The UK Government’s failure to bring back tax-free shopping is not just foolish, it is bad business
By Marco Passoni The arrival of the latest budget from the UK Chancellor last week brought me a glimmer of hope: Maybe the latest UK Government would see the stupidity of removing tax-free shopping and overhaul the ridiculous decision which was taken as Brexit came into effect more than a year ago. Make no mistake, […]
Creating Culture: Why products are just the tip of the iceberg for luxury
By Marco Passoni The announcement earlier this month that Pharrell Williams will become the new Creative Director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, succeeding the late Virgil Abloh, made headlines around the world. For me, and for many in the industry, it is an inspired choice. It demonstrates LVMH’s dedication to much more than simply creating […]
How to create the perfect experience for travelling shoppers
By Marco Passoni Creating the perfect impression and experience for travelling shoppers is more important than it has ever been. At 2.0 & Partners, our international team spends every day airside to ensure we understand every part of the customer experience, and how it impacts our partners’ business. Nowhere is this clearer than in our […]
Paris or Hainan? Where next for Chinese shoppers?
By Marco Passoni I saw an interesting article on the Fashion Network website last week, which posed an interesting question in relation to China’s luxury shoppers now travel restrictions in the country have been eased: Paris or Hainan? Since news of the change to China’s travel rules on 8 January was announced, both the luxury […]
Why 2023 must be the year of the pop-up in travel retail
An idea popped into my head last year and it is one which I believe should be a guiding light for travel retail over the next 12 months: Let us make 2023 the year of the pop-up in this market. I have long been among those calling for a new look at how we use […]
The return of China’s travelling shoppers brings new challenges not a return to old glory
By Marco Passoni The impending return of China’s travelling shoppers is great news for both the travel retail and luxury sectors, but we must recognise that it does not mean the return of the good old days. Since the reopening of travel borders in the wake of the pandemic, I have been among those advocating […]
7 highlights from the luxury sector in 2022
With 2022 almost behind us, this is a good moment to take stock and recognise some of the moments where the luxury and luxury travel retail markets truly excelled themselves in the past 12 months. Despite the challenges and calls from many – myself among them – for brands and retailers to think bigger and […]
7 New Year’s Resolutions for the travel retail market
By Marco Passoni As much of the world heads into the holiday season, all of our thoughts must turn to the year ahead. If 2022 has been the year we laid the foundations of our new normal, 2023 is the year we must build it. Here are my resolutions for our market over the next […]
Christmas Wish: Let’s create a more sustainable and united world
By Marco Passoni When we look back, I think we will see 2022 as a formative year – both for our industry and for the planet as a whole. If the pandemic was a reset which brought about seismic shifts in our world, then this was the year when we started to build the ‘new […]
What we have learned in 2022 in luxury and travel retail
By Marco Passoni As we bid farewell to 2022, we are putting behind us a year which I believe has shaped the future of how we will do business in both the luxury and travel retail markets. The trends and changes which we have grappled with in the past 12 months will define many of […]
