Board Director Paul Topping delivered a whistle-stop tour of Flemingo International’s operations, structure and priorities at the Meadfa Conference last month.

 

At the Dubai conference event he ruminated on the benefits of off-airport operations, one of which was longevity and also revealed that 42% of the retailer’s duty free and travel retail sales today can be attributed to off-airport locations.

 

Topping took the audience through the key characteristics of the alternative channels where Flemingo operates, including diplomatic duty free. Diplomatic sales currently account for approximately $160m a year, he said, with Europe contributing more than 50% of that figure.

 

He likened Flemingo’s product portfolio within diplomatic stores to that of a supermarket, with up to 10,000 SKUs, with the channel usually offering additional retail services such as e-commerce, door-to-door deliveries and e-catalogues. He did concede that there was an element of risk in operating in this channel however.

 

 

Flemingo International Board Director Paul Topping talks to Michael Barrett, Meadfa Moderator (and Executive Officer for APTRA).

 

 

PROFITABLE BORDER STORES

Moving on to border stores he pointed to typically high passenger volumes, with ventures in this channel often requiring only low amounts of investment, with lower rental fees also translating into better revenues for retailers.

 

As a result, he said that the company sees good future potential for more of these stores in Africa in particular.

 

He then talked about the cruise sector and confirmed Flemingo’s merger with the world’s second largest cruise retailer, Harding, into its own business. The cruise market remains ‘amazingly customer-centric’, said Topping, with the market value estimated at around $1.3bn today.

 

After briefly addressing sea ports, he addressed opportunities at ferry and cruise terminals where he divulged that tobacco is traditionally a big category. He then talked about Flemingo’s project in Tangiers, which Topping believes will be a ‘big connector between Africa and Europe’.

 

 

Topping is also well known for his charitable work, having initiated and co-organised the funding from the industry, plus the construction and management of an entire village in Sri Lanka to rehouse locals who lost everything following the devastating tsunami in 2004.

 

 

FIGHTING CHILD ABUSE IN SRI LANKA

Having said that, he warned delegates that the learning curves concerning this channel were very steep and that operators must know their customer before even considering entry. One year into operating in the region and Flemingo is learning fast, thanks to its ‘pioneering spirit’, he said.

 

Last, but not least, Topping finished his lightning presentation by drawing attention to the child abuse campaign that Flemingo is highlighting in Sri Lanka, which follows the mantra of ‘educate to protect’.

 

He said that the retailer is committed to helping this cause, having taken onboard that Sri Lanka has the highest suicide rate in the world and many of these victims are young children.