In part 1 of the very first Travel Retail Question Time video interview – sponsored by Nestlé International Travel Retail – Dubai Duty Free (DDF) Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi tells TRBusiness that the industry cannot allow online merchants to dominate the retail landscape.

However, he also believes that at the same time the industry must appreciate and learn from them in terms of what they have achieved in areas such as customer insight, convenience and assortment.

As reported, the new video series provides a unique open forum for the industry in a first-of-its-kind film format.

Part 2 of this interview – where Cidambi addresses three more of the industry’s questions – is now live and can be viewed here.

Over the course of the next year, TRBusiness is offering readers the chance to put their questions to a high-ranking and influential executive at one of the world’s leading duty free & travel retail operators whilst we capture it all on camera.

In March, readers submitted their questions for our first interviewee, Ramesh Cidambi, COO of Dubai Duty Free, which were then shortlisted in April.

Readers were then able to vote for their top 5 questions which feature in the below video interview.

‘A FANTASTIC IDEA’ SAYS CIDAMBI

Cidambi is the Chief Operating Officer of DDF and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s operation, reporting to the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin.

“The series is a fantastic idea for TRBusiness, to ask people in the industry what questions to ask someone like me,” said Cidambi. “I’m really pleased Nestlé has sponsored it and that Stewart Dryburgh has worked together with you in terms of putting this together.”

Stewart Dryburgh, Nestlé International Travel Retail General Manager, tells readers why the company why he believes so strongly in this new video interview format.