marshall says, “but even so traffic is up 40% over ’09.” Thecustomer mix is mostly Canadians, but there has been an increasein American customers. One reason, Marshall thinks, is the fact thatthe CAT Ferry, which used to run between Yarmouth, Nova Scotiaand Bar Harbor and Portland in Maine, was cancelled a year ago. “They had duty-free on the ferry,” Marshall says. “The travel-

ers were almost 100% American, and we’re the next border cross-ing they can get to, so they come here now.”Alcohol and tobacco are the bestselling categories. Confec-

tionery is growing, Marshall says, clothing and souvenirs arestrong, and fragrances are only “so-so.” This year Marshall has beenworking on streamlining the clothing category, pushing out the olderlines that are holdovers from the old location, bringing in new ones,and expanding the category overall.There’s not usually a lot of traffic around the Christmas season,

with the store’s main selling season being from June to November.The tail end of that season, from September to November, has beengetting stronger in recent years. Over the next year Marshall says hewill “definitely” expand the number of staff to support business growth,and he’s optimistic about the years ahead. “We’ll definitely expandin future,” he says. “There’s a lot of room here to expand.”

2010 has been a good year forCanadian border duty free, butwithin the generally positivetrend, individual stores seem to be seeing different trends

Americans down,Canadians up at Altan


Boutique HorsTaxes takes thingsslow and steady

Canadian Border Stores

“We’re seeing more Canadians than Americans every year,thanks to the weak US dollar,” says Eric Lapointe,Manager of Boutique Hors Taxes de la Beauce. The trendhelps to drive continuing strong sales of tobacco prod-

ucts, wines and spirits, and perfumes. At the moment tobacco accountsfor 26.4% of sales, wines and spirits 39.26% (42% if you include beer)and perfumes 22.8%.Boutique Hors Taxes doesn’t depend heavily on promotions. The store

runs some loss leaders during the summer season, but they’re mainlysmall promotions on single units in perfumes and alcohol, designed todraw customers in, and not large-scale, multi-SKU affairs. June to Sep-tember is the main selling season, seeing 75% of the annual business. With the decline in American customers, souvenirs and gifts are down,

and Lapointe says tobacco could be better, but in general 2010 has been agood year so far – sales have increased year-over-year for the first time since2002. When we spoke with Lapointe, the store had seen almost 17,000 cus-tomers for the year, which puts it in good shape to beat the 17,200 figurefor 2009, even if the remaining weeks constitute a slow period.As for upgrades, Lapointe explains that the store takes a proactive

approach to improving its 157-square-meters of space. “Instead of hav-ing some big upgrade now and then,” he says, “we do a little somethingevery year. This year we expanded perfumes, last year we had new shelvesfor wines and spirits, the year before that new shelves for confectionery.We’d rather spend a few thousand dollars on improvements every year thanwait – and then have to spend a much larger amount after several years.”

Peace Arch moves up-market asthe customer gets younger

Olympics aren’t quiteover for Peace Arch“W

e’re doing extremely well,” says Peter Raju, President of Peace Arch Duty Free,on the border in Richmond, B.C. The store is capitalizing on a continued shiftin clientele, as younger customers in the 20-40 age range supplant the oldergeneration. This shift has plenty of implications, especially since it’s occurring

as Raju continues his upscale repositioning of the store – he told us his goal is to turn Peace ArchDuty Free into something closely akin to an airport duty-free store.“For one thing, we’re seeing lower sales in scotch and single malts,” he says. “The trend now

is towards summery ‘party’ drinks like vodka and rum, where sales are way up.” As reported pre-viously, the large Asian population in Vancouver has an influence on what sells: Raju notes thatthey boost the performance of the leather goods category. Fragrances and cosmetics, meanwhile,are merely “stable,” Raju says.Overall, sales are up 10% over 2009. In alcohol, the bestsellers right now are Grey Goose,

Crown Royal and Bacardi. In perfumes it’s Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. In skin care,the Asian clientele has helped to drive Shiseido skincare sales up by an impressive 60% this year. Last year, Raju spent around Cdn$2 million to renovate the store’s 2,415-square-meter of retail

space in anticipation of the Winter Olympics, and to support the addition of luxury goods tothe retail mix. The Olympics increased traffic, but oddly, they recently did so again, months afterthe games ended: a new ten-lane border crossing that was intended to accommodate theOlympics was finally ready only in September. That opening has helped drive a 300,000-vehi-cle increase in traffic in 2010.

many Montanans to do what’s necessary toget across the border.“Our Canadian souvenir products are

down,” Beagle says. “Many Montana resi-dents just are not crossing the border, leav-ing an 80% to 20% Canadian mix. And witha strong Canadian dollar, Canadian cross-border shopping is on the rise – also snow-birds are increasing yearly and we forecastanother significant increase this year.” One major growth category is accessories

(purses, jewelry, etc.). However a strong com-mercial customer base means that tobacco isstill the star, accounting for 60% of sales, fol-lowed by liquor at 25% and perfume at 10%. Coutts is the primary Alberta-US border

crossing, and has received some attention latelyin terms of improvements to traffic flow, whichhave helped Altan. “Last November we got toopen our trucker exit lane, which has relieveda lot of parking and traffic issues,” Beagle says.And the store has carried out its own ‘infra-structure’ work: all-new flooring was recentlyinstalled in the retail area, with upgrades in theliquor and tobacco sections. Plans for a majorperfume renovation are in the works too. “We’ve made adjustments for our ever

changing industry,” Beagle says, “and weanticipate another good year.”

Going out with a bang“W

e’re seeing more American customers,” says JohnSlipp, President of Woodstock Duty Free, located inthe Atlantic Travel Centre in Woodstock, NewBrunswick, where Highway 95 crosses the US bor-

der to Houlton, Maine. This is the first increase in American traffic sincethe fateful year 2001, he says. Slipp hesitates when asked why this is happening. He notes, as does

John Marshall of St. Stephen Tax/Duty Free, that the suspension of CATferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia has driven cross-bordertraffic to other crossings, and says that some of the increase is doubt-less due to that, but that nonetheless a lot of the new arrivals are peo-ple who never took the ferry. He notices there are fewer campers andmotor homes coming in from the US, and more couple in cars stayingat bed and breakfasts. “It’s a higher-end, semi-retired clientele,” Slipp says. The end result of this shift in clientele is that the average spend is

rising, Slipp says. Sales this year are up 6% over 2009, which is higher

than expectations. “We expected sales to be flat,” Slipp reports, “but nowI’m expecting to end the year with between 5% and 10% revenuegrowth for the year.” Bags, wallets and purses are the strongest sellers. When we spoke with him, Woodstock Duty Free was about to launch

its Annual Holiday Escape Promotion, which is aimed at female cus-tomers crossing the border to go to shopping destinations in Maineand New Hampshire. “In addition to many in-store specials, ourcustomers can also enter to win a local Canadian gift basket and shop-ping spree sponsored by local merchants in our local community,”Slipp says. The campaign is marketed primarily through direct mail.November is the store’s primary holiday season and is quickly becom-

ing the best month of the year, Slipp says. When we spoke he was ready-ing for holiday traffic, decorating the 306-square-meter store, addingstaff and increasing inventory. “We’re getting ready earlier than in past years,” he says. “We have

big expectations for holiday-season sales.

At Woodstock, more Americansequals higher average spend

Canadian Border Stores


Blue Water’s in atight spot butworks hard onpromotion

Travel Retail SpecialistsTravel Retail Specialists��

Maan Sales Associates1495 Chasehurst DriveMississauga, ON L5J 3A8o/f 905 855 9873cell 416 988 8257

Contact: Michael Gray - President

Canadian traffic is up at Blue WaterBridge Duty Free, says Peter Brain,Special Projects Manager. Blue Wateris located at the Point Edward bor-

der crossing in Sarnia, Ontario. The trafficincrease is a result of the strong exchangerate versus the US dollar, a phenomenonwhich also explains a decline in US traffic.“Sales to overnight Canadian travelers are

strong,” Brain says, “but an issue at our portis that many Canadian travelers are day trip-pers who don’t qualify for liquor and tobaccopurchase exemptions.” Other factors restrict-ing traffic have been construction on thehighway that leads to the crossing, and lengthyprocessing times at US. Customs during peakperiods. Finally, Ontario’s imposition of the13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) definitelyputs the Canadian side at a disadvantage,especially with the sales tax across the bor-der in Michigan at only 6%.All these factors account for the fact that

sales are off slightly in the flagship liquor andfragrance categories, as well as some others.“But we continue to pursue an aggressive

monthly sales promotion program to positivelyaffect store capture rates,” Brain says. “We’realso doing extensive advertising along thehighway near the store, using some very largeformat programmable message boards putin place this year by Blue Water Bridge Canada.”Blue Water runs what Brain calls one of the

most extensive ongoing monthly promotionalprograms in land border duty free. “We investheavily each month in completely changingour promotions, including sign and graphicalelements in the store, in the parking lot and alongthe highway.” One payoff is that many liquor sup-pliers now use the store to test new marketingand promotion ideas for the duty free market. Brain says the plan is to continue to refine

the store’s marketing, paying special attentionto Canadian day trippers, which are the biggestgrowth segment. He is also hoping that thenational branding and marketing programbeing formulated by the Frontier Duty FreeAssociation will help business when it’s rolledout later this fall. “We’re also making evolutionarychanges to our product mix, including addingnew package sizes and price points, in an attempt

to better appeal to the day-trip shoppers.” Because the store is distant from large US

metropolitan centers, the holiday season isn’ta major fixture. Instead, Blue Water’s businessis year round, tied to weekends, travel toevents such as NASCAR races in Michigan,and the banner special holiday weekends.c

It pays to promote


Industry News


National Gross Sales -Airport January-September 10 Variance

Department (product lines) Imported (IDNP) Imported [IDP) Domestic Total Sales Imported Domestic TOTALRayon (gamme de produits) Importees Importees Nationales Mix % +/- % +/- % +/- %

Accessories (purses, wallets, sunglasses,etc.) $2,246,830.03 $2,526,429.25 $121,039.67 $4,894,298.95 3.24% 21.98% 217.47% 23.87%Alcohol (liquor, liqueur, wine, coolers) $16,104,646.22 $0.00 $18,101,733.47 $34,206,379.69 22.63% 11.01% 13.38% 12.25%Beer (beer, malt-based coolers) $23.97 $0.00 $180,427.44 $180,451.41 0.12% -25.00% -16.34% -16.34%Clothing (including hats, fur, leather) $2,405,940.46 $2,435,954.28 $180,370.52 $5,022,265.26 3.32% 67.78% 5.16% 64.27%Crafts/arts $0.00 $23,538.48 $76,950.45 $100,488.93 0.07% 211.70% 13.98% 33.87%Electronics, cameras, binoculars, etc. $163,029.12 $292,035.61 $1,105.74 $456,170.47 0.30% -6.94% 22059.12% -6.72%Food $3,993,831.49 380,377.11 $7,992,362.39 $12,366,570.99 8.18% 23.33% 9.69% 14.16%Glassware, crystal, china, figurines, porcelain $61,564.81 $191,272.39 $54,304.67 $307,141.87 0.20% -9.41% -8.91% -9.32%Jewellery, watches, clocks $4,205,889.94 $4,255,748.36 $249,230.86 $8,710,869.16 5.76% 24.82% 117.80% 26.37%Office and travel supplies $3,113,087.46 $1,459,797.53 $18,019.63 $4,590,904.62 3.04% -2.77% -62.95% -3.38%Perfume, Cosmetics, Skincare $45,634,329.78 $153,882.55 $671,847.03 $46,460,059.36 30.74% 9.88% 13.02% 9.92%Souvenirs (no clothing) $13,899.22 $2,566,376.25 $1,270,399.20 $3,850,674.67 2.55% 42.67% 41.09% 42.15%Tobacco, cigars, loose tobacco $18,909,759.84 $9,777.25 $11,081,899.65 $30,001,436.74 19.85% 7.79% 3.04% 5.99%Other $0.14 $0.00 $32.99 $33.13 0.00% -17.65% 0.00% 19388.24%TOTAL/TOTAUX $96,852,832.48 $14,295,189.06 $39,999,723.71 $151,147,745.25 100.00% 13.25% 10.45% 12.50%Source: FDFA

Airport duty freeleads the way

The Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) recently releasedits analysis of land border and airport duty free sales dur-ing the month of September. The organization notes thatthe main categories that dominated sales at land borderduty free stores across Canada were (in order of sales in

September from highest to lowest) Alcohol (liquor, liqueur, wine andcoolers); Tobacco, Cigars and Loose Tobacco; Perfume, Cosmeticsand Skincare; Beer (beer and malt-based coolers); Food; Jewelry,Watches and Clocks; Clothing (including hats, fur and leather); Acces-sories (purses, wallets, sunglasses, etc.); Souvenirs; Glassware, Crys-tal, China, Figurines and Porcelain; Office and Travel Supplies; Other;Crafts and Arts; and Electronics, Cameras, Binoculars, etc.

Canadian land border duty free salesOverall, CAD$13.5 million (US$13.2 million) worth of goods was soldat land border duty free stores in Canada throughout September2010. This represents a 0.18% decrease in sales compared to September2009. January–September 2010 sales saw a 0.27% increase comparedto the same period last year. Finally, the FDFA reports that sales atland border duty free shops for January–September 2010 totaledCAD$105.7 million (US$103.2 million).

Canadian airport duty free salesThe national airport duty free sales figure for September 2010 isreported by the FDFA as being CAD$19 million (US$18.5 million).This is an increase in sales of 12% compared to September 2009. Jan-uary–September 2010 sales saw an increase of 12% compared to the

same period last year, with total sales for January–September 2010at CAD$151 million (US$147.4 million).

Land border sales by regionDuring September 2010, sales in the Prairie region totaled approxi-mately CAD$940,204 (US$917, 466). This figure represents an increasein sales of 7.44% from September 2009. For the period of Janu-ary–September 2010, the Prairie region saw sales totaling CAD$7.4million (US$7.2 million), with an overall year-on-year increase overJanuary–September 2009 of 10.49%. The Pacific region saw sales in September 2010 total CAD$2.1 mil-

lion (US$2.04 million). This figure represents a 1.86% increase in salescompared to September 2009. For the period of January–September2010, sales increased in the region by 2% compared to the sameperiod last year. Total sales for January–September 2010 equaledCAD$17.4 million (US$16.9 million). Land border sales in Ontario during September 2010 totaled

CAD$7.5 million (US$7.3 million). This represents a decrease in salesof 1.69% compared to September 2009. January–September 2010 salesdecreased by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2009. Sales for Jan-uary–September 2010 totaled CAD$58.1 million (US$56.6 million). Finally, in the Atlantic/Quebec region, sales for September 2010

totaled CAD$2.9 million (US$2.8 million), representing a salesincrease of 0.06% compared to September 2009. For January–Sep-tember 2010, sales increased by 1.16% compared to the same periodlast year. Total sales for January–September 2010 equaled CAD$22.7million (US$22.1 million). c

While Canadian land border duty free sales in September remained essentially flat over lastyear, sales in airport stores provided a low double-digit boost for the industry BY RYAN WHITE

Company News: H2O Plus


Established in 1989 by Cindy Melk,H2O Plus is based on the ideathat the sea has huge power toheal, protect and renew skin. Thecompany’s product strategy is

centered on water-based, oil-free skincareproducts for the face and body, and buyershave proven to be very responsive.Elizabeth Maul, Director of Global Mar-

keting, H20 Plus, notes that the companyhas benefited from the “pull” model, withmuch of its expansion occurring when trav-elers contact the company to set up distrib-utorship agreements to bring the products tonew markets.The store locator on the H2O Plus web-

site lists 21 countries in addition to the US,Asia, Europe and the Americas, and the com-pany boasts 1,500 distribution points aroundthe world, in boutique environments as wellas prestige retailers. Duty free and travel retailplay a huge role, and the company continuesto look to that end of the market to fuelfuture growth.“Duty free is really key for us,” says Maul.

“We’re a global brand and that global con-sumer who travels is obviously very impor-tant to us – and since the duty free market isall across the globe, it’s important for us tohave a presence there.”On the Canada/US border, the company

has set up shop in Ontario, Quebec, B.C. andManitoba, and is now pushing for an airportpresence as well. “We’ve been in the Canadian

market for a very long time,” Maul says. “TheToronto [local market] store was actually ourfirst international store when the companystarted. It’s nice to have the border presenceas well, so the consumer can purchase whetherthey’re going into or out of the country.”H2O’s duty free agent, GMP Services, works

with Beler Holdings, a Canadian border storedistributor of luxury products. This year, Maulsays, the company’s North American operationslaunched with 16 points of distribution. Twelveare located on the Canadian border throughBeler, two on the Mexican border are withFairn & Swanson, and farther south are twomore stores through St. Honore, at Amador inPanama and Roatan in Honduras. “Through our partnership with GMP, we

plan to continue to grow our distributionon the Canadian and Mexican borders aswell as open up new distribution in theCaribbean, Central America, and South Amer-ica in the next year,” Maul says. “We hope toround off this year with Bermuda, some ofthe British and US Virgin Islands.”

The science of successThere are several pillars to the success of theH2O Plus portfolio. Products are based onexclusive sea-derived ingredients, includingmarine botanical blends that focus on hydra-tion, anti-aging and oil control. These ingre-dients are combined withadvanced skincare technolo-gies, including time-releaseliposomes, polyvitamin pro-fusion, peptide fusion andmicro-current technology.

The company boasts a patented moisturetransportation and delivery system based ona sea mineral complex that attracts, transportsand distributes moisture within the skin, inthe volumes required to firm and diminishfine lines and restore a youthful appearance.Worldwide, H2O’s number one bestselling

line is the Oasis collection, the company’s sig-nature oil-free hydration system. Infused withnourishing marine botanicals, the productfloods the skin with water-rich nourishmentto maintain a youthful appearance. It worksby plumping out fine lines and maintains itseffect by means of time-released hydration. “No matter where we go in the world it’s

our number one selling line,” Maul says,adding that the product is sold every twominutes somewhere in the world – an impres-sive benchmark.The top selling product is the Face Oasis

Hydrating Treatment. This original, 100% oil-free, water-based hydrator deploys time-releasedliposome technology to optimize moisturedelivery, retention and absorption. The hydrat-ing marine blend includes sea fennel, sea let-tuce and wakame, and reinforces collagen andelastin while energizing, strengthening andhydrating. It’s fortified with phospholipids tobind water to the skin, plumping and restor-ing skin’s natural moisture balance.Maul notes that with an Oasis UltimateHydration Collection set, customers receivea full-size Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment,full-size Oasis24 Hydrating booster and inaddition will receive an Oasis face cleanser,face mist, and eye gel in smaller sizes. “Ifyou’re an H2O loyalist, youhave those sizes to take withyou when you travel,” Maulsays. “But if you’re new to the

The H2O Plus market differentiator is the skincare potential contained in the world’s oceans – and new scientific discoveries keep things moving BY HIBAH NOOR

Making waves with marine science

Oasis Collection


brand and you like Face Oasis because you’veheard about it, this gives you the opportunityto try new products as well. We do this on thelocal markets also.”To celebrate the company’s 20th anniver-

sary last year, H2O released Face Oasis UltraHydrator for dry skin. This is a completelyoil-free gel-cream with five times the hydrat-ing power of Face Oasis, protecting againstdaily dehydration and environmental offend-ers. Bio-marine extracts provide instanthydration, while fucus serratus – a North

Atlantic seaweed – also contributes hydrat-ing properties and stems moisture loss. Likethe Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment, theUltra Hydrator contains a hydrating marineblend of sea fennel, sea lettuce and wakame.Polyvitamin (vitamins A, C, E) profusiondelivered via nutri-spheres helps to protectagainst cell-damaging free radicals andreduces visible signs of aging. ProvitaminB5’s deeply hydrating humectants help byattracting moisture from the air.There are two other skincare lines that H2O

distributes in duty free. The Aqualibrium col-lection comprises daily essentials to keep skinblemish-free healthy-looking. Aqualib-rium is fortified with marine botani-cals, vitamins and minerals, with an

exclusive hydrating marine blend. Planktonextract delivers fortifying nutrients, makingskin more resilient. “These are our daily multi-taskers,” Maul says. “They’ll go with any skin-care that we have.”The Sea Results line features advanced

formulas based on transformative marinenutrients and skincare science that help pre-vent and rewind visible signs of aging. Marinecollagen nourishes the skin’s support struc-ture to promote a firmer appearance, smooth-ing fine lines and restoring natural radiance.

The company’s market differentiator ismarine science “or ‘marine skincare’ if youwill,” Maul says. “It’s about ingredients fromthe sea and we couple that with science andtechnology and that’s really our point ofdifference.” She refers to a marine scienceexhibit that recently toured the globe, andrecalls how impressed she was by the fact thatmarine scientists say more is known aboutthe face of Mars than about what’s in theworld’s oceans.

“There’s all sorts of new discoveries on newsea plants and underwater elements thatreally have amazing benefits for your skin,”she says. “For us it’s really wonderful becauseit’s an endless arena to play in from a newproduct development standpoint.”For promotions, H2O relies on sampling

and gift-with-purchase (GWP). “For the con-sumer who may know us or be a regular, weoffer on occasion gift set options,” Maul adds.“These would package multiple productstogether in a specific gift set.” As this went topress, the Cdn$30 qualifier GWP on offer induty free stores featured five products: SeaResults 3-in-1 Foaming Cleanser (50ml),Line Resolution Cream SPF 30 (8ml),Unscented Hand & Nail Cream (30ml) andHand & Cuticle Scrub (30ml) – all new. Thefifth entrant was the bestselling Dual-ActionEye Makeup Remover (30ml).The company has just launched a com-

pletely revamped H2Oplus.com website.“This is really exciting for us,” Maul says.“We’ve really looked at how we’re commu-nicating and talking about the products, soevery single product description has beenupdated and we’ve changed all of the imagery.There are more interactive and user-friendlytools, and there are skincare consultations anddiagnostics.”Wrapping up the company’s success, Maul

notes that H2O’s transformative approachremains based on “an innovative sea-scienceapproach to skincare. Each formulation isdesigned not only to produce results but tomaximize the skincare experience on everysensory level. “Our goal is to always remain at the fore-

front of new ingredients and technologywhile remaining true to our concept.” c

“Through our partnership with GMP Services, we plan tocontinue to grow our distributionon the Canadian and Mexicanborders as well as open up newdistribution in the Caribbean,Central America, and SouthAmerica in the next year.”

Elizabeth Maul, Director of Global Marketing, H20 Plus

Sea Results Collection

Aqualibrium Collection

Company News: DFX Distribution

Americas Duty Free: What will you beexhibiting during the upcoming FDFA show?Alexandria DeBellis, VP of Marketing &Sales, DFX Distribution: We have some excit-ing fragrances for this semester. The launchfor us that has been quite successful is Gior-gio Armani Acqua di Gioia. We’re also antic-ipating doing really well this quarter withLady Million by Paco Rabanne and we’relaunching the new Guess Seductive. Everythingabout it is great - the juice is a floriental

woody fragrance and the packaging, priceand the advertising are all fabulous. This willbe the first Guess fragrance we’ll be launch-ing in conjunction with GMP Services.We’re also launching Eva by Eva Longo-

ria. Everybody loves the juice and the pack-aging and it is a unique fragrance. It’s thefirst fragrance that people who are allergic tofragrances can wear. As well, there’s a greatGWP to go along with a purchase of thescent – a lady’s grey tote.

We’re also doing the new Prada InfusionIris EDT, which is launching in duty free atthe same time as in the domestic market.This is something lighter; it’s going to be anincredible wearable fragrance available in50ml and 100ml. In August, Ricci Ricci by NinaRicci was a good success for us. Yves Saint Lau-rent will also be showing at the show – BelleD’Opium – as well as Givenchy Play for Herand the new Victorinox Swiss unlimited EDTfor men.

ADF: Did you have any special promotionsin the summer season?AD: We launched the fashion fragranceHearts and Daggers by Ed Hardy in July.

That did really well for us. We’re alsodoing a great GWP – we have a totefor the ladies and a great gym bag forthe men. In November we’re com-ing out with a five-piece gift set atthe same price as the regular spray.

In an interview with Americas Duty Free,fellow Canadian Alexandria DeBellis, VPof Marketing & Sales at DFX Distribution,commented on this season’s line-up ofnew launches, promotions and incentives

“We recently implemented minimakeovers. We never used to dothose before; we just started in thesummer time. We’re doing themakeovers with Dior and Lancômeproducts – those are our two biggestcosmetic companies.”

Alexandria DeBellis, VP of Marketing & Sales, DFX Distribution


Savvy incentivesDFX Distribution pulls out all the stops when unveiling original promotions and incentives

BY HIBAH NOOR

Eva by Eva Longoria

Ed Hardy Hearts andDaggers GWPs

The set will include a 100ml EDP spray, a7.5ml spray, 90ml shower gel, 90ml bodylotion and an original Ed Hardy luggage tag.For men it’s a 100ml EDT spray, 7.5ml spray,a 90ml shower gel, and an original Hearts andDaggers key chain.

ADF: Is there a particular brand that DFXis giving a big push to? AD: We recently started distributing the H2OPlus brand that we picked up from GMP Ser-vices. It’s doing so well – we have a two-by-twogondola in the stores that showcases its treat-ment products on one side, and the other sidehighlights bath and body products. Working withthis brand has been one of the most pleasant

surprises we’ve had. When I booked this brandwith GMP I said we’ll take five units, and rightnow we’ve opened up 11 doors and I would reallylike to have more. We’re looking at taking thetwo-by-two displays and making them intotwo-by-four so this is going to be something we’rereally going to be pushing in 2011. I think a lotof people are going back to basics. It’s not justa hypoallergenic line; it is a line that offersingredients derived from the sea.

ADF: What are you doing to capture themarket?AD: We always try to tie our launches to GWPsand incentives for the staff. This way the beautyadvisors (BAs) will get something and the cus-tomer is also going to receive some extra valuefor his or her purchase. In conjunction withKenzo fragrances we’re doing a special LouisVuitton sales staff incentive program. Thestores have to achieve their sales and generatean increase. The store that has the highestincrease will receive three prizes, first prizeLouis Vuitton Sarah Wallet (Cdn$560), secondprice Cdn$150 Visa card and third Cdn$125 VisaCard. The store that comes in second willreceive Louis Vuitton Emilie Wallet (Cdn$400),second prize Cdn$125 and then Cdn$100 Visacard. For the third and forth store they willreceive Visa Gift cards in various amounts.We’re constantly doing incentives for the

girls. The incentives take place in top storessuch as Windsor Tunnel, Peace Bridge, Nia-gara Duty Free, Peninsula Duty Free, BHTPhilipsburg, IGL, BHT de L’est, AmbassadorDuty Free, Abbotsford, Blue Water BridgeDuty Free, Pac Can, and West Coast Duty Free.Earlier on in the year we did a Lancôme

contest; the BAs that reached their targetsreceived a Lancôme make-up coffret. Thethird place winner received a skincare cof-fret with Cdn$100, the second place winnerreceived a skincare coffret and choice oflarge spray and Cdn$150 and the first

place winner won the same prize as the sec-ond place winner with an additional Cdn$50.The grand prize winner won a trip for two toLas Vegas, a trip valued at Cdn$2,500, withCdn$500 for spending money. This contest washeld in Rock Island and it accumulated anincrease of 38%. To get these kinds of resultswhen business is in the slump is fabulous. For some of the smaller stores where we

don’t do the incentives. Instead we organizea breakfast luncheon with the staff. We try toaccommodate all the stores and get them toparticipate differently.

ADF: You mentioned earlier on that retail-ers are allocating more space to newlaunches. Why is this?AD: I think they realize that people comeinto the store to buy liquor and tobacco, judg-ing by the way things have been recently. Butnow we have good opportunities with greatGWPs and great incentives, so retailers are nowsaying that we should have some excitement,similar to what you would find in a depart-ment store. They’ve opened up the areas andwe have great launches, HPPs like stockers, floormats, full set banners, just like any departmentstore. Most of the stores are taking advantageof that on a rotation basis. They’re doing itevery month or every two months.

ADF: What are you doing to engage your cus-tomers?AD: We recently implemented mini makeovers.We never used to do those before; we juststarted in the summer time. We’re doing themakeovers with Dior and Lancôme products– those are our two biggest cosmetic compa-nies. The BAs wear the brush sets around thestores so they can do a quick touch up and showthe customer how to extend that eye or makethe evening eye. The feedback from the BAshas been great; they say that it’s a lot easier forthem to sell additional products. c

Ed Hardy offers a five-piece gift set to travelers

DFX Distributionarranges mini makeovers

at Ambassador DutyFree store in Windsor

Beauty Beat

Le Male Terrible by Jean Paul GaultierCompany: Beauty Prestige InternationalDescription: Made to bring out the badboy in every man, the EDT extremestarts off with a freshness of bittersweetgrapefruit with pink pepper and a hintof lavender. The end notes comprisevetiver, vanilla and ambery musk

The buzz around beauty Newest scents, skincare and cosmetics are ready to be scooped up in the Canadian travel retail market

BY HIBAH NOOR

Calvin Klein BeautyCompany: Coty PrestigeDescription: A new inter-pretation of a lily - a neolily – is the heart and soulof the fragrance. Ambretteseeds enhance the spicywarmth, jasmine elevatesthe floral signature and atrail of cedarwood bringsbeauty to the drydown

Belle D’OpiumCompany: Yves Saint Laurent, ParbelDescription: The “next-generation”version of the brand’s iconic Opiumfragrance is an oriental scent developedby perfumers Honorine Blanc and AlbertoMorillas. The notes include Casablancalily, sandalwood, gardenia, white pepper,jasmine and narguile accord

Re-Nutriv Ultimate Eye DuoCompany: Estee LauderDescription: Now available in a travelexclusive duo, this ultra-luxurious, all-powerful eye creme is a singularachievement in visible age correction

Cadillac Black Limited Edition Company: Beauty Contact Description: This 100mledt was inspired by theiconic Cadillac brandname, which has alwayssymbolized elegance, class and style

Extra-FirmingFoundation SPF 15Company: ClarinsDescription: A formula of richin powerful plant extracts thatoffers women effective firmingand smoothing actions


MidnightRecoveryConcentrateCompany: Kiehl’sDescription: Apowerful concentrationspecifically formulatedto biologically replicateskin’s natural lipids foroptimal skin repairduring the night

Bang by Marc JacobsCompany: Coty Prestige Description: The new men’sfragrance starts with an explosionof its signature threesome of black,pink and white peppercorns. Theheart and the base of the fragranceare wrapped with primal masculinewoods. Hypnotic elemi resinoid andaromatic benzoin join with vetiver,white moss and patchouli. For thefirst time ever, Marc Jacobs thedesigner appears in his ownadvertising campaign


Pure Color PeonyBlossom Lip PotsCompany: Estee LauderDescription: This beautiful newlip set features three lip pots inthe floral peony design includingWild Lilac, Pink Innocence andBrazen Berry. This newlimited edition lip trioset complete withapplicator makesthe perfect gift

Black Velvet CollectionCompany: Bobbi BrownDescription: Perfect for the fallseason. Charcoal eye shadows,lips products in plum, red, mapleand cherry are just some of thefabulous shades in this collection

Source Defense SerumCompany: BvlgariDescription: This cell-energybooster is designed toneutralize the effects of agingat its source by preservingmitochondria, the sole sourceof cell energy. Combined witha powerful anti-oxidant, thishigh-performance anti-agingweapon preserves skin’syouthfulness capital

Beauty Beat

Guess SeductiveCompany: Coty BeautyDescription: A glamorousfloriental woody fragrancefor the seductive womanwho is iconic, memorableand legendary

Business Complete.

Duty Free Show of the Americas

Duty Free Show of the Americas

March 20 – 23, 2011 | Orlando World Center Marriott | Orlando, Florida, USA

Here’s what attendees from our 2010 show had to say:

“ I saw 95% of all my customers in just 3 days!”“This is an outstanding working convention!”“ I think it was one of the most exciting shows in quite some years!”

“My company secured lots of new business.”“The level of buyers was excellent.”

IAADFS – for over 40 years, representing North, South, and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean

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Make sure YOU take advantage of all that our show has to offer. Visit www.iaadfs.org for updated information on the show and to register online, or call +1-202-367-1184 for assistance.

Join us at the Orlando World Center Marriott from March 20 – 23 to get business done in a very cost-effective environment, with everything under one roof.

The IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas draws as many as 1,000 buyers representing more than 330 distinct duty free store-operating companies and more than 200 exhibitors with the latest, most sought-after products.

2011

FDFA Exhibitors


Austrian crystal specialist Swarovskiis experiencing double digit growthin sales across Canadian airportand border store locations.

Swarovski Canada’s Sales Manager - Spe-cial Channels, Parker Baile commented: “Wehave been gaining market share due to the factthat we are one of a few brands that offersaffordable luxury.”In the second half of 2010 the company

launched new fashion jewelry in the core rangealong with the annual ornaments that arestrongest sellers for the fourth quarter per SKU.Baile explained that a major part of the

company’s success this season was the imple-

mentation of its assort-ment tiering. “This new assortment plan wascreated to make sure that we do not underassort or over assort any one location. Thisprogram helps buyers bring in the minimumnumber of SKUs while maximizing the turnswithin our brand,” he said. “All assortments are tiered via customer

demographic combined with the actual spaceallocated per location. This new programselection has proven to work extremely wellin duty free giving us double digit compgrowth over last year per overall,” noted Baile.This year saw the introduction of Swarovski

pens across Canada. “Our new pens have proven

to be our largest incremental sales growth persku in travel retail for 2010 to date, within theself service program. The accounts that plannedahead and took advantage of these items thatretail for CAD$26 in duty free found theseSKUs were the most successful part of the selfservice program,” explained Baile. Swarovski’s fashion jewelry items have

been the key driver of the business; averagepricing is well above CAD$100. The companyobserves that younger buyers recognize thebrand as fashion forward name which hashelped Swarovski to capitalize with its fash-ionable styles in crystal as well as color.

Diverse FDFA exhibitors

Swarovski shines in Canadian duty free

Maan showcases new sizzling brands

Swarovski recently introduced pens tothe Canadian duty free market that have

proven to boost incremental sales

Canada-based distributor Mann SalesAssociates unveils Ice-Watch, GoSnacks products and Riana jewelrycollection to the Canadian duty free

during this year’s Frontier Duty Free show.Canadian entrepreneur Michael Gray

embarked on his distribution business six yearsago. “My main premise for starting the companywas to be in travel retail and I started withsome smaller brands which I don’t have any-more as things have evolved,” explained Gray.The Ice-Watch brand which Mann picked

up recently as a sales agent for duty free inCanada is a lifestyle brand for the consumerwho is looking for a timepiece for work, sports,holiday or party. Each watch is distinguishedby striking design and attractive packaging.“Ice-Watch just shipped their products

to 49 Bay stores across Canada,” explainedGray. “I’ve opened up about three or fourduty free stores already. My main intentionin getting the line in the summer time was tolaunch it at the FDFA convention.”Ice-Watch products will have a signifi-

cant presence at the Mann Sales Associatesbooth. “The brand isn’t new but maybe to thepeople in North America. It was launched inAsia years ago – it took off in Europe, now 48countries sell the brand,” said Gray.The two major lines that the agent will be

showing include best sellers such as the Siliand Classic lines.The company has also added a new line of

natural snacks called Go Snacks in 15 different

ranges. The brand carries inexpen-sive pick-up items such as peanuts in dif-ferent varieties. “More importantly Go Snacks have a nat-

ural line from Tropical Valley Foods calledMixed Organics – that’s one of the strongestlines they carry and I’ll be showing that at theshow,” said Gray. The snacks are available in 10 varieties, such

as coconut, apricot, cherry, almonds andmore, covered in dark chocolate and retail-ing at US$6.99 to $7.99. The distributer is also showcasing the

Riana jewelry collection, which is availableworldwide. The line offers a broad range ofjewelry for men and women. “For this brandI’m a sales agent in duty free only. The lineis very well made and available in Canadianlocal market as well,” said Gray.Mann will continue to offer Skagen watches

for duty free along with self-developed Cana-dian souvenirs called CanadaTin. “I have sixdifferent SKUs and inside each of these tinsthere’s maple syrup toffee. I have been sellingthem for about four years now to retailerssuch as Nuance, Aldeasa, Aer Rianta and all thedifferent border stores and gift shops,” he said.“That’s a significant part of my company.”

A whole slew of exhibitors ready themselves to welcome buyers from East to West during this year’s Frontier Duty Free show BY HIBAH NOOR

Mann Sales Associates recently added the Rianajewelry collection to its diverse portfolio


CBM Inc./Meade Ray Intl., a leadingmanufacturer and supplier of smallleather goods and accessories, pre-sents Roots’ most recent fall collection

of wallets called Mystic.With its intricate and overlapping folds, this

new collection mixes fashion with elegance.Each piece offers a multitude of card slots andpockets, resulting in a collection that will sat-isfy both the conservative and trend conscious,says the company. Each piece is complementedby the rich color hue of its material.The collection is available in select stores

across Canada for a limited time. The retail

price ranges from CAD$35 to $45.Founded in Montreal, CBM Inc./Meade

Ray Intl. specializes in handbags, men's andwomen's wallets, briefcases as well as traveland business accessories. The company hasworked with renowned brand names such asRodier, Alfred Sung, Guy Laroche, Roche-lier, Buffalo David Bitton, Club RochelierActive and many more.“Some of our top retailers [in the domes-

tic market] include The Bay, Sears, Roots,Bentley, Winners, Laura, Globo and duty freestores across North America,” said LouisaBrito, Sales Manager, CBM Inc./Meade Ray

Intl. “Our partnership in travelretail has continued to evolve bythe mere fact that we listen to thetravelers needs. Recently therehas been more demand forsmaller more convenient acces-sories, such as wristlets, and wehave done our best to design andbring to the market exactly that.”

New Roots Mysticcollection for Fall

Mann continues tosell its Canadiansouvenirs calledCanadaTin

New Roots Mystic collection

FDFA Exhibitors

32

enowned Canadian perfumer Michel Germain has come out with new fra-grances for men and women called Séxual Sugar Daddy and Séxual Sugar.The men’s chypre oriental Séxual Sugar Daddy comprises a splash of

grapefruit zest mixed with cinnamon bark, a mouth watering blend of richlycaramelized pralines blended with a leather note and the bold masculinity ofsweet tobacco accord. The carton is crystallized in slate black. The sugar crystallization is a 16-step

process that layers crystals with black, glass-like lacquer to create the most sophis-ticated carton worldwide, said the company.For women Michel Germain created Séxual Sugar which tempts and teases with

a fresh burst of juicy wildberries and crystallized sugar. Sensual passion flower revealsa powdery soft centre that’s sprinkled with the light freshness of orange water flower.A blend of fresh roasted almonds and caramelized vanilla. Like its men’s counterpart, the carton is crystallized in pink. The company said the sensual fragrances are infused with aphrodisiacs, which

allows the fragrances do the flirting for you.

ynonymous with reliability and social respon-sibility, Japanese watch company Citizen is thelargest manufacturer of watches worldwide.In an interview with Americas Duty Free

Doug Irwin, Vice President Sales of Citizen in Canada,said: “We make one in four watches made in the world.What the company is primarily known for and marketingthese days is its Citizen Eco-Drive watches, which usesa permanently rechargeable lithium-ion cell rechargedby any light source, which range from CAD$175 to$1,000…. We also have some of the duty free operatorsbuying our entry level price point battery operatedquartz watches that start from CAD$110 to $195.” Irwin notes that, “When consumers have the option

to buy something that they like and is also good for theenvironment, a Citizen Eco-Drive watch seems like aclear choice because when you have a watch that’s pow-ered by light it means that you’re not sending batter-ies to landfill and potentially polluting the environment.That is a key benefit of an Eco-Drive watch.”On the Canadian duty free side, the company started

developing this business four years ago. During theFrontier Duty Free tradeshow Citizen will be showcasingits Spring 2011 collection along with its high-end linecalled The Signature Collection which retails forCAD$1,050 to $1,925. The Spring 2011 collection features a host of watches,

including diamond watches for men and women. Manyof the timepieces sport black ion plating. Citizen willalso unveil some easy reader watches and new men’s tech-nology pieces. Focusing on the use of technology, Citizen will be

showing its World Perpetual A-T watch, featuring sap-phire glass crystal. This is the company’s newest Eco-Drive radio controlled analog world timer. It redefinesatomic timekeeping with radio-controlled accuracyperfection in North America, the United Kingdom,Europe, Japan and China, where radio signals arereceived both automatically and on-demand.This technological expertise is a key advantage of the

Citizen brand. “As a Japanese watch company and a man-ufacturer, one of the things that we excel at and invest alot of money in is the movement of the watch,” points outIrwin. “What that means is we can take that movement,which is proprietary to us and which makes us unique andspecial, and then we can execute it in many differentways with different dials colors, bracelets etc.”The company’s best sellers include the Cit-

izen Eco-Drive Skyhawk A-T, a flight chrono-graph with atomic time keeping with radio-controlled accuracy perfection and Eco-Drive technology. The collection doesparticularly well. The second best seller isthe Calibre 8700 collection, a retrogradeperpetual calendar alarm masterpiece thatis a tribute to the skill of watch-making.c

R

ump Creative Partners specialize in unique promotional, seasonal and pack-aged products that go beyond standard paperweights, pens and t-shirts.The company designs and sources items that are fashionable, trend focused

and unique to specific brands. The company travels the world to determinewhat colors, textures, patterns and fabrics will be popular for seasons to come. Bump’s portfolio includes a variety of products created to sell in major retail-

ers that require the following: wine and spirits packaging, cosmetics packaging,promotional gifts and value-adds and fashion accessories.The innovative ideas developed by the Bump team create a competitive advan-

tage for its customer and help brands truly stand out in the marketplace.“At Bump Creative we live by the philosophy Bump it up a notch,”

said the company.

B

S

Michel Germain unveilsnew Séxual scents

Citizen watches:Environmentally sound

Get creativewith Bump

Citizen Eco-Drive watchesare fueled by light

Michel Germain presents itsnew sensual fragrances

–

–

–

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Just two short years ago, PatrónSpirits International had virtu-ally no product in Canadian dutyfree stores. Today, the company’s

spirits—spearheaded by iconic brand PatrónSilver—are in nearly every land border

and airport duty free shop across thecountry. This feat is made all themore remarkable considering thecompany didn’t even have a pres-ence in any duty free marketssix years ago.Indeed, Patrón’s success in

Canada mirrors its success world-wide. The increasing popularityof Pyrat Rum, along with Patróntequilas and Ultimat ultra pre-

mium vodka, helped Patrón Spirits grow by 30% last year in thecompetitive travel retail channel and achieve an impressive 81%growth rate in duty free so far this year. In addition to being soldonboard Air Canada, the company recently secured listings atHamilton Airport and at Peace Garden Duty Free in Manitoba. InCanada specifically, Patrón’s duty free sales are up 8% year to date.The company also launched Patrón XO Café in Canada this year,

a blend of ultra premium tequila and the natural essence of thefinest coffee. To date the brand is performing well, with listingsin land border stores in British Colombia, Ontario and Quebec,as well as a listing at Vancouver Airport. To support the duty free channel, the company has recently

launched two new consumer-focused programs for global dutyfree operators. The fully integrated initiatives “The Perfect Mix”and “The Perfect Gift” are both designed to reinforce Patrón’s “Sim-ply Perfect” luxury brand positioning and help increase aware-ness, trial and purchase of Patrón tequilas.“Canadian spirits drinkers appreciate and understand high-qual-

ity, sophisticated spirits, and we’re excited to be able to offerthem, and visitors to the country, the opportunity to purchase andenjoy our premier spirits when they travel,” says Burt Stewart, VicePresident Regional Sales, Patrón. “We’re very pleased with our travelretail partnerships throughout Canada and look forward toexpanding further in the future.”

Liquor Report: Fast-growing brands

In addition to nowbeing listed in almostevery land border andairport duty free storein Canada, Patrónrecently launched XOCafé in select locationsthroughout Canada

While the worst of the economic downturn appearsto be over, sustained double digit sales growth induty free is still a lofty goal for many suppliers. Thereare, however, a select number of brands that havemanaged to capture the attention of the traveling

public in a way that resists explanation. Americas Duty Free recently spoke with Patrón Spirits Interna-

tional, Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum and Pernod Ricard abouttheir fastest-growing brands in the Canadian duty free channel. Wediscovered that while these successes may seem like magic to manycompanies still struggling to recoup last year’s losses, outperform-ing the competition still comes down to a few basic principles:high-end positioning, ensuring quality offerings and constantlypromoting one’s virtues.

Americas Duty Free examines the explosivegrowth of three brands in Canadian travelretail, discovering that a concentration onquality is foremost in the minds of suppli-ers and consumers alike BY RYAN WHITE

Boomingbusiness

Perfectlypositionedin Canada

The Exceptional Spirit

AND YOU’LL FIND PEOPLE WHO SPEAK APPLETON.

GO ANYWHEREIN THE WORLD

Dan Rosenfeld (left) and Peter Hottmann (right) attributemuch of Appleton Estate Reserve’s success in NorthAmerica to the spirit’s value for money positioning

Liquor Report: Fast-growing brands


It’s no surprise that Appleton Estate Reserveis one of the fastest growing spirits in theNorth American duty free channel. Therum’s price point, the 260-year history

of Appleton Estate and the premium char-acter of Reserve have proven to be a com-bination with which few other spirits—especially rums—can compete.“Appleton Estate Reserve is a premium

rum that sells for only a few dollars morethan Appleton Estate VX,” says Dan Rosenfeld, Regional Manager USA at Apple-ton Estate. “As a result, the response has been phenomenal. The economicdownturn hasn’t really affected sales of Appleton Estate Reserve simply becausethe price point is so reasonable.”Indeed, the company just closed the books on its 2010 fiscal year and Reserve

performed unbelievably well in US duty free, selling over 300% more than in2009. In Canada, duty free sales of Reserve in FY2010 were up 14% over FY2009,and Peter Hottmann, Appleton Estate’s Regional Sales and Marketing Manager,NAFTA Region, notes that the entire range shows very stable increases.“Our numbers indicate a continuous growth curve that never really slowed down

during the recession year,” Hottmann says. “Furthermore, to keep momentum, we’reinvesting a lot in advertising domestically with our ‘Rum That Needs Nothing’ cam-paign, and there is certainly some spillover into duty free as North American trav-elers are exposed to this campaign at many different points throughout the US.”The name of Appleton Estate’s latest advertising campaign refers to the fact

that Reserve’s blend is of such a high quality that no mix is needed. Nonethe-less, the spirit can also be used as the base in any number of great cocktails. Ofcourse, this versatility exponentially increases Appleton Estate Reserve’s poten-tial both in the duty free and domestic markets. “As a result of our value for money proposition, we’ve retained our loyal cus-

tomer base and brought on new customers as well,” concludes Rosenfeld. “Thereare plenty of rums on the market these days, but the vast majority don’t havethe credentials that Appleton Estate does. Customers, and especially rum enthu-siasts, know the difference between an authentic super premium rum andsomething that’s merely been packaged to appear as such, which is why they’reconsistently choosing Appleton Estate Reserve as their rum of choice.”

Absolut’s concentration on limited editions suchas Glimmer (above) and Watkins (right) has struck

a chord with Canadian travelers, making it thenumber one premium vodka in the country

The rumthat needsnothing

Absolut-lystunningA

ny discussion of fast-growingbrands in Canada would beincomplete without mentioningPernod Ricard’s Absolut Vodka.

The brand experienced over 9% growth inFY2010 in Canadian duty free and is cur-rently experiencing double-digit growth insales within the same channel.“Absolut’s growth can be attributed

to several factors,” says Enrique Girones,Marketing Vice President of Pernod RicardAmericas Travel Retail. “First is the brand’sunique and exclusive strategy, whichencompasses innovation and creativity.Absolut on a regular basis has releasedexclusive duty free products throughoutthe years, allowing for passengers to findsomething different and unique when they travel. In addi-tion, Absolut’s global marketing campaigns have added tothe overall success of the brand.”Girones cites products such as Absolut Tropics and the

soon to be released Absolut Watkins as examples of uniqueofferings that can only be found in duty free stores. How-ever, exclusive flavors and packaging are just part of anoverall strategy that also takes promotional activity intoconsideration. The successful execution of campaigns suchas Absolut Drinks within AerRianta’s transborder and inter-national duty free stores in support of Formula One Rac-ing went a long way toward appealing to international trav-elers and has also led to the brand’s successful growth in sales. The most recent installment in Absolut’s yearly limited

edition campaign is Absolut Glimmer. The stunning bot-tle was designed to celebrate the year’s end, communicatethe purity of Absolut and act as a tribute to the impor-tance of the here and now. Absolut Glimmer’s pressedglass bottle mimics the classic look of cut crystal withthe shape consumers have come to associate with Abso-lut Vodka. Because of the facetted design, the bot-tle reflects light in a beautiful and appealing way,reminiscent of glittering sunlight, the blingof diamonds, the sparkle of ice cubes, glim-mering waves and the lights of a discotheque.Girones notes that although Absolut con-

tinues to grow in Canada and is actually thenumber one premium vodka in country,Pernod Ricard will maintain the brand as a pri-ority in the future: “Canada… will remain a keyfocus market for the brand,” he says. “Duty freein general will always be a key focus area forAbsolut Vodka, and [Pernod Ricard] will con-tinue its strategy of introducing unique prod-ucts exclusive to the duty free markets.” c

V A N G O G H I M P O R T S | O R L A N D O , F L O R I D A | 3 2 8 0 9 | w w w . v a n g o g h v o d k a . c o m3 5 % & 4 0 % a l c / v o l | P l e a s e e n j o y r e s p o n s i b l y

Committed to “outside the box.”

Van Gogh Vodka is happy to announce our strategic partnership for the Duty Free

sector in Canada with Mondia Alliance

Caliber Fine Wines & Spirits has been sup-

plying premium wines, liquors and liqueurs

to Ontario land border duty free opera-

tors for a decade now, and at this year’s

FDFA convention, the company builds on an

already strong tradition by introducing a number

of new products.

Buyers can get glimpse of selections from

the Giori Grappa range, variants from the Tequila

Don Ramón line, a new amaretto from Toschi

and a wide selection of wines.

The Giori grappa range includes Classic

(white grappa), an aged variant called Ori di

Grappa and a grappa made from the famed

prosecco grape. Caliber will also be offering

a range of flavored grappas from Giori, such

as green apple, pear, wild berry, peach,

strawberry and blueberry.

Blanco and reposado tequilas from

Don Ramón will also be on display at the

convention. The tequilas are made in

Jalisco, Mexico from 100% agave and are

presented in exquisite bottles perfect for gifting.

Toschi, which currently supplies Caliber with

Fragoli, a strawberry-flavored liqueur, has extended

its product range with the introduction of Toschi

Amaretto. The Amaretto comes in a very unique,

frosted bottle and is also suitable for gifting purposes.

With regard to wines, Caliber is now offering

selected vintages from Candoni, as well as a Mer-

lot and Pinot Grigio from Friuli. Finally, from Venedo

comes a Pinot Noir, a sparkling Prosecco and a

Chianti. Caliber is also featuring two organics from

the same company, a Pinot Grigio and a Merlot.

“All of these products are new to Canadian duty

free and we’re extremely pleased to be showcas-

ing them,” says Sandy Garofalo, President of Cal-

iber. “Our products have sold very well in Ontario to

date and we’re confident that these newest offer-

ings will be very popular. This year’s FDFA conven-

tion represents an opportunity for us to not only meet

with our valued partners in Ontario, but also discuss

the possibility of expanding our reach to other parts

of Canada with some of the products that we offer.”

Brown-Forman Duty Free/Travel Retail has concentrated on offer-ing Canadian duty free consumers a combination of newly pack-aged classics and engaging promotions this year. The companymost recently released the new Southern Comfort bottle in

Canadian travel retail and has plans to increase the focus on its tequila brandsin the coming year. Of course, among those brands are the very popularel Jimador and the newly packaged Herradura Tequila. Montgomery Wilson, Brown-Forman’s Director for Americas Duty Free,

asserts that the new Herradura packaging, which will be available inCanada in 2011, is “very bold and colorful yet still retains the qual-ity and heritage that helped make Herradura Mexico’s favoritesuper premium tequila.”With regard to Canadian duty free promotions, Brown-For-

man has been very active, running its Jack Daniel’s Family ofFine Whiskey promotion in Aldeasa Vancouver during theOlympics and in July and August. The promotion also ran withAer Rianta in Montreal during September and with Nuancein Toronto in September and October. Passengers across Canada were also recently treated to a gift-

with-purchase promotion. With a qualifying purchase, travel-ers were gifted a Jack Daniel’s hip flask and a Jack Daniel’s RodeoBelt Buckle. During one month in the summer, Jack Daniel’swallets were also given away as part of this promotion. In Calgary the company was busy running a Jack Daniel’s bench

promotion with a Jack Daniel’s Family of Brands display. In otherJack news, Brown-Forman installed new Jack Daniel’s displaysin Windsor Duty Free and at Importations Guay Ltee nearQuebec City. Finally, two new ready-to-drink (RTD) flavors, Jack& Cola and Jack Lemonade, were recently released throughoutCanada in travel retail and have been performing well.

Liquor News

Brown-Formanstays busyin Canada withcreative promotionsand new packaging

Brown-Forman hasconcentrated heavily this

year on promoting the JackDaniel’s Family of Brands in

Canadian duty free

Caliber Fine Wines & Spirits introduces several new products to Canadian duty free

Among amultitude ofproducts,Caliber will beoffering a rangeof grappas fromGiori at thisyear’s FDFAtrade show andconvention


Peter Mielzynski Agencies (PMA)has a number of impressive offer-ings lined up for this year’s FDFAconvention in Niagara Falls, includ-

ing some never before seen products in Cana-dian duty free and a very special spirit fromWilliam Grant & Sons that is exclusive to thetravel retail channel. Americas Duty Freerecently spoke with Jeff Orson, RegionalManager/Travel Retail North America atPMA, to get the details on what buyers canexpect to see from the company.“We’ll be officially launching Glenfiddich

14YO Rich Oak 1-liter bottles in Canadian dutyfree at approximately 5% less than the retail priceof Glenfiddich 15YO,” Orson notes. “Skyy Infu-sions all natural Citrus, Grape, Cherry, Pineap-ple, Ginger, Raspberry and Passion Fruit vod-kas are also available in the 1-liter format at aslight premium to the standard Skyy Vodka.”While the above listings are certainly

noteworthy, one of the more exciting intro-ductions is that of Grant’s Distillery Edi-tion, which will also be hitting the Cana-dian duty free market this year. It is a duty

Pillitteri Estates Winery, whose wines are handled in duty free by ALFABrands, is gallantly making a memorable statement with the new look ofits Exclamation Cellar Series reserve wines. The winery calls Exclamation“a showcase of commitment to superior quality with a focus on uniqueness

and individuality.” The new design includes a unique label and bottle selection par-ticular to each varietal.

Exclamation will replace the Pillitteri label and logo for all reserve classified wines.The Exclamation label will also be expanded to include wines from particularly excel-lent vintages worthy of the label. Currently there are five projected wines forrelease as Exclamation: 2006 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, 2007 Reserve Mer-lot, 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc.

Pillitteri notes that there is also an Exclamation Icewine program in developmentfor future vintages of particularly unique Icewines.

Pillitteri Estates Winery announces new lookExclamation Cellar Series

The Exclamation labeling will now replace the Pillitteri label and logo for all reserve classified wines

again by Ontario and British Colombia oper-ators after an absence of a few years in Cana-dian duty free. Finally, PMA will also beshowcasing Norton wines from Argentina atthis year’s convention. “PMA has for years represented some of

the finest brands the dinks industry has to offerand we are very proud to be bringing thesenew brands and line extensions to life inCanadian duty free this November,” con-cludes Orson. “The FDFA has been a greatorganization to be involved with over thepast 25 years, not only for bringing the var-ious operator-owned stores together, but alsofor its unified voice both in Ottawa andaround the world with regard to the Cana-dian duty free industry.”

free exclusive and essentially a repackagingand renaming of Grant’s Superior Strength.“Speaking of William Grant & Sons, Tul-

lamore Dew Irish Whisky was also recentlypurchased by the company, and is now fea-turing prominently in the PMA portfolio,”explains Orson. “We will be looking for list-ings for the 1-liter size in Canadian duty freeduring the FDFA show.”Orson tells Americas Duty Free that well

known brand Wild Turkey will be listed once

Peter Mielzynski Agenciesbrings exclusive and trusted brands to the FDFA

Glenfiddich 14YO Rich Oak and Grant’s Distillery Edition are just two of the many spirits

that Peter Mielzynski Agencies will be showcasingat this year’s FDFA convention

Company News: Diageo


With the release of Crown Royal Black and Johnnie Walker Double Black, Diageo

continues to offer travelers in Canada innovative takes on premium favorites

Americas Duty Free recently spokewith Scott Bradley, Customer &Trade Marketing Manager withDiageo Global Travel Retail forthe Americas, as a means of

learning how the spirits powerhouse hasmanaged to consistently rack up solid salesat both land border and airport duty freestores in Canada. The company has enjoyeda number of successes this year and is currentlyfocusing on offering travelers a wide range ofpromotions that highlight a particularlystrong selection of premium spirits. Fur-thermore, with the recent release of CrownRoyal Black and the upcoming launch ofJohnnie Walker Double Black, Diageo plansto continue developing premium spirits thatare too good for consumers to pass up. Two thirds of the travel retail business in

Canada comes from sales in land border dutyfree shops, while the other third comes fromsales in airport duty free stores. In Canadianduty free from January to June 2010, the indus-try saw the land border business dip slightlydue to less border traffic while the economystill showed signs of the global downturn. In airport duty free, Diageo has had a

very strong year. From January to June saleswere up double digits over last year andBradley asserts that during the summer, num-bers were driven by strong promotions, robustPAX numbers and the new Security TamperEvident Bags, which allow travelers with con-necting flights to purchase spirits. “We lost a lot of American shoppers as the

Canadian dollar gained strength over the lastseveral months,” says Bradley. “Typically,American shoppers tend to spend about twiceas much as Canadian shoppers.”Diageo’s research shows that American

shoppers’ motivation to purchase at Canadianduty free stores is unique versus Canadianshoppers because Americans are looking for

States have been phenomenal since its launchin May and we’re looking forward to dupli-cating this success in Canadian duty free,” saysBradley.In addition, Diageo is continuing its travel

retail exclusive release of Johnnie WalkerDouble Black, a smokier variant of the inim-itable Johnnie Walker Black Label. Diageowill be launching Double Black in Februaryacross Canada in travel retail and is excitedabout the sales opportunity this productinnovation provides.Concluding, Bradley noted that he is excited

for travel retailers in Canada: “Given our con-sumer insights on promotions and hugeunique brand launches, we’re confident thatshoppers from both sides of the border willhave even more reasons to Keep Walking withDiageo in the year to come.” c

more rare, unique products such as CrownRoyal Limited Edition, Ciroc Vodka, ZacapaRum or a rare malt like Singleton of Glendullanor Talisker 57 North. Bradley notes that in thesummer Diageo saw an upswing in growthduring each month despite the border trafficnot experiencing any noticeable increases. “Most of our growth revolved around our

premium and super premium brands,” heexplains. “With the savings that consumers areoffered in duty free, we’re finding they tend tobuy what they want as opposed to opting forwhat they can afford when purchasing at alocal liquor store. As a result, the key to break-through sales in the duty free liquor categoryis the quality, scale and flawless execution of salespromotions. With this, Diageo remains com-mitted to the premiumization trend of per-suading consumers to buy better, drink better." Across both land border and airport duty

free, Diageo’s top brands in Canada are CrownRoyal, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Smirnoff,Tanqueray and Captain Morgan. However, thesupplier is also seeing huge growth in superpremium brands such as Ciroc Vodka andZacapa Rum. Neither is available at localliquor stores in Canada, and both are exceed-ing sales expectations in duty free.“Given the strength of our portfolio, we

are the only spirits company that is able to offerstandard, deluxe and premium-level mix andmatch programs to customers, which allowsfor an unrivaled choice when it comes tostocking their home bars,” Bradley continues.“We’ve learned that even if in-store trafficdoesn’t increase, educating customers aboutthe benefits of purchasing premium spirits canreally boost revenue and profits.”Indeed, Diageo is expecting a significant

uptake in sales given the recent release ofCrown Royal Black, a higher proof full-bod-ied varient of the number one selling spiritin Canadian duty free. “Sales in the United

Back in Black

BY RYAN WHITE

Diageo will belaunching DoubleBlack in Februarywith the LCBO, butfor a short timebefore that it will beexclusive to dutyfree in Canada

Diageo recentlyreleased CrownRoyal Black, a 90proof variant of thenumber one sellingspirit in Canadian

duty free

Baileys Original Irish CreamMint, Caramel and Coffeeflavored liqueur chocolatesCompany: Lir Chocolates Description: Following the phenomenalsuccess of its Baileys Original IrishCream Liqueur Chocolate Collection,Lir has introduced a new selection ofMint, Caramel and Coffee flavoredchocolates -each filled with the unique and creamyBaileys Liqueurs

Gold Tablet Milk Hazelnut 150gCompany: Lindt & SprüngliDescription: Delicious Lindt MilkChocolate and delectable LindtWhite Chocolate with aromatic wholeroasted hazelnuts is suitable for self-consumption and ideal for gift-giving

New & Notable

CONFECTIONARY

LUGGAGE & ASSESSORIES

TRAVEL ACCESSORIESBY KIM CARRERA

Maple ProductsCompany: Jakeman’s Maple ProductsDescription: Acclaimed as “Canada’sbest tasting maple syrup,” by TheNational Post, Jakeman’s MapleProducts are pure and natural.Jakeman’s is considered one of thefew maple syrup bottlers andconfectioners that actually producemaple syrup from scratch. Nowavailable in a convenient one liter size

Comfyzzz Travel PillowsCompany: Pronto InnovationsDescription: Each pillowcontains thousands of tiny foam polystyrene micro beads.They have a removable andwashable cover; available inblack, blue, platinum, burgundy and mocha

Fashion Color TSA Locks Company: ProntoInnovations Description: Keepbags locked andsecure by using theseTSA approved luggagelocks. Available in threefashion colors: green,fuchsia and yellow;each item contains two keys per lock

Adidas Timepieces Company: Fossil Inc.Description: The new Adidas NYCcollection stylishly integrates theplayfulness of a plastic digital with thestreet heritage of Adidas Originals

Kati Ko DesignsCompany: Olympia GoldDescription: The Kati Ko Designsfeature a unique line of high-endartisan fashion jewelry for themodern women. Each piece is24k plated and .924 plated sureto satisfy the desires of the mosthard to please shoppers

Classic Messenger BagCompany: TuskDescription: Available indurable Italian nylon withtextured calfskin trim,the Classic MessengerBag is a great choice forwork or travel


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