SAM GERBER, VICE PRESIDENT COMMERCIAL, TFWA JOINS THE APTRA BOARD

Singapore 29 January 2021 APTRA (Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association) welcomes a new board member, with Sam Gerber now representing the Tax Free World Association (TFWA). He will be part of the APTRA Knowledge committee, a strategic position to ensure sharing of information between
the two organisations.

At TFWA, Sam is Vice President Corporate and a member of its Management Committee. He is also the co-founder and co-CEO of Swiss-based WorldConnect AG, the owner of market-leading SKROSS travel adaptors.

In addition to leading the partnership between APTRA and TFWA, Sam’s experience as a consumer electronics expert will be valuable in providing perspective on the dynamics of the important electronics category, supply chain and routes to market in Asia Pacific.

Sunil Tuli, President of APTRA comments: “We’ve very pleased to welcome Sam to the APTRA board and to be continuing our long relationship with TFWA. We’d like to thank Alain Maingreaud for his contribution and support in recent years. This is an important time for our industry to build on its strengths and partnerships and, especially, to leverage the power of its trade associations. I’m confident that with Sam, also under Jaya Singh’s presidency at TFWA- himself a former President of APTRA, we are in a good place to partner together on future strategies that shape and drive the postpandemic era of travel retail.”

Sam Gerber adds. “I’m excited to be joining the APTRA board at such an important moment in our
industry’s evolution and to be responsible for ensuring Asia Pacific has a strong voice on the TFWA Management Committee. I’m confident this dynamic region will be seen as the lead innovator in industry recovery and I will ensure there is always a proactive and open two-way dialogue and knowledge sharing between both organisations to help stimulate the commercial rebound opportunity for our collective members across the globe.”

https://www.aptra.asia/

Media enquiries: Anne Kavanagh, Kavanagh Communications anne@kavanaghcommunications.com

About APTRA

The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) is a membership organisation whose vision is to represent all members of the association and to strengthen, nurture & protect the duty-free and travel retail industry in the Asia Pacific region. APTRA’s membership comprises landlords, retailers and brands, which is unique and adds richness to the association’s work. APTRA’s territory spans over 45 countries in the Asia Pacific.

APTRA strengthens the knowledge base of the industry by supporting members through meaningful research, knowledge share, networking opportunities and advocating the industry when facing regulatory challenges. Commissioning relevant market research is one of the quality outputs of APTRA, the results of which are disseminated exclusively to members through private seminars, networking workshops and the Association website.

APTRA is on the alert constantly for legislative and regulatory challenges that may impact the duty-free and travel retail industry. Working with members, fellow trade associations and related agencies, APTRA engages with governments and policy-makers to facilitate a deeper understanding of the industry’s pivotal role in local communities, employment, travel infrastructure and the economies of the region.