Duty Free Donates Toys and Cash

New Appointments

Coaching shop re-opens

Bahrain Duty Free Issue No. 14 | November 2011

Bahrain Duty Free celebrates 20 years in business !

Message from the GM

Dear All,

Bahrain Duty Free (BDF) is proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary. During this time it has been a truly success story and continues to be so, for Bahrain International airport, shareholders, customers, suppliers and team members. This success has been built on many different factors with the BDF “employees” being a key one. BDF can have the newest shop or the nicest fragrance but at the end of the day it is down to the whole BDF team that is crucial in making the final sale. So I am honored as GM to congratulate you all on this very special occasion and wish you all the best for next 20 years.

Speaking of the future we are currently in discussions with Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) about the proposed airport expansion and I believe the expansion will be a super opportunity for both BDF and BAC to create a new Duty Free shopping experience that will contribute to BDF’s vision of becoming the premier duty free retailer in the Middle East. The timelines of the expansion will soon be clarified but potentially 2013 looks like the period when BDF’s shop changes will start taking place. In the meantime please continue to be proud of the shopping environment that BDF offers.

Our current business environment remains challenging and highlights the need to fine tune our business and to constantly look at ways of doing our work in a more effective manner or encouraging our customers to spend more. Going forward into 2012 our sales budgets will be based around the number of our customers and the amounts they spend in our shops. So selling a mascara to the customer buying the fragrance or a case to the customer buying the mobile phone will make a big contribution. Remember, every little helps.

I would like to congratulate Sadiq Ismail for suggesting “In Touch” as the new name of our company newsletter. In this edition of “In Touch” please enjoy the articles about our colleagues with BDF for 20 years and much more.

Finally, I would like to thank Karl Sutcliffe for his contributions in his position as Head of Purchasing & Logistics and wish him the best in his new exciting role with ARIME in China. I would also like to welcome Deirdre, Shibu, Ross and Mohamed Waqqas to BDF.

Keep up the great work and remember to be truly customer focused :)

Garrett

Garrett Coogan

General Manager

Company News

Bahrain Duty Free recently donated two hundred children’s toys to the Muqabah Charity Society to support the “Make A Child Happy” campaign which is organized by the society.

Speaking on the occasion, Garrett Coogan, the General Manager of Bahrain Duty Free said, “Bahrain Duty Free is one of the pioneering companies to serve the Bahraini community and it is our pleasure to extend a helping hand to assist in providing joy to the needy children.”Mr. Ali Zaki, the President of the Muqabah Charity Society said, ”We would like to express our most sincere thanks and appreciation to Bahrain Duty Free management for their support of our “Make A Child Happy” campaign. Such a generous gesture certainly indicates the company’s eagerness to contribute to the welfare of the Kingdom in general.

In response to the call of duty and commitment to humanitarian causes, Bahrain

Duty Free Shop Complex (BDFSC) has recently donated US$ 25,000 through

participation in the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s campaign to

raise funds and support for the people of Somalia who are experiencing one of

the most severe food crises in Africa, with millions of people in the country being

at risk of starvation.

At a meeting that took place at the Company’s headquarters in Juffair, Mr.

Dominic Carroll, Head of Finance presented a cheque for the amount donated to

Ebrahim Ahmed Al Lengawi, Chief Executive Officer of BCCI, in the presence of

Khaled A. Al Merbati, Manager Relations, Committees & Studies from BCCI and

Abdul Wahid Noor, BDFSC’s Board Secretary.

Dominic Carroll stated that, “BDFSC’s participation in BCCI’s donation campaign, promoted by the Kingdom of Bahrain for the relief

of our brothers in Somalia and to stand with them to alleviate their suffering as a result of the famine and hardship they are going

through, stems from our obligation towards participation in the noble and humanitarian goals and objectives”.

Bahrain Duty Free Donates 200 Toys to Muqabah Charity Society

Bahrain Duty Free Donates US$ 25,000

to Somali Famine Victims

Coaching Shop Re-Opens

In line with the continuing efforts to provide increasing services to our customers, we have recently refurbished our shop in the Coaching Area at the Bahrain International Airport.

This refurbishment is in line with the company’s increasing focus on customer service and providing a simply better shopping experience for our valued customers.

S̀taff lend a helping hand to retail team during Eid

In order to capitalise on the Eid traffic at the airport and to assist the retail team during the busy Eid period, the following staff from other departments were rostered to help out at the Airport Duty Free shops.

The company would like to thank all of you for your team spirit and enthusiasm in making the Eid period a sucessful one for Bahrain Duty Free.

The following were the staff who were involved:

1. Isa Salman Isa (IT)

2. Hassan Ishaq (Inventory management)

3. Nenita Santos (Inventory management)

4. Hussain A. Jalil (Accounts)

5. Ahmed Saleh (Purchasing)

6. Zainab Ali Haji (Accounts)

7. S. Sadiq Baqer (IT)

8. Ali Hamza (Purchasing)

9. Nadeem Mohammed (IT)

10. Khalid Ismael (Accounts)

11. Bincy (Inventory Management)

12. Nadeen Jameel (Purchasing)

13. Ahmed Hassan (IT)

14. Abdulla Yahya (Purchasing)

15. Hussain Quraishi (Purchasing)

16. Ryan Ocampo (Accounts)

17. Virgencita Castro (Purchasing)

18. Ali Masood Ali A.Aziz (Inventory Management)

19. Ahmed Jassim (HR)

20. Durriya Mohammed (IT)

21. Shanika (Accounts)

22. Annie Penola (Inventory Management)

23. Yahya A.Rahman (HR)

24. Alaa Mohamed Frouten (Inventory Management)

25. Cristina Tores Varona (Purchasing)

26. Delia Santos (Purchasing)

Bahrain Duty Free holds

staff gathering to articulate

new Vision, Purpose and Values

Bahrain Duty Free held a special staff gathering on 27th July, at the

Regency Inter Continental Hotel, where General Manager Garrett

Coogan revealed the company’s new Vision, Purpose and Values.

The event which was segmented into 2 sessions, was attended by

over 250 of the Bahrain Duty Free staff.

In the first half of the night, the GM articulated the new direction

that Bahrain Duty Free is going to undertake with the objective of

turning Bahrain Duty Free into a Service Excellence Organisation,

where the customer is at the centre of everything we do. To do that,

Garrett explained, it is important to revisit the strategic direction as

well as culture of the company. With that objective in mind under a

banner of “Forward Together”, the following key points were

focussed on in his main address;

Our Vision - To be a truly customer focused travel retail company, to be a great place to work and to be the premier travel retailer

in the Middle East.

Our Purpose - To win and keep customers by offering the best of Bahraini hospitality and a simply better shopping experience.

Our Values - Customer focused، Responsible، Leadership، Change Orientated، Working together، Innovation.

The second half was centred around staff socialising and team building, with a host of games, entertainment and team activities

undertaken. There were prizes on offer for the winners. The evening was wound up with the Duty Free team enjoying a great meal

together.

Company News

New Appointments

Shibu Abraham has recently joined us as the Senior IT Manager for Bahrain Duty Free. Before heading to Bahrain Duty Free he was an IT Manager for a leading logistics giant named Agility based in Bahrain. He has also worked with PDO (Petroleum Development of Oman), Muscat as a Senior Contract Manager in the role of Delivery Lead for a portfolio of projects using .NET technology. He has worked as a Senior Software Engineer with Allianz Insurance based out of their offshore development center in India and has worked in various capacities with software companies like Hifx Solutions , IME - Dubai, across industries like Insurance, Banking, Transportation and logistics and Retail.

Shibu has managed IT Projects, IT support (Internet and Intranet applications) in .asp and Data warehousing technologies.

Shibu has great exposure to the SEI CMMI model. He studied B.Sc. Computing from The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. UK. In addition, he has over 9 years’ experience in the IT industry and has worked in Bahrain, Oman, India, UAE and UK.

His areas of expertise are:• IT Operations Support and Management.• Infrastructure & S/W development analysis, design, deployment, support.• IT operational policies and procedures design and implementation.

Deirdre Spillane recently rejoined Bahrain Duty Free team as Luxury

Category Manager. Deirdre has a history with Bahrain Duty Free having

previously worked with us in PR and marketing from 1999 to 2001. She

later moved to purchasing as buyer on Perfumes & Cosmetics, where after

2 years in her new role, she was promoted to Senior Buyer responsible for

Perfumes & Cosmetics, Fashion and Jewelry.

In 2008, Deirdre briefly parted ways with Bahrain Duty Free to join ARIME

as Perfumes & Cosmetics Category Manager and worked in head office till

September of 2011.

ShibuAbraham

DeirdreSpillane

Snapshots in time1991 to 2011

2005

Silver Award “Best Duty Free

in Middle East & North Africa”

at the MENA awards in Dubai

“Airport/Land-Based Retailer

for the year” at the Frontier

Awards in Cannes.

“Best Marketing Campaign

of the year by a Retailer” at

Frontier Awards in Cannes.

2004

“Best Marketing

Campaign of the

year by a Retailer”

at Frontier Awards

in Cannes.

2003

“Best Marketing

Campaign of the

year by a Retailer”

at Frontier Awards

in Cannes.

2002

“Best Marketing

Campaign of the

year by a Retailer”

at Frontier Awards

in Cannes.

1997

“Airport/Land-Based

Retailer for the

year” at the Frontier

Awards in Cannes.

1995

“Airport/Land-Based

Retailer for the

year” at the Frontier

Awards in Cannes.

Awards & AccoladesRecognition from the world over, over the years

2008

Platinum Award

“Best Duty Free in

Middle East & North

Africa” at the MENA

awards in Dubai.

2007

Gold Award «Best

Duty Free in Middle

East & North Africa» at

the MENA awards in

Dubai.

Best Marketing

Campaign of the

year by a Retailer»

at Frontier Awards in

Cannes.

2006

Platinum Award “Best

Duty Free in Middle

East & North Africa” at

the MENA awards in

Dubai.

Highly Commended

“Airport/Land-Based

Retailer for the year”

at the Frontier Awards

in Cannes.

Cover Story

2009

Platinum Award

“Best Duty Free in

Middle East & North

Africa” at the MENA

awards in Dubai.

2010

eGovernment Excellence Award

2010, eEconomy

I feel lucky and fortunate to become a part of Bahrain Duty Free team until now, for 20 years working in this company I still feel the energy enjoyment and excitement.

MOHAMMED

FARHATH

I have had a great time

with Bahrain Duty Free

and I’m proud to be part

of the Bahrain Duty Free

team.

One day I caught a passenger

stealing chocolate and

interestingly, he was the

engineer who installed CCTV

in Bahrain Duty Free!!!

II look forward to

see the company

achieving more and

more international

recognition and

excellence awards.

FELIX NERI

PERISASHRAF

ABDEALI

MOHAMED ALI

ISHAQ ALI

ABDULLA HUSAIN

ISMAEEL

SHAMBEH

With us all the way....

Ana Marie R. Barlaan joined Bahraini Duty Free

Shops (BDFS) in 1991 and was here on day one. She

started her career as Sales Assistant in Electronics

Department, where she worked for five years

(1991-1996). She was then appointed as Retail

Administration Supervisor for fourteen years (1996-2010) where she

looked after the day to day administrative responsibilities, sales, product

support and handling of all after sales and customer service operations

received by the company. She also monitored the major consumables for

the shop floor.

Ana Marie was appointed as an

Executive Secretary in Bahrain

Duty Free Shops in October

2010. Although new to the

executive office administration

she had been the Administration

Supervisor in Retail from 1996

and gained a firm understanding

of the Retail aspect of the

operation over her twenty year career.

In her new role as Executive Secretary, Ana Marie carries out various

secretarial duties to the General Manager and Head of Finance. She is

also involved in assisting the Acting Head of Human Resources in any

preparation for the Bird, Audit and BDFS Board of Directors meeting.

How is your new office?

Busy, exciting and challenging!

What have been the highlight of your 20 years with BDF

Achieving the Oscar awards for Retailer such as Frontier Retailer of the

Year, Best Marketing Campaign and Best Duty Free in the Middle East

Retailer awards.

Your best moment?

I consider the best moment is when our shift (Shift I) was on duty to open

the Shop on 29 October 1991 we needed to open even though not all the

staff were wearing the company uniforms. On day one, all the team were

together (shop floor, stores, back office and management) to serve and

assist every passenger in the shop. I’m very privileged and honored to be

part of the Bahrain Duty Free Team celebrating the 20 years anniversary.

Any interesting incidents while on duty?

Remembering the big rush and long queue of some charter flight

passengers aiming to purchase good value range for Electronics items,

Gold Jewelery, Cognac and certain skin care products giving BDF a

massive sale.

Are you part of any Committees or Teams?

I joined the Social Committee to represent the staff to gather thoughts

and ideas for social events they would enjoy.

What are your wishes for the company?

To win more awards and recognition and be a proven major player in

Retail industry. I wish that Bahrain Duty Free will continue to grow and

hopefully exceed 100yrs or more.

What would you like to see improve?

We were voted as Retailer of the Year ond ‘Best Duty Free’ in the world

in 1995, 1997 & 2005, and we need our valued customers and existing

travellers to be aware of these awards. In addition, to practise our basic

standards and be consistent regarding the policy of the company. Finally,

we need to know how to implement the necessary changes correctly.

Ana Marie R. Barlaan

I feel very proud to be part

of the Bahrain Duty Free

Team since I completed my

20 years, all the Duty

managers ,supervisors and

all the staff have a good

understanding and,

cooperation and hard work

that’s why we have

achieved the best awards.

Our company has an

outstanding reputation in

world retails duty free

industry.

AMUR GHANIM SANOOR ALUFI

MARIA ESPELITA COLINARES

FELIX NERI

PERIS

I’m proud to be part of Bahrain Duty Free because I‘ve seen the improvement and growth of the company.

Happy and proud because

I’m part of Bahrain Duty

Free and under good

management

AMELITAELARDO

ALI AKBAR PEER

MOHAMED

KARMA H.

MAMMAH

It’s good to have a happy

environment working

with different

nationalities. I gain

knowledge, wherever I

work, whether as a sales

assistant, a supervisor or

a merchandiser.

Presently I am working in

the cash office, finance

department. I am

thankful as I am getting

good support from the

management.

MAJEED

NALLADAMKANDIYIL

Staff who have been with ussince the begining

ELMA A. FLORES

The most interesting event

for me, was when Bahrain

Duty Free received an

award as the “Best

Retailer of the Year “ for

the years 1995, 1997 and

2004.

RAQUEL

BERNADETTE

ID EMPLOYEE NAME DEPARTMENT JOINING DATE6 Ana Marie Barlaan Finance - Accounts 10/14/199117 Maria Espelita Colinares Retail - Beauty Advisor 10/17/1991706 Ali Akbar Peer Mohamed Finance - Inventory Managment 10/22/199156 Raquel Bernadette Manlapaz Retail - Supervisors 10/25/1991104 Amelita D Elardo Elardo Retail - Merchandisers 10/26/1991114 Felix Neri Peris Retail - Shift 4 10/26/1991117 Ishaq Ali Abdulla Husain Retail - Administration 10/26/1991120 Karma H. Mammah Retail - Shift 1 10/26/1991144 Elma A. Flores Retail - Supervisors 10/26/1991146 Mohamed Ghouse Farhath Basha Retail - Shift 3 10/26/1991147 Ashraf Abdeali Mohamed Ali Retail - Supervisors 10/26/1991734 Ismaeel Shambeh Murad Ali Finance - Cash Office 10/26/1991121 Majeed Nalladam Kandiyil Finance - Cash Office 10/27/1991723 Isa Bader Ghaith Bader Finance - Stores 10/30/1991724 Amur Ghanim Sanoor Alufi Finance - Stores 11/02/1991

Cover Story

ISA BADER GHAITH

I’ve worked with Bahrain Duty Free for 20 years and it is really challenging but I’ve got a great support network in my managers and colleagues. Everyone at BDF makes you feel part of the team and the people I work with here go a long way towards explaining the reasons why I have been here for 20 years.

Meet the Team

Can you give us a brief description of your team

and its members?

We are 4 members in In-flight (Ahmed/ Mustafa/

Raed/Yaqoub) & 9 members in Seaport team

(Agnelo/Binu/Hussain/Jassim/Jose/latif/Sadiq/

Sanjay/Shijil) which is led by myself. We have three

outlets; two ports (Mina Salman and Khalifa) and

one airline at present (Bahrain Air).

What is the primary challenge facing in flight

department?Challenges are a great opportunity for learning,

growth, and improvement. The one primary challenge that

comes to mind for in-flight is educating crew to treat sales

as part of the normal service onboard, which will immensely

help in the transition of passenger into customers/shoppers

and from then on it’s a win-win situation.

As for Seaports the primary challenge is getting the

message across to the ship crew/sailors of the special

offers/exclusives and most of all savings from downtown.

What are the major products and key initiatives

provided?It is very important to have the right product mix taking into

consideration; passenger profile/destinations/floor limits/average

spend per head, etc. As for key initiatives, the Air Shop magazine plays

a major role to convey that strong message portraying the choice/

variety on offer and the right and essential product for the day to day

traveler. The magazine is “the customer’s” shop window. Other key

initiative is training, to educate the crew on first hand information

and product knowledge thus improving their confidence to make that

extra sale onboard.

As for Seaports, again the right product mix plays an important role

as to nature of the business and passenger profile. Key initiatives

are special offers and exclusives from Bahrain such as souvenirs and

getting that message across of “the savings” from downtown and

why it becomes a must to shop at the duty-free ports.

What is the busiest day of the week?

As the Spanish proverb goes; “Tomorrow Is Often the

Busiest Day of the Week”, which is not the case in Bahrain

Duty Free. With In-flight, the busiest days are at the time

of new listing and launching of the New Magazine/products onboard.

As for Seaport the busiest days are the best days of sales. It’s during

the Cruise liners and the US Carriers’ visits.

What was the funniest day at work ever?

I put forward this question to the staff and the unanimous answer

was “every day”. It is good to know that staff enjoy their work and

company which is a great booster for our team spirit.

Would like to add… Bahrain duty free is a vibrant, diverse and

successful retailer with a lot of future opportunities but also with a

lot of future challenges. I am confident that as it has in the past, in

the future as well Bahrain Duty Free will rise to those challenges and

continue to be “the premier retailer” in the Middle East.

Could you provide a brief overview of your journey to where you are today?

A Journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. I started my career soon after school at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a Trainee Accountant. Having qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant, I moved in to the industry as a banker. Being a risk taker, with a craving to change I wasn’t confined to a particular industry and worked in many countries. And here I am today with Bahrain Duty Free.

Can you tell us about your role and responsibilities?

Well, presently I’m in a new position created a couple of months ago, as the Business Process Controller & Treasury Manager. The primary function of this position is to look into the business processes of the Company, which is a new concept to our organization. On the treasury front I manage the single two largest assets of the company ie investments & banks which accounts for over 80% of company’s assets that generates almost half of our profit. In addition, I am also responsible for co-ordinating the audits, which very well compliments the role on business processes.

Tell us a little bit about the new procedures project you operate?

Business Processes are not confined to one particular department.

Interview withSanjaya Senaratne

In-Flight Department& Sea Port

Ramadan Ghabga

A photo collage of the Ramadan

Ghabgha that was held at the Elite

hotel, Muharraq.

Event Snapshots

Each department has its own processes let it be Purchasing, Retail or Finance. Some of the processes are spread over more than one department. The objective of this role is to re-visit all current processes with the view of improving them to enhance efficiency, document the same and ensure compliance. We embarked on this mission with the Purchasing department and we are half way through.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Satisfaction of developing a team, through job enrichment, job empowerment and encouraging them to work independently without boundaries! My biggest strength is the capability of the Accounts team to point out my mistakes, without which we wouldn’t have turned around this department to “what it is today” from “where it was”. I humbly take this opportunity to thank all members of the Accounts team for their unprecedented support and team work!

What are the key points that you would consider as challenges in your current business environment?

The best time to fix the roof, is when the sun is shining! The environment itself is a challenge as it changes all the time, without notice & cannot be predicted. Changes can come from many directions, so as individuals and as a company we need to be equipped & geared to face change.

Where do you see Bahrain Duty Free in the next 5 years?

Celebrating the 20th anniversary, BDFS is a business built on strong fundamentals and has grown steadily over the years, which is perceived to be one of the best performing stocks in the Bahrain Bourse. With all the current developments within the organization I am sure BDFS will grow from strength to strength in the coming 5 years.

The Wall

Before we finish...

Sadiq Ismail,

Senior Buyer from purchasing was

adjudged the winner of the ‘Newsletter

Naming Competion’. He came up with the

winning name ‘In Touch’.

Congratulations Sadiq! Welldone. Keep the

creative juices flowing. Sadiq will receive a

prize of BD20 for the winning entry.

Birthdays

A wedding in the family

Our best wishes to Ahmed Abdullah Ali Bushara, Admin Clerk - Warehouse, who got married recently

Layla Shames, Shop Floor Manager and Marwa Abdulla Sales Assistant, celebrated their birthday recently. We wish them both a great year ahead.

New Babies! Congratulations!!!The Bahrain Duty Free family is growing. The following staff welcomed

new babies into their lives. - Salah Abdo Fath Alrahman (Cash office) had a baby girl- Archana Nair (IT Department) had a baby girl- Sayed Helal Shubbar (Retail Department) had a baby boy- Hameed Mohammed Jawad (Purchasing Department) had a baby boy

And the winner is...

A cleaner, nicer logoThe Bahrain Duty Free logo has been given a touch-up! With a view to enhancing the visual expression of the Bahrain Duty Free brand, a cleaner and contemporary version of our logo has been developed. The revamped logo will now be rolled out in phases across all the brand touch points so that the consumer experience in unified and consistent.

We also have a 20th anniversary theme logo. You’ll notice these in the coming days and weeks in our internal and external communication.