Issue 46 | March 2023
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Our Journey Together Has Begun
We have now all been “traveling together” for eight weeks. Dufry and Autogrill, hand in hand, towards our Destination 2027 – our first step as we radically revolutionize our guests’ travel experience. And in this issue of Dufry World, you will see that our ambitions rely on a concept, our commitment to #TravelTogether.
As I sit to write this message to you all, I see our people. We are now in 75+ countries, with more than 60,000 people, and new faces, new connections, new sets of expertise, are all starting to intertwine across the business. Building these new relationships, tapping into these new skills and learning about each other’s business is what makes us strong and gives us a competitive edge in the market. Whether you have been with us for the long-haul, or if you are just finding your seat, I want to thank you for the part that you will play in our mutual success.
Strong 2022 results power our ambitions
From an operational perspective, Dufry and Autogrill have both delivered on their targets and we can all be proud of our common achievements. Dufry’s results exceeded our expectations across the board, which is all the more remarkable when set in the context of a business environment heavily impacted by inflation and travel disruptions. Driven by the recovery of international airport traffic in core geographies, Autogrill's results showed impressive growth. These results underline our collective ability to overcome challenging markets, and put us in a healthy starting position for our 2023 targets.
#TravelTogether is gaining momentum
After successfully closing the Autogrill transaction in early February, and as part of our new strategy Destination 2027, I am pleased to see the new high-level organization is now well in place, representing skills and representatives from both legacy businesses. Full integration is already underway.
For myself and all the members of new Global Executive Committee (GEC), the opportunity to personally meet – or virtually speak with – so many of you through our five town halls has been invaluable. In Basel, Milano, Amsterdam, Bethesda and New Jersey, the open discussions, hearing firsthand the personal feelings, concerns, ideas, and suggestions all underlined the engagement of all our colleagues and a general positive buzz across the company. On behalf of the management team, I thank you all for your participation in the meetings, and your commitment to #TravelTogether as one team.
Behind the scenes with our IMO Team
Our Integration Management Office (IMO) is working at full steam, mobilizing multiple colleagues across functions and geographies to contribute to the success of the integration journey. These teams are working hand-in-hand to outline a coherent integration plan, mapping interdependencies across functions to make sure the integration runs as smoothly as possible with no disruption to business. In parallel, the IMO is collecting and preparing to launch a number of ‘quick wins’, initiatives that will generate value (e.g., savings, process simplification) by the end of Q2 2023. We are preparing a broad communication plan to keep you up to date on progress made.
You will have seen that our collective internal vacancies are now fully transparent to both companies, with internal applicants given direct access before roles are advertised externally. This will help us to reduce external hires and build our talent pool through development and promotion opportunities.
Campaign for Turkey and Syria
Around the world, we have been rocked by the tragic impact of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and I would like to reiterate our deepest sympathies for the communities affected. In addition to our thoughts being very much with the people and their families, I am proud to share Dufry’s commitment to support them through significant company and customer initiatives.
Keep the day-to-day in focus
I hope that you enjoy the rich collection of impressive initiatives, events and achievements that the team have covered in this issue of Dufry World. The articles are a great reminder that on an operational level it continues to be business as usual. Even in the context of our business combination, we remain fully focused on our daily operations and continue to meet the needs of our guests. Even more important when considering the wider geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which we continue to monitor carefully. The fundamental willingness of our customers to travel and to spend in our stores, across both travel retail and F&B, remains resilient despite challenges, and I challenge you all to seize this opportunity and reminder!
So much has happened in eight short weeks since I spoke with you all at the Town Halls. What were we going to be called again? Was it Autofry? Or Dugrill? Humor aside, it is my earnest wish that you recognize the goal of true integration, of taking the best of both companies, as the essence of our combination. We are building, not destroying; we are creating something new and something better. We are driving the travel experience revolution.
I remain proud of your strong commitment and continued drive for performance seen across the whole company; your enthusiasm to work and achieve together is already very encouraging for myself and the wider GEC. Let’s continue onwards, as we work together and #TravelTogether towards Destination 2027.
Warmest regards,
Xavier Rossinyol
