SPAIN. The Spanish Association of Commercial Operators of Airports, Ports and Stations (AEOCAPE) has rebranded itself to the Federación Española del Travel Retail (Spanish Federation of Travel Retail).
The name change comes as the organisation moves to increase its influence through broadening its membership, strategic alliances and collaborative work.
Federación Española del Travel Retail (FETRE) Director General Carlos Gallego told The Moodie Davitt Report that an internal transformation process was being devised throughout 2023 and was approved at an Ordinary General Assembly held on 10 April.
“The basis of this change is a reorientation strategy to continue our growth by modifying current risks and uncertainties in the search of being useful not only for our associates but also for transport node operators,” Gallego told us.
The organisation’s new strategy has five main strands:
- Expand its associate base by bringing in new travel retail players.
- Be useful to associates but also to transport node operators (loyal collaboration).
- Be a main, key and therefore relevant actor in the economic field due to the weight of the special distribution channel that is the travel retail market.
- Also be a key actor in the social field due to the special characteristics of the employment provided therein.
- Finally, act in the international market taking the necessary steps to join supranational associations such as the European Travel Retail Confederation while developing the current agreement that unites the organisation with ASUTIL (the South American Association of Free Stores).
The Federación Española del Travel Retail is now targeting new members and associates to join it covering groups such as travel retail and restaurant operators, brands, other travel retail stakeholders (for example museum stores, palaces and similar places of tourist influx), travel retail collaborating companies (for example designers of spaces and furniture, software and market research companies) and transport node operating companies.
Gallego revealed that the Federación Española del Travel Retail has now presented the basic lines of the new association to Aena (the Spanish airports operator), ADIF (the Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager) and Puertos del Estado (the company responsible for managing state-owned Spanish ports) to invite them to join as collaborators.
“This was very well received,” he said. “Ultimately, the goal pursued is a more open, more integrative, more collaborative and more effective association.” ✈
