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Spare a thought for those in charge of determining demographics in the eternally dynamic field of travel retail. The customer may always be right, but when your customers come from dozens of different places and are on their way to dozens more – for any one of a million reasons – it can be tricky to pin down their wants and needs.
Business in the global travel retail market has largely recovered after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated value of US$234.1 billion by 2034. With so much at stake, experience counts, which is why Gebr. Heinemann is one of the world’s leaders in the international travel market.
Founded in 1879, the Heinemann story spans ship chandling all the way up to duty-free goods for today’s airport retail supersector.
“You must develop intercultural relationships with partners, suppliers and clients, because everyone in the chain represents somewhere different.”
But personal experience matters just as much as a company’s track record, and that makes Heinemann Middle East & Africa (MEA) CEO Bernard Schlafstein the right person for the job.
“I’ve worked with so many different cultures, and the most important factor for success in this industry is that you respect the different cultures of the countries in which you operate,” Schlafstein tells The CEO Magazine.
“You can’t heavy-handedly impose your own culture; you must develop intercultural relationships with partners, suppliers and clients, because everyone in the chain represents somewhere different.”
A 25-year veteran of Heinemann, German-born Schlafstein has worked across Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East during his time with the business.
Schlafstein has been working from the Dubai office since 2025, and he says it’s the perfect rendezvous of world cultures.
“Dubai is so diverse and represents so many people from different countries that you need to be open-minded and culturally open to work here,” he says. “And we strongly believe that it will soon become the same again, when the current situation calms down.
“I’ve found being so open-minded and respectful has helped me here immeasurably to meet clients, to work with suppliers and to forge new relationships with partners. And for Heinemann, it’s important for the team to think along those lines.”
Despite the enormity of the potential clientele passing through Dubai regularly, the Heinemann team tasked with capturing their business is relatively lean.
“We’re well-structured,” Schlafstein says. “And when you have a small team, you have to have people who are talented and hardworking. What I like to do is have the team represent the different cultures of our client base. We have 12 people here hailing from all over the world.”
With so many moving parts – arguably more than any other retail sector – Schlafstein and his team have the formidable task of maintaining agility and an entrepreneurial mindset without compromising on operational discipline. Part of the solution was the choice of Dubai as a base of operations.
“In a place like this, you feel the agility – even in such challenging times,” he says. “All of our suppliers and competitors are here. We wanted to build up local relationships quicker than we could in Hamburg, and we’ve done that. We can serve them much better here.”
It’s quite a footprint Heinemann MEA has to cover, including, as it does, around 70 countries. The company’s footprint reaches all the way to South Africa, where it is a partner with Big Five Duty Free.
“We’re building a local logistics hub in Türkiye to stay flexible,” Schlafstein says. “If you have a logistics center in Germany, it can take two months to move products out here. If you have one in the United Arab Emirates, it can happen in days.
“One of our biggest units that we work with is Mauritius; it’s less than a week from here. That’s the competitive advantage of having a supplier like Heinemann.”
Given Heinemann’s business exists in the world’s biggest 24-hour outlets, Schlafstein makes sure he’s able to find time to switch off, but he admits it’s not easy.
“I love what I’m doing, and I really do work non-stop. In fact, I get on everyone’s nerves trying to establish new projects,” he says, laughing.
“Sometimes there’s too much energy, but I do relax. I have three kids, so I love to be with them. I play sports, and the only place where I really chill out and disconnect from work is when I cook.”
Meanwhile, the Heinemann machine marches on. The situation on the ground is ever-changing, more so than in city shopping malls. But that’s where agility and diversity play a key role in Heinemann’s success.
“I think we’re the best operator in the world in that respect,” he says. “We’re able to adapt perfectly to whatever situation we find ourselves in. We have so many different channels: the border shops, the cruise channel and of course the airports, our biggest segment.”
“I’m motivated by building. I have ideas and I want to bring them to life, so I work 24/7 to do that.”
Schlafstein believes the Middle East and Africa represent an enormous opportunity for travel retail; already he’s reaping the rewards.
“In normal times, we’re consistently growing our business in Middle East and Africa by double digits, and tripled our Africa turnover in the last three years; meanwhile, locations in Europe are facing several challenges.”
The partners Heinemann has brought along with it on this wild ride, including Big Five Duty Free, are also seeing success. The wins are there, Schlafstein says, for partners that respect each other.
“I’m a true believer in local partnerships because there are so many things Heinemann doesn’t know about the local market, things we can’t know,” he explains.
“But our local partners do know, from licensing and recruitment to HR issues and legal support. That’s why we use local partnerships all over the world. We love our partners, and we’re proud of what we achieve together.”
Schlafstein says it’s this sense of achievement that gets him out of bed every day.
“I’m motivated by building. I have ideas and I want to bring them to life, so I work 24/7 to do that,” he says.
“There’s a certain level of visibility we want to reach in this market. It just takes time and support from the company, both of which I have. Much like our customers, I know we’ll reach our destination.”
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