In this edition of ‘Adapt & Survive’ Simon Best, VP Innovation for Duty Free Innovation, tells TRBusiness that its Asian factories are actually back to producing and delivering product, however the pipeline has unsurprisingly dried up; at least for now.

He said that DFI is giving its retail and brand partners some space and room to breathe while they deflect the punches being thrown at them from numerous directions. He also reveals that those same partners are being very supportive.

He did also say that DFI is using this period as “We’re doing exactly what this series suggests. We are adapting to survive and we’re taking the rare opportunity during this ‘down time’ to really consolidate our plans and have a look at the business and where we are going.”

Best says the company has brought some plans and projects forward and shifted things around to make sure they are ‘in the game’ when the business does rebound. “We’re looking at how we can adapt our business to suit the new environment,” he said.

Best, which represents a company with sustainability at its core, also raised his concerns for the future of sustainability initiatives in travel retail and said he hoped that retailers and brands would not simply revert to cheaper procedures and products to get back to business quickly. He warned that this could alienate customers when they do eventually return to duty free shops.

Adapt and Survive asks members of the travel retail industry community, often working from home, for their candid commentary on the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic.

The video series is a direct response to the industry’s critical need for direct, factual and analytical commentary and – in typical TRBusiness fashion – interprets clearly and concisely the challenges faced by travel retail during Covid-19.

To register your interest in the Adapt and Survive series, please contact one of editorial team at the following addresses: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

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