TFWA APE&C 2016
Singapore
As the 21st TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference drew to a close, TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen said that the success of the event underscored both the importance of Asia Pacific as a key focus for development, and the long-term opportunities presented by duty free and travel retail as a sector. New data from travel retail specialists Generation Research which showed that in 2015, for the first time since 2009, global duty free and travel retail sales fell. According to preliminary figures, sales in 2015 totalled US$62 billion, which was 2.3% down on the previous year.
However, while sales had fallen in all categories except for fragrances and cosmetics, which grew by 2.3%, tobacco sales remained not far from level, declining by just 0.4%. This made it a relatively strong performer against other categories, such as confectionery and fine food, which saw a 4% downturn, and watches and jewelry which declined by an even more dramatic 13.2%.
However, the picture in Asia is much rosier. Here tobacco sales rose by an impressive 8.5%, making it the second fastest growing category behind fragrances and cosmetics which saw an 18.5% increase. All other categories saw a downturn in sales.
‘The duty free and travel retail sector has undoubtedly come under pressure, but there are still plenty of opportunities to explore for the tobacco sector, particularly in Asia where sales continue on a strong trajectory of growth,” said Juul-Mortensen.
This year TFWA Asia Pacific event saw a string of records broken. There were 2,905 visitors, attended the event, up 12% from last year, including representatives from 1,186 companies, up by 14% Of the total, 1,081 were key buyers (up 10%), from 273 companies, up 5%. A total 1,293 of those attending were agents, up13%. These were from 578 companies, an increase of 18%.