Hanse Distribution has announced that well-respected duty free executive, Stuart McGuire has joined the company in an advisory role for its Strategic Business Development. 

 

Hanse Distribution has been supplying globally-recognised brands to airlines since 2008 when it was founded. Now responsible for supplying to other travel retail channels, the company’s long list of clients includes Condor, Lufthansa, Retail in Motion, as well as Lagardère Travel Retail.

 

McGuire is the former Co-Owner and CEO of distributor Scorpio Worldwide, which was fully acquired by Gebr Heinemann in 2019. McGuire will maintain his CEO position at The Lovely Distribution Company Ltd while taking on the additional advisory role with Hanse.

 

Hanse Distribution Managing Director, Nikolas Hogrefe said: “We are delighted that Stuart has joined our company.

 

‘SHARING HIGHS AND LOWS’

“We have been good friends for many years, sharing the highs and lows of travel retail and indeed of life itself.

 

“At Hanse we are very proud to have survived the Covid crisis, and it’s clear that there are now many opportunities to grow as we come out of the pandemic. Stuart’s experience and contacts in the industry will help us to evaluate and secure these opportunities.

 

“I believe strongly in the travel retail business and have already heavily invested in building the team, recruiting Dennis Holst and Jakob Barthe in recent months; both very experienced and respected executives.

 

GROWING GROUND SHOP FOOTPRINT

“We see strong demand from airlines in the boutique and buy onboard areas, and we have increased our portfolio greatly to satisfy this demand. We are also growing our business into duty free stores and our global footprint generally.”

 

Stuart McGuire added: “I am very happy to be working with Nikolas as a Strategic Advisor. As Nikolas mentioned, we have been close friends for many years; indeed, he was one of my first clients when working at Heinemann in the 1990s.

 

“We share the same values and passion for the industry, and I am looking forward to helping Nikolas and his team secure new business in the years to come.”