The industry fights back

Despite a well-earned reputation for resilience, little could have prepared duty free and travel retail for the crisis currently facing it. Yet among the airport closures and dwindling passenger traffic, a growing number of brands are choosing to help those affected by the coronavirus outbreak. To highlight these generous gestures, TFWA is asking members to share details of the fightback. What follows is a summary of last week’s stories on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook under #OneWorldOneTR.

Few countries are suffering more than Italy at present, so it’s inspiring to see some of the biggest Italian brand names being so proactive. Giorgio Armani has donated €1.25m to hospitals in Milan and Rome and the civil defence force. Fellow fashion brand Paul & Shark has promised 20% of its e-commerce sales to fund the purchase of ventilators for hospitals. Andrea Dini, whose grandfather founded the company nearly a century ago, said: “Our doctors are fighting day and night to save as many lives as possible. If they fight, we fight.” Coccinelle, the womenswear and accessories company, has launched a fundraising initiative under the title ‘Coccinelle puts your heart into it’, aiming to raise €200,000 for the fight to tackle the virus. In the drinks sector, Campari Group has donated €1m to a public healthcare institute in Milan researching treatments for Covid-19.

In France, beauty group Clarins has manufactured and donated 14,500 large-format bottles of hand-sanitiser to be used in the country’s hospitals. One problem facing French medical staff, and those in many other countries, is a lack of protective face masks. LVMH, the Paris-based luxury giant, has sourced 10 million masks from China and ordered 40 million more. Meanwhile, Carnival Corporation, the US and British-listed world leader in cruises, has offered several of its ships from Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia as floating hospitals. The ships would be used for non-coronavirus patients, freeing up resources to tackle the pandemic in the communities taking up the offer.

Members are encouraged to keep sharing their stories using #OneWorldOneTR.