How duty free shopping is changing the beauty industry, by forcing it to innovate
Travel retail is one of the biggest markets for prestige cosmetic brands such as Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, with many new collections now being sold exclusively in airport duty-free shops
One of the biggest events in the beauty industry has just taken place and most people don’t even know about it.
It was the TFWA (Tax Free World Association) World Exhibition & Conference in early October.
Every year, more than 12,000 professionals flock to the French Riviera – to the same convention centre as the Cannes Film Festival – for a five-day global summit on the state of the duty-free and travel retail industry.
Duty-free shopping surges in popularity in China
Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Shiseido, and Coty all attend, and there’s a good reason why these six industry leaders do so. Travel retail – defined as shopping in airports, in-flight, tax-free stores, and cruises – is one of the their biggest markets.
This year marks a significant milestone for the duty free industry as it celebrates its 70th anniversary. Since the first airport duty-free store opened at Shannon Airport, Ireland, in 1947, travel shopping has become a common part of many people’s journeys.
Today, travel retail is a global industry worth almost US$64 billion. Of that, perfumes and cosmetics account for about one-third of sales, and the Asia-Pacific region is the largest market of all, with a 38.6 per cent market share.
