Rituals Cosmetics, founded by Raymond Cloosterman in Amsterdam 25 years ago, has grown from a team of three in a canal-side basement to a global business encompassing nearly 1,500 boutiques and over 4,500 department stores and luxury perfumeries in 33 countries.
Luxury beauty and wellbeing brand Rituals Cosmetics recorded net revenue of €2.43 billion (approx US$2.747 bn) in 2025, up 16% year on year.
The company marked an EBITDA of €545 million representing a margin of ca. 22.5% which, says Rituals, makes it ‘one of the fastest-growing beauty brands worldwide’.
Indeed, 2025 marked milestone year for the brand, with it pledging to give back more than €30 million to impact projects in 2026 through its 10% Profit Pledge.
France, Italy and the UK all saw ‘record-growth’ last year, according to the company. And while online sales now represent over 20% of total revenue, it’s ‘betting big’ on brick and mortar and on delivering distinctive customer experiences.
Rituals opened more than 200 boutiques around the world in 2025 including new flagship stores in London’s Oxford Street, Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse and Barcelona’s Gràcia Street.
In travel retail, major new airport boutique openings worldwide, included those in Frankfurt, Manchester, Edinburgh and Stockholm.
More locations for Rituals’ immersive Mind Oasis concept are planned for global travel retail in 2026.
Rituals also expanded in China through strategic partnerships, including collaborations with Disney Hong Kong and CDF-Sunrise. This was on top of continued expansion in Europe and the UK, layering up on further growth in Greater China and The Middle East.
The brand released 200 product innovations over the course of the year and sold almost 10m refills – a 22% uplift on the previous year – and is now transitioning to more circular glass packaging to further encourage the use of refills.
Looking ahead, Rituals has confirmed it is planning further international openings for its Mind Oasis concept in 2026, including in travel retail.
The company already operates 11 Mind Oasis locations across the Netherlands, France and the UK, each offering hydro- and brain massage treatments to aid mental and physical relaxation, alongside curated retail spaces.
Rituals Founder & CEO Raymond Cloosterman expressed his pride in the company’s achievements and shared a glimpse of what’s to come: “Looking ahead, 2026 will be an investment year focused on sustaining our momentum. We will refit 1,500 stores, expand further in Asia, accelerate new product innovation and continue the rollout of Mind Oasis. Our ambition is clear: growing our business while making a positive impact on people and planet.”
Circling back to its Profit Pledge – an initiative launched in 2025 which saw the company commit 10% of its net profits to initiatives supporting youth mental wellbeing and nature protection – the €30 million for 2026 builds on the €26 million generated in 2025.
In its first year, the pledge supported youth wellbeing-focused organisations, including UNICEF, War Child and Super Chill (a mental resilience app), contributing to programmes reaching 69 million young people globally.
More broadly speaking, in the sustainability realm, Rituals has worked with leading organisations including National Geographic Pristine Seas, Blue Marine Foundation, Sacred Forests and Frankfurt Zoological Society on projects to help protect the planet, in addition to backing Profit for Goo (a movement encouraging companies to dedicate at least 10% of profits to social and environmental impact).
*TRBusiness conversion based on average exchange rate in 2025.
The Vampire Diaries’ star Ian Somerhalder led a tasting at the UK launch of Brother’s Bond in London.
Ultra-premium American whiskey brand, Brother’s Bond Bourbon – founded by The Vampire Diaries’ stars and on-screen brothersIan Somerhalder and Paul Wesley – is entering the UK market imminently and, coincidentally, is expected to expand its presence in the global travel retail “within weeks”.
GMAX Travel Retail brought the brand into the GTR channel exclusively with Gebr. Heinemann in August 2025, butthe company is now exploring partnerships with other travel retailers with the intention to showcase the brand in more airports and cruise outlets worldwide.
Brother’s Bond, founded in 2021,has had a very high-profile, in part, thanks to its founders’ association with The Vampire Diaries, which has 4.5 million followers on Instagram. The long-running, eight-season series that ended nearly a decade ago recently surged back into Netflix’s Top 10 in late January 2026. Not only is this a sign of renewed interest in the franchise, but it should helpBrother’s Bond’sgrowth,which in 2025 was already in high double-digits and made it a company with annual sales of $10 million. But that figure is set to soar in 2026.
At the UK launch and tasting of the core four-strong rangeat the super-swish 1 Hotelin Mayfair on 5 February, Somerhalder said: “The UK market is arguably the most sophisticated in the world. We’re a disruptivebrand, and we think we have a well-crafted range that will be appreciated here.”
Image Credit: Kevin Rozario
Daniele Mondiele mixed Brother’s Bond cocktails for guests at the launch.
Vincent Hanna, CEO of Brother’s Bond Bourbon, described the collection as “a platform for flavour”, something that seems to resonate with consumers.The brand’s growth so far has also been supported by a strategy that melds the idea of tasty premium four-grain bourbons, grains grown within 20 miles of the distillery, and a strong belief in regenerative farming techniques.
Amplifying the popularity of Brother’s Bond
In travel retail, Garry Maxwell, Director of GMAX Travel Retail, told TRBusiness: “Heinemann has been incredibly supportive during the exclusivity period. It was a good way to launch into the channel and establish the brand and amplify it, especially as Brother’s Bond has the most social media followers of any spirits brand.”
As the brand expands in various domestic markets, including Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Taiwan – and now the UK – certain synergies for travel retail will emerge.
“We have an opportunity to support the domestic expansion, especially as consumers look for more choice in the whisky category,” Maxwell added.
50 team members from Qatar Duty Free recently achieved course certification.
The Duty Free World Council (DFWC) Academy has started 2026 with strong momentum, reporting that nearly 15,000 students have completed its responsible training courses – including 3,091 enrolments in 2025 alone.
Founded in 2019 as part of DFWC, the Academy aims to raise industry standards by offering responsible retail online training focused on key selling skills. Courses include a scholarship programme and certified options in key categories, delivered via ACI World Training’s Online Learning Centre.
Since the Academy relaunched its courses in 2022, nearly 15,000 students from various levels have participated, including Advisory Board members who provide feedback by completing courses.
Course offerings have expanded in recent years, with updated content. For example, a new category, covering Responsible Retailing of Tobacco and Smoke-free Alternatives, was introduced in 2025.
Support from industry figures and forums has grown, the DFWC noted. Leading retailers including Avolta, 3Sixty Duty Free, Dubai Duty Free, Qatar Duty Free, and Harding+ have enrolled staff. Qatar Duty Free recently completed training for over 50 team members, all of whom earned certification.
DFWC President Sarah Branquinho commented: “I’m delighted with the Academy’s ongoing progress in new course development and improvement, as well as the renewed focus on quality training. It’s good to see retailers, brands and agencies prioritising industry-leading team training.”
B&S has appointed Luke Maga as Global Sales Director for its Duty Free & Travel Retail division, succeedingJoris Broekmans.
Based at B&S’s headquarters in the Netherlands, Maga will work closely with regional teams in Dubai, Scandinavia and Latin America, supporting continued international expansion across all duty free and travel retail channels.
Maga brings more than 20 years of international experience in GTR to the role. He joins B&S from Loch Lomond Group, where he led commercial transformation initiatives focused on route-to-market optimisation, premiumisation and distribution expansion across key regions.
Prior to this, Maga spent ten years at CVH Spirits (formerly Distell International), developing international distribution and marketing programmes for a broad portfolio of leading brands.
In his new role, Maga will lead B&S’s global duty free and travel retail sales strategy, with a focus on long-term partnerships, brand growth in both established and emerging markets, and leveraging the King of Reach brand and digital platform, Kingofreach.com, to enable faster, smarter and more transparent routes to market.
B&S Managing Director Maurice Riegel commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Luke to B&S. His deep industry expertise, global perspective and proven ability to build strong partnerships make him an excellent fit for our ambitions. With Luke on board, we are confident in further strengthening the King of Reach brand and our role as a trusted global partner in duty free and travel retail.”
Maga added: “B&S’s King of Reach model uniquely connects brands and customers through smart, efficient and scalable solutions. With its strong digital platform, global footprint and entrepreneurial mindset, B&S offers a powerful foundation for growth across all travel retail channels. I’m excited to join the team and contribute to building even stronger partnerships worldwide.”
The framework aims to elevate the customer experience.
Travel retail consultancy 2.0 & Partners has unveiled a new “Measure Train Coach” training framework designed to help frontline teams unlock the next level of service excellence.
According to the company, as shopper expectations rise and operational environments become more complex, training needs to be bespoke, insight-led, performance-driven and continuously adapted to real conditions on the shop floor.
The Measure Train Coach framework underpins 2.0 & Partners’ Customer eXperience Management (CXM) business suite. Together with the Location & Brand Planning (LBP) suite, it is designed to allow the company to support stakeholders throughout the travel retail ecosystem, spanning strategic planning and brand placement through to frontline execution.
The CXM framework begins with Measure, embedding data and observation at the heart of service improvement. Train is where data is transformed into frontline capability, with training informed by real operational realities, cultural nuances and performance results.
The final pillar, Coach, ensures that training does not end in the classroom. On-site coaching and mentoring take learning onto the shop floor, embedding new behaviours into daily execution, shaped by what is actually happening in-store.
Image Credit: 2.0 & Partners
The Measure Train Coach programme is designed to ensure that services meet the specific needs of every partner.
2.0 & Partners Senior Executive VP Marco Passoni commented: “Delivering an excellent customer experience begins in-house. Training is key, but it must be built on real-time, real-life insights, tailored to [a] business’s needs, and delivered in an accessible and continuous manner to meet the evolving demands of the store.
“Measure Train Coach is a framework that ensures our services meet the specific needs of every partner. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions in travel retail, and a bespoke approach is the cornerstone of this framework.”
Olesja Flores will commence her role as GTR General Manager from 1 February 2026.
JTI has appointed Olesja Flores as its new Global Travel Retail General Manager, effective 1 February 2026, marking a leadership transition at a time of continued change and opportunity across the channel.
Flores steps into the role with a strong international background and broad experience across senior commercial and marketing positions within JTI. Over the course of her career, she has worked across multiple regions, building high-performing teams, strengthening strategic partnerships and delivering sustainable growth in complex and fast-moving markets.
Her appointment comes as global travel retail continues to evolve, shaped by renewed travel momentum, shifting adult consumer expectations and new ways for brands to engage shoppers across international touchpoints. Known internally for her collaborative approach and fresh perspective, Flores is expected to play a key role in guiding JTI’s travel retail strategy through its next phase.
“Travel retail thrives on momentum. It is one of the most dynamic and inspiring channels in our industry, and succeeding in it takes energy, innovation, and real drive,” said Flores. “I am excited to lead a bold and engaged team and to work closely with our partners to keep pushing boundaries and meeting the expectations of an increasingly diverse and fast-evolving global audience. I would like to thank Claudio for his leadership and the strong foundations he has built over the past three years, which position us well for the next phase of growth.”
Flores succeeds Claudio Ferreira, who has led JTI’s Global Travel Retail business for the past three years and has now been appointed General Manager for JTI’s Iberia cluster.
“Olesja is a highly respected leader with a truly global mindset,” said Claudio Ferreira. “She brings together strategic focus, creativity, and a natural ability to energise teams and partnerships. I am confident she will continue to strengthen JTI’s position in Global Travel Retail and help shape its next chapter.”
Olesja Flores will be based in Dubai, underlining the strategic importance of the Middle East as a hub for JTI’s global travel retail operations.
In 2025, Everrich staff initiated 587 community volunteer service activities.
Everrich Duty Free has established a company-wide winter volunteering initiative, led by Chairman Simon Chiang and President Kevin Chiang, ahead of Lunar New Year 2026.
The company said the initiative reflects its belief that corporate responsibility is an integral part of its role as a leading travel retailer at Taiwan’s gateways.
In 2025, Everrich colleagues initiated 587 community volunteer service activities, engaging a total of 11,581 participants across the organisation.
Activities ranged from support for disadvantaged communities and social welfare institutions, to environmental clean-up and disaster relief, including Typhoon Danas response efforts in Tainan, and flood recovery in Guangfu, Hualien.
As part of this year’s winter programme, nearly 100 Everrich volunteers were deployed across multiple locations in Taoyuan City, visiting disadvantaged families in the Dayuan District to deliver daily necessities and extend seasonal greetings ahead of the Lunar New Year.
During this latest visit, volunteers joined residents in interactive activities, while Chairman Chiang shared an early Lunar New Year reunion meal with them.
Image Credit: Everrich Duty Free
Everrich Chairman Simon Chiang, affectionately known as “Grandpa Chiang” (left), writes handwritten Lunar New Year couplets with Dayuan District residents.
Everrich has also supported the Reindeer Children’s Home since 2010, which currently cares for 44 children aged 0 to 18. This year, President Chiang led members of the senior management team in volunteering activities, including an educational farm visit and festive craft-making sessions.
“Corporations are not only about operational performance,” noted Chairman Chiang. “At Everrich, we serve travellers, but we also serve society, and we will continue to support communities in need.”
Rebecca Wong’s role as Client Services Director will be effective as of 2 February 2026.
Shelftrak has appointed Rebecca Wong as Client Services Director, effective 2 February 2026, as the retail execution intelligence platform enters its next phase of global growth.
Wong joins Shelftrak following a long-standing career in travel retail, most recently serving as Global Director, World Travel Retail at The Hershey Company. During nearly nine years with the confectionery group, she built and led international teams and strategies across key travel retail markets, gaining first-hand experience of how brands use data to drive execution and commercial performance on the ground.
Her appointment comes at a pivotal point for Shelftrak as the business looks to deepen how brands and retailers engage with its data, expand into new channels and markets, and continue to evolve its service offering globally.
In her new role, Wong will lead Shelftrak’s global client services strategy, with a focus on helping partners move beyond reporting towards more strategic, execution-led use of data. This includes strengthening long-term client relationships, supporting expansion into new channels, and overseeing the evolution of Shelftrak’s services, including the extension of its ShelfCheck monthly global audits to enable faster reporting and more immediate in-store action.
Garry Stasiulevicuis, Managing Director at Shelftrak, said: “Rebecca joins Shelftrak at a crucial time for the business. As our data becomes more deeply embedded in how brands and retailers make decisions, the role of client services shifts from reporting to true commercial partnership. Rebecca brings rare, first-hand experience of how global brands actually operate in travel retail, and how data can be used to drive better execution, better conversations and better outcomes.”
Wong added: “Shelftrak is uniquely positioned in the market. It provides visibility into what truly happens at shelf level – something brands and retailers have historically lacked. I’m excited to join the business at a time when it is expanding beyond traditional boundaries, both in terms of channels and services, and to work closely with clients to turn insight into action.”
Shelftrak delivers SKU-level visibility of in-store execution across travel retail and other channels using AI-powered image recognition. The platform measures range, space, pricing, promotions and execution quality across key retail locations worldwide, supporting evidence-based decision-making as it continues to expand into new categories and markets.
SSP Group CEO Patrick Coveney: “We have made a good start to the financial year.”
Travel food & beverage (F&B) operator SSP has released a trading update for its 2026 financial year Q1 results, covering the period from 1 October-31 December 2025.
Total group sales increased +6% year-on-year, and +5% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. In North America, sales grew by +4% year-on-year, driven mainly by net gains as the company expanded its share within the 57 airports in which it operates.
SSP attributed some LFL volatility during the quarter to seasonal fluctuations, and t0 the US government shutdown.
In Continental Europe, sales rose +1% on a constant currency basis, reflecting a +2% LFL increase, despite weak consumer sentiment and lower spend levels in several markets. SSP’s rail business – currently the subject of a wide-ranging review – was particularly affected.
In the UK & Ireland, sales grew by +8% year-on-year, with sustained strong LFL results. The company acknowledged it was seeing the benefits of a strengthened customer proposition as a result of its refresh and renewal programmes.
In APAC and EEME, sales soared by +17% year-on-year, with the strengthened LFL growth quarter-on-quarter (Q1 FY26 LFL: +10% vs Q4 FY25 LFL: +6%) benefiting from a more normalised air capacity in India.
Trading also reflected strong net gains across this higher margin region, as well as sustained strong LFL growth in Australia. Overall, SSP noted that the new financial year had started well, with positive revenue momentum. The company’s full-year guidance remains unchanged.
SSP Group CEO Patrick Coveney commented: “We have made a good start to the financial year, with LFL sales growth of +5% in the first quarter. We are on track against our ‘Focus 26’ operational plan with a range of programmes underway to deliver sustained improvements in profitability, cash and returns on capital. Given this momentum, we remain confident in our prospects for the balance of FY26 and beyond.”
L-R: Luis Marin, President & CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avolta; Joost Rosmuller, VP & Managing Director, WTR – Mondelēz International; Elias Liolios, Director of Commercial & Business Development, Hermes Airports; and Martijn Steur, Vice-Chair of the ACI Europe Commercial Forum.
Effective ways to help drive revenue growth for all DF&TR stakeholders, inspire greater collaboration and enhance the customer experience were in the spotlight in a session titled ‘Re-enchanting Travel Retail’ at the ETRC Business Forum 2026 in Amsterdam.
Martijn Steur, Vice-Chair of the ACI Europe Commercial Forum, shared the thinking behind updates to the Tender Code framework, noting that creating a magical experience for shoppers in travel retail begins before the store even opens.
“On the complex topic of tenders, there is no silver bullet – it’s more a framework we are trying to develop,” he explained about the Tender Code.
The updates that are being encompassed now represent a modernisation, building on the original, which launched in 2001.
This is to keep pace with changing travel behaviours and other key industry dynamics – all steered by the working group of airports, retailers and brands.
The updates are also intended to reflect key insights gleamed from the Exploring and Testing the Prevailing Business Models in Travel Retail report, released in 2025, which was conducted by the Institute for Retail Studies at the University of Stirling and commissioned by the ETRC (please click here to download).
Steur explained how stakeholders being in alignment is central to the ‘shared risk, shared reward’ approach of tenders, saying: “We all align on the passenger journey but we come from different angles. So how do we bring these vantage points together in the ecosystem?’
Part of the solution has been turning “anecdotes into facts”, with a survey carried out of airports, retailers and advisors in the field to pinpoint areas of alignment and expose friction point.
This has given rise to a picture of where stakeholders align most strongly. such as the appetite for ‘improved data transparency’, and what the biggest gaps are, such as ‘over reliance on fixed MAG’.
“At least we all agree that we want to move away from just price – we want to go to value,” said Steur.
Image Credit: TRBusiness
Martijn Steur, Vice-Chair of the ACI Europe Commercial Forum, exlaiend where today’s tender processes can struggle the most.
In terms of moving this forward, the ACI Europe task force that’s dedicated to revising the concession model, is collecting best practices and examples to help set a clear path forward, based on the guiding principles for a modernised tender code, which are: partnership & collaboration (fostering proactive trust-based engagement between airports and operators); passenger orientation (prioritising value for customers); risk/reward balance (such as flexible commercial models); segment sensitivity; and transparent processes.
“The proof of the pudding is how far – as an industry or group or in a conversation you are going to have with your partners – you are going to push that,” he pointed out.
Next, Elias Liolios, Director of Commercial & Business Development, Hermes Airports, took to delve into the session theme, drawing on the commercial redesign of Larnaka International Airport (LCA) with CTC-ARI as an example.
“The guiding principle for us is the passenger – we need to understand the needs and expectations through data analysis, surveys, focus groups, and everything else that you’re going to do.”
Image Credit: TRBusiness
Elias Liolios, Director of Commercial & Business Development, Hermes Airports, highlights key purchase drivers in H1 2025.
Good leadership with a strong a vision, mission strategy and purpose was also flagged as an essential driver.
He continued: “We have to have a common culture, [and] vision. We need to use technology – but we’re not an Amazon. It’s a negative but also a positive that we have an environment that people need to go through. Last but not least… without the people there and going through the process of understanding what their role is in giving to the passenger, the customer, the guest… we will not achieve what we want to achieve.”
He summarised: “The employee is the cornerstone. We need the executive management support in order to have this happen. Customers bring revenues, employees drive the experience and technology is not the final solution, it is the enabler.”
Known for its heightened sense of place – or spirit of place, which Tracy Ross, Head of Design & Planning, ARIME, spoke about in depth at the 2025 TR Consumer Forum – the thrust of the retail experience at LCA, he explained, is helping the passenger to feel what Cyprus is all about, with a roster of local gems woven throughout to create a welcoming and distinctive shopping environment.
When it comes to getting under the skin of the consumer, Liolios revealed that Hermes Airports has a psychoanalyst on hand to share insights into the psychology of the passenger, as well as the people who are tasked with activating experiences at the airport, to help the two join together.
Ultimately, delivering “experience over transaction” in order to deliver the ‘wow’ factor is key, aided by local, authentic, personalised and curated offerings.
The effort, he says, is more than worth it with the retail revamps in Cyprus delivering “double-digit growth” for perfumes and cosmetics (P&C) through value, exclusivity and newness; tobacco via the value offering; Kypriaka concept stores though local experiences; and fashion also through exclusivity and newness.
Image Credit: TRBusiness
Joost Rosmuller, Vice President & Managing Director, World Travel Retail – Mondelēz International, shared insights into how to encourage passengers to shop, in more stores, and also to spend more.
Joost Rosmuller, Vice President & Managing Director, World Travel Retail – Mondelēz International, brought a confectionery category perspective to the fore, citing the issue of low penetration, spend beign under pressure and attention going elsewhere as barriers to business.
“Compared to five years ago, people are spending twice as long on their devices, which is an issue – or maybe an opportunity,” he said.
“We often talk about having a captive audience, but I would like to challenge that – I think we have a distracted audience and that’s why [bringing] this magic is so important.”
Mondelēz carried out research with 7,200 travellers around the world to gain a deeper understanding of their behaviours. The results help to demonstrate how the confectionery category can be key to boosting penetration and spend, says the company, with key findings including that half of non-buyers are open to buying confectionery (45% in Europe) and of those who do buy, seven out of 10 would “love to add chocolate to their basket”.
He also spoke of the opportunity to rethink value by exploring the opportunity to reduce friction and increase the delight factor for shoppers.
He went on to map out how Mondelēz is working through a variety of tools and touchpoints to connect with travellers at various stages of the journey, with the aim of inspiring more passengers to shop, in more stores, and spend more through memorable experiences.
“It’s not about competing harder, it’s about collaborating smarter,” he said.
Image Credit: TRBusiness
Luis Marin, President & CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avolta.
Finally, Luis Marin, President & CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avolta, added this perspective,
“[Continued passenger] growth alone is not going to generate value,” he told the audience. “We have to think about value creation. Growth may generate value in the short-term, but certainly not in the medium- or in the long-term.”
Crucial for stimulating spend and earning customer loyalty, he said, is providing a ‘proper’ customer experience, which includes great value, to ‘enchant’ the consumer.
While challenges exist, there are still “plenty of ways to enchant”, said Marin. “You need to bring them innovation, technology, experience, entertainment, fun… you need to interact. You need to give them feedback and get feedback from them.”
As a case in point, he referenced the Formula One simulator Avolta has deployed in a selection of its airport spaces. Activations such as this, he says, naturally draw people to the airport earlier to check out what’s going on in the stores.
In summary discussions, advice from the panel included the need to have courage to make bold decisions and to be brave in the face of failure in order to learn from experience.
“Guest satisfaction is the number one KPI,” said Rosmuller. “If guests are satisfied they will come back, they will feel at ease, they will spend… the dollars will come.”
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