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News
Travel retail wine and spirits shrinks 2.7%
TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen has revealed that global travel retail and duty free wine and spirits sales declined 2.7% in 2015, with total sales for the industry falling 2.3%.
Erik Juul Mortensen has presented data showing the travel retail wine and spirits centre has declined
Speaking at the 2016 TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference citing provisional 2015 Generation Research figures, Juul-Mortensen said total sales for the year stood at US$62.1 billion, the first contraction in six years.
The Asia Pacific region continued to lead the industry in terms of both market share and growth, accounting for 40% of all sales at US$25.2 billion, up 2.6%.
Middle East was the only other region to record growth (+0.4% to US$5.9bn), with every other geography contacting: Europe (-7.7%/$18.9bn), Americas (-3.8%/$11.3bn), and Africa (-8.6%/US$0.8bn).
The wine and spirits category also saw losses, with sales down 2.7% to US$10.2 billion. Every other category except for fragrances and cosmetics (+2.3% to US$19.5bn) posted declines: fashion and accessories (-3.0%/US$9.0bn), tobacco (-0.4%/US$7.9bn), watches jewellery and writing (-13.2%/US$5.7bn), confectionery and fine food (-4.0%/US$4.9bn) and electronics and gifts (-3.5%/US$5.0bn).
In terms of channel development, airports remain the largest worldwide, accounting for half of all sales. Across Asia Pacific however, every category declined except for the “other” category, which includes downtown, border shops and cruise.
Speaking at the conference, Juul-Mortensen said the industry’s failure to capitalise on the growth was a concern. In Asia Pacific, passenger numbers for the year were up 9%, yet airport sales fell 1% indicating that spend per passenger is significantly down.
In conclusion, he stated that slower growth in Asia may be the new normal has the market reaches maturity, adding that the way the industry reacts to changes will define its fortune in the coming years.
The TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference is currently under way at the Marina Bay Sands Expo Centre, Singapore, concluding tomorrow.