Aer Rianta International (ARI) reports that it won no less than four awards for excellence at the recent TFWA Tax Free World Exhibition in Cannes for its partnerships and retail initiatives across the broad spectrum of its duty free business.

 

These awards included recognition for its Partnership Initiative of the Year at both the Frontier Awards and Drinks International Retail Awards, along with ‘Inflight Retailer of the Year’ for Oman Air at the Frontier Awards and Marketing Concept of the Year for its Whisky Luxe Festival.

 

ARI ‘THRILLED’ WITH THE AWARDS…

Commenting on the recognition from ARI’s latest awards, Nicola Wells, Global Marketing and Strategy Director said: “We are thrilled with the awards. It highlights and strengthens our ongoing commitment to working with suppliers to create innovation that enhances and engages the customer experience.”

 

The ARI and Diageo initiative saw the establishment of ‘the world’s first’ GUINNESS EXPORT HOUSE at The Loop duty free area in Dublin Airport’s T2. This was designed from the ground up by Diageo and ARI to offer the ‘globally mobile consumer a unique opportunity to experience the world of GUINNESS’.

 

Commenting on the Diageo/Guinness/ARI initiative, Dayalan Nayager, Managing Director of Diageo Global Travel said: “Diageo is honoured to receive this award with our partner ARI. Consumers are increasingly looking for something special – unique experiences that allow them to better engage with our brands.

 

“Partnerships are a key way to create real stand-out brand experiences and we are thrilled that our colleagues on the GUINNESS Global and Brand Licensing team brought this exciting concept to life.Together with ARI we’re delighted with the strong results this initiative has achieved.”

 

THREE PARTNERS…

Commenting on the ‘Inflight Retailer of the Year’ award for Oman Air, ARI described the operation as ‘an award-winning concession contract operated by Muscat Duty Free (MDF) and ARI in partnership with Oman Air’.

 

The retailer said the partners all worked together to improve the customer experience onboard, while creating a new strategic competitive edge to combat declining passenger spends last year.

 

 

As a result, ARI reports that the joint venture operation was ‘hugely successful in exceeding their objectives, driving improved spend per head, increasing sales and average transaction value through several initiatives’.

 

Muscat Duty Free General Manager Martin Mullen also acknowledged that the partners had all worked ‘very closely’ to improve the onboard customer shopping experience and tis proved pivotal in improving the programme results.

 

RECOGNITION FOR DELHI DUTY FREE

Further afield, the ARI joint venture operation at Delhi Duty Free (DDFS) also won the award for ‘Marketing Concept of The Year’ for its Whisky Luxe Festival at the International Drinks Awards. The retailer says that this campaign was created to highlight the wide range of Premium Whisky and Single Malts available at DDFS.

 

It adds that this resulted in a new ‘innovative retail experience’ with a premium bar experience which highlighted the best 25 labels across the collection.

 

 

‘COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION..’

Commenting on the recognition for this award, Luke Gorringe, CEO, Delhi Duty Free said: “This award is a great testament to our continued dedication at Delhi Duty Free to drive the business forward.

 

“It highlights our commitment to innovation, leading by example and providing Indian travellers with a world-class airport retailing experience in India. We are absolutely delighted with the award.”

 

According to TRBusiness’ Top 10 International Operators 2017 report, ARI generated a sales turnover of $1bn (+3%) in 2016 and the retailer was the tenth largest DF&TR operator in the world, employing more than 3,000 people worldwide.