Issue 47 | July 2023
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One Team to Deliver the Travel Experience Revolution
THANKS, THANKS AND THANKS.
EXECUTION, EXECUTION AND EXECUTION.
We are delivering on our strategy
I am thrilled to see the progress we have made throughout our journey towards Destination 2027, since announcing the business combination of Dufry and Autogrill on February 3. A great deal of milestones have been reached, numerous challenges and obstacles have been overcome, whilst most certainly many remain ahead of us. What is unquestionable is that in a very short time, we have demonstrated that we can work as One Team of highly qualified professionals: united, motivated and with a common goal – to radically revolutionize our guests’ travel experience.
Each and every one of you has made these important steps possible, and together with you we will continue to build momentum in the travel retail revolution. The summer period is now signaling the arrival of the most important months of our industry and with your continued efforts we will boost our performance which is even more important than ever. Your dedication and ongoing focus on the day-to-day business, driving sales and giving best service to our customers, is key to shaping our common future.
We are setting common Ways of Working and Clear Organizational Structure
The in-depth analysis of our operations in Travel Retail and F&B has given way to a crucial milestone in our integration journey: the definition of the new Ways of Working (WoW’s). They fully reflect our One Team mindset. We have one shared goal for one company and one way of working, all to redefine the traveler’s experience and create value for our brand and concession partners as well as our shareholders while doing so. Our WoW’s clearly outline how we want to manage the business across all geographies and are interlaced with our global Key Performance Indicators; increase spend per passenger, strengthen cash conversion and renew and win contracts with best possible terms and conditions.
This milestone comes along with the design of our Standard Organizational Structure, which outlines and supports the way we manage our operations globally, leveraging our regional focus and global reach. You can find all the details here.
#TravelTogether through the Integration
The Integration Management Office (IMO) team continues to work at full capacity. There are many streams and open projects – our global open positions posting "Grow With Us", a great example – that continue to crystallize and give shape to the new company. Perhaps the most awaited initiative is the creation and announcement of our new brand. Here we are making great steps, progressing as planned, and expect to present it to all of you, to our customers and our external stakeholders towards the end of September. The launch of our new brand will mark another major step forward in our journey together, as it will unite us all under a common visual identity.
While our new brand is significant, our main integration projects and initiatives led by the IMO are no less important. The IT organization of the future, the unification of the People platforms, the access to information, the identification of sources of added value… all are pivotal to the future of our company. I invite you to follow the IMO's regular updates on progress made and strongly encourage you all to participate in our global Town Halls; both aim to keep you informed of developments and progress in the construction of our new combined company.
The integration process is reaching its peak. With the planning phase completed, the synergies and value creation identified, the organizational structure designed and key appointments named, and the delisting confirmed, it is now all about execution. Nothing holds us back from accelerating the implementation of Destination 2027, closing off our special projects and working our way towards a ‘business as usual’ state as One Team.
New Brand soon - Legacy brands and cultures to be embraced
Our One Team will have One Brand arching across us all called […you will find out soon]. All existing brands, legacies, histories and cultures will become part of our new family brand […name to be shared soon!].
In this issue of Dufry World, you can read how our Destination 2027 strategy is becoming a tangible commercial reality, and how we as One Team shape and deliver on our objective of leading the travel experience revolution. What a powerful position to be in! The tenders for the operation of the duty-free stores in Spain are a clear example that concession partners not only believe in, but demand the combination of retail and food & beverage concepts. Our way of envisioning the future is rich with innovative concepts combining the best of the travel retail and F&B worlds. The results of these tenders – where we have won all five bids we submitted – underline the fact that we are going in the right direction. And we are going there together.
Our commitment to increasing customer centricity, surprising travelers with new experiences, is visibly impressive at our new luxury fragrance shop-concept Haute Parfumerie with its innovative “phygital” experience, which we first launched at Zurich Airport. The same applies to the extended and enlarged business presence at a key airport location such as Boston Logan International Airport, where again we have showcased targeted digital and experiential innovations that have captured the attention of our airport partners. Most recently we invited you to help us test the new version of our mobile loyalty app, Red By Dufry. We have enriched the app with new services and experiences from virtually trying on makeup products, finding the perfect fragrance, and tailored product suggestions through to partner point rewards. While all these initiatives point us in the right direction, they also involve significant investments, a timely reminder to be cost-conscious and disciplined with Capex spending across our operations.
Delisting Autogrill, a step closer to One Team
We continue to take steps towards finalizing the legal aspects of the business combination of Autogrill and Dufry. We have just finalized the mandatory tender offer (MTO) launched in February and completed the sell-out and squeeze-out process to acquire the remaining shares. We will now be able to proceed to delist Autogrill from the Italian Stock Exchange and while the Autogrill brand will remain an important brand for our consumers, we look forward to the significance of this event for our combined company, taking a step closer to bringing us all together under a single brand later this year.
Let´s keep going
As we take time to celebrate our success, we must keep our momentum; much remains ahead of us and the next few months will be crucial for the business, with major projects and developments coming to fruition in the second half of the year. We have made a strong start to the summer season in the northern hemisphere, our busiest time of the year, and let’s exploit this energy, providing our customers with unique experiences and taking advantage of the strong uptick in the travel industry to grow further.
Once again, I want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication, motivation and support. I´m very proud of our team, all around the world, and I have no doubts that together we are building something great that will truly transform our industry. Let's continue this spirit of collaboration and reach for the highest heights that will undoubtedly lead us to success.
Warmest regards,
Xavier Rossinyol
