In an exclusive interview, DFS Group’s Brooke Supernaw, Senior Vice President Spirits, Wines and Tobacco, told Charlotte Turner that the new accreditation is a reflection of the retailer’s dedication to its customers and staff. She also revealed that this training course is something which they are rolling out in Singapore, then Hong Kong before doing so globally.
Charlotte Turner: Tell us what it means to be in charge of travel retail’s first Whisky Ambassador venue, and why does travel retail need these venues?
Brooke Supernaw: We’re very honoured to be the world’s first travel retail venue to receive this accreditation. It’s really a reflection of our dedication to both our customers and our staff, to invest in their education, to bring a better experience to our customers.
And that then relates to delivering a better experience to the customer. I see more and more and I hear more and more from our staff that our customers are becoming very savvy, especially when it comes to the world of whisky, and then even more so in the world of single malts.From our customers’ point of view when they shop for a whisky – which is inclusive of all different types of whisky – they want to know the history; they want to know the heritage; they want more information than just the age and the price. By putting our staff through this strong training programme, it’s not only going to build their confidence, but their passion around how whisky is made and really appreciate the heritage behind it.
There are a lot more connoisseurs coming through over the last few years as this category starts to grow and we need to not only keep up with that, but we need to be ahead of it. We want our sales associates to not only feel confident, but deliver the best experience for the consumer, and to really inspire them through their knowledge and through their education. So for us we’re going to be rolling this out in Singapore and then in Hong Kong and then ultimately globally as part of our DFS University; our training programme.
CT: How did this initiative come about exactly?
BS: It first started with the launch of our duplex store here in Changi, and part of our ambition with the duplex store was to create a different environment and a different experience here. So each of the different shop-in-shops we have here – whether it’s The Macallan or Glenfiddich or Johnnie Walker – has a unique product and they have brand ambassadors that deliver a slightly more enriched experience.
So they’re sent to a Chateaux, they’re trained with the distillers; they have a slightly higher knowledge, if you will, because of the investment that’s been made. But when we sat back and thought about it we said, ‘that’s great, but we want that for a broader range of our sales associates’. We want our customers to walk in and take away that enriching and educational experience, so why limit it to just the duplex?
L-to-R: Brooke Supernaw; Teo Chew Hoon; Monet Aluquin; Patricia Sim; Wilcy Wong; Lim Peck Hoon.
That’s how we got inspired to say let’s incorporate it into our DFS University. We already had a wine school that you may be aware of? We have a DFS wine school that we branched into a DFS spirits school and within that a specific whisky programme because of the growth that we see and the potential that we see. It’s so amazing to see this.
I’m guessing this is a DFS Group initiative so we won’t be seeing this from other retailers…
It is. Whisky Ambassadors, this is actually a company that is based in the UK. They do have programmes that are accessible to hotels and restaurants and retailers and we actually went and interviewed multiple companies and we found that the Whisky Ambassador programme was the best fit for our needs, so we brought it into our school. I do believe we are the only travel retail operator that has an in-house university and an in-house training programme, and this is going to be one section of that.
Moving back to the duplex itself, how have consumers reacted to it since it opened and does DFS think that the investment is worth it, because it was substantial…
It was substantial and it was absolutely worth it and we had great responses from our customers on the second floor, and we really wanted to deliver a truly differentiated experience on the second level.
When you come up the escalator the views of the double height wall bays and the bottles that surround it are quite breath-taking. Then you’re welcomed by the Raffles Bar before going through this series of boutiques that each speak to the brands’ personalities; to the DNA; to the history and to the heritage. You have welcoming brand ambassadors; you’re tasting product that isn’t traditionally tasted in travel retail; you have engraving services and scent labs. It’s truly not only a journey, it’s a unique experience almost like going through an art gallery.
DFS Changi Whisky Ambassadors with Brooke Supernaw and Wilcy Wong.
So we’ve had great responses as, again, customers become more savvy and they travel through travel retail. One of the values we can offer them is differentiated, unique and exclusive product and that’s really what this second level is delivering, as well as service.
So it goes back to proper training, in-depth training, really engaging the consumer and inspiring them, and that’s a lot of what this is all about.
