Highly respected travel executive Steven Candries has left chocolaterie Guylian after 28 years in search of a new challenge.

The former sales director, who joined the Belgium-based company on 3 January 1991 as a young Export Manager, revealed his decision in a letter to colleagues and friends which was seen by TRBusiness.

He said: “I was given the opportunity to learn and was well mentored by the then owner of the company.  I began with responsibility for Scandinavia, Greece, Portugal and Spain and found a distributor for each country which was keen to work with our unique-shaped Pralines. We achieved beautiful sales results.”

TFWA MEMBER

Candries, who says communication and customer care were key, takes pride in winning biennial elections to remain a member of the Tax Free World Association Management Committee.

“This achievement has given Guylian the platform to shine and be seen. Today, I remain a member of the TFWA which is thanks to the industry’s respect of my personality”, he remarked.

Reflecting on his first year with the company, Candries recalls making the first sales into Korea. “This was a country I started to appreciate. By showing trust and responsibility during difficult times such as the Dioxin crisis and SARS, sales grew at a fabulous rate and Korea became my number one Asian market.”

When it came to China, Candries adopted a more cautious approach with the first sales to the country in 1992. Thanks to the support of its partner, which was selected 21 years ago, China is now the company’s biggest market in the Asia region.

Candries, who looks back with pride on the evolution of the Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café concept, now a successful franchise in Sydney, Dubai and Seoul added: “I remember when we opened the first Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café in Changi Airport Terminal 3.”

Other highlights included the opening of Guylian Asia Ltd in Hong Kong in 2018 and creation of a representative office in Shanghai, which closed in 2014. “During this period, Guylian successfully participated in the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, which was an accelerator for the brand in China.”

The creation of Guylian Portugal and Guylian Spain (today known as Guylian Iberia) is particularly memorable along with a certain day in 1998, when he was contacted by the Belgian Foreign Affairs office. “A professional jury awarded Guylian with the highest export award, which back then was called the Oscar of the Export. I received this prize from our Crown Prince Filip, who is now the King of Belgium.”

During Candries’ time at the helm, the brand has also performed strongly in Middle Eastern and Latin American DF&TR. Overall, it is present in more than 100 countries and in key airports worldwide with ‘fantastic visibility’ and ‘multiple skus’.

He concluded: “I built a great team around me in sales. Some have already retired and some have left for new horizons. New young managers accepted the challenge and have all contributed immensely. I am extremely grateful to them.

“To all my customers — those who were already there, those who I appointed and those brought in by my team —  I am thankful for what you have done for the brand. This is an experience I shall never forget and I will cherish the great wins, the joy and passion of the role and the friendships I have developed over time.”