Gary Leong, Founder, Gulf Pacific.

Travel retail veteran Gary Leong has launched a new company, Gulf Pacific, with a vision to ‘revolutionise travel retail experiences’ through a comprehensive array of services across retail, branding, media, manpower solutions and food and beverage (F&B).

With over 20 years’ experience in the retail industry, the former Foreo and One World Duty Free executive has spearheaded the expansion of a number of luxury retail brands both via domestic and global travel retail channels.

Drawing upon Leong’s expertise, Gulf Pacific aims to help its clients to tap into the travel retail channel by utilising the company’s deep understanding of stakeholder needs, customer insights and the evolution of the travel retail landscape in Asia.

A particular focus in on the current generation of digitally savvy consumers, who are exposed to numerous e-commerce platforms, and the increasing importance of understanding consumer behaviour and spending habits.

“My new journey with Gulf Pacific allows me a creative outlet to dig deeper for ways to propel the industry to greater heights,” said Leong.

“Our attentions are purely on delivering a full approach concept designed for full-funnel campaigns, catering to brands that wish to enter the domestic and global travel retail markets.

“Gulf Pacific will not only add value to on-ground activations by increasing conversion rates, but harnessing the power of networking and selling to specific target audiences.

“We are excited to be at the forefront of the expansion of the industry by introducing revolutionary concepts to maximise every moment of the travellers journey – both for the individual, and for the brand.”

Gulf Pacific partner VMSD Group works with international brands to increase their visibility and enhance consumer engagement around the world.

Leong’s first-hand experience of the China market, including tourism hotspot Hainan, and witnessing the evolution of the retail landscape in the key years of 2000 to 2023, is key to Gulf Pacific’s knowledge base.

This will shine through in the company’s activities across marketing, public relations, media exposure, social media management, event management and live-streaming sales – all of which can be exclusively tailored to the needs of Chinese consumers.

Building the portfolio

Gulf Pacific will service clients from household names to start-ups. The company says that, while it’s in the early stages of its journey, it has already secured an ‘array of clientele’ with its full portfolio to be revealed in due course.

The company’s current focus is its partnership with VMSD Group, which works with international brands to increase their visibility and enhance consumer engagement around the world.

Specialising in global travel retail and domestic retail, VMSD Group offers a wide range of end-to-end services, from concept design and technical drawings to global production, logistics, project management and manpower solutions.

VMSD Group’s track record includes delivering activations, pop-ups, and events across more than 20 airports and domestic shops, including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Dubai, Australia and beyond.

The Group also specialises in providing manpower solutions to major travel retail hubs in the region.

Gulf Pacific partner VMSD Group delivers activations, pop-ups, and events across more than 20 airports and domestic shops.

“Our partnership with Gulf Pacific is a pivotal step forward for the VMSD Group,” said VMSD Group’s Managing Director Jacelyn Lee.

“Leveraging on decades of retail expertise, the synergies between our companies will unlock new opportunities and elevate our capabilities across the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are excited about the potential for growth that this partnership represents, both regionally and globally.”

Gulf Pacific’s partnership with VMSD is already well underway at Changi Airport, helping brands and retailers with operations from activations to staffing.

“The VMSD Group is our first partnership, and a significant one at that,” said Leong.

“As we continue to innovate this sector of the industry, other categories such as media and F&B will have partnerships with that same drive and synergy.

“Our first point of action with the VMSD Group will be to add value to their manpower solutions by honing their selling skills, and arm them with deeper insights into the customer base.

“The result will be staff that are able to actively pitch to a demographic, instead of repeating marketing pointers that do not resonate, leaving the funnel ending at awareness.”

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