Lindt says ‘the Americas is a key priority’ for travel retail
The company will launch Lindt coconut edition and souvenir collection at the upcoming Summit of the Americas Duty Free and Travel Retail show in Orlando, Florida.
The coconut edition includes three formats: the Lindor tube, the assorted Napolitains and the 300 g tablet.
The souvenir collection consists of Lindt tin suitcases 360 g and Lindt chocolate trolleys 600 g. Both of them are available in six flavors: milk, milk hazelnut, surfin, Lindor, Cresta milk and Cresta white.
Peter Zehnder, head of the Lindt global duty free division, said, “for us, as for many in the travel retail business, the Americas is a key priority and it is important for us to forge even stronger relationships driving the confectionery category.”
Striking a balance with Latin America
Lindt’s travel retail business has historically had a strong foothold in Latin America. It is ranked as the number one brand in Brazil travel retail, as well as in many regional airports and duty free channels, according to the company.
“We kept our engagement during the recession in Brazil and are happy with our clients in Latin America to see the positive market development starting last year,” Zehnder said. “We will continue to invest and support the growth of our business here and the development of our commercial partnerships.”
However, Lindt’s position is “not reflected fully in the space given within duty free stores, especially in the North America region, where the brand’s sales are growing into high double-digit numbers,” the company pointed out.
“We’re therefore working closely with our key customers to redress the balance,” it said.
Last year, Lindt hired Mohammed Aldahabi as its sales representative in North America. The move is considered “a key step” to expanding business within the region, said Lindt.
“I am delighted to be a part of this dynamic region… we made great progress especially with distribution and building a solid relationship with our partner, Otis McAllister [since last year],” said Aldahabi in a statement.
Lindt’s overall sales in 2017 were up 4.8% to $4.25bn, yet its organic sales in the NAFTA region dropped 1.6% due to declines at its Russell Stover business.
