“Unless there’s change, companies like ours won’t be able to enter into the Travel Retail channel” – Interview, Loch Lomond Group GTR head Andre de Almeida

Andre de Almeida had been William Grant & Sons’ director for European Travel Retail for four years when he decided earlier this year to take up the role of Global Travel Retail head at Scotch whisky specialists Loch Lomond Group. That was in July, and now the Brazilian-born de Almeida, who moved to Scotland when he was 15, faces one of the biggest challenges of his career – establishing Loch Lomond as a player in the GTR channel. When just-drinks spoke to de Almeida in Cannes earlier this year, the 40-year-old was just six weeks into his new job. But, a whirlwind start helped Loch Lomond bring a full GTR range to the French coast, including a couple of exclusives from the group’s Glen Scotia single malt distillery. In a wide-ranging interview, de Almeida spoke about his move to Loch Lomond, how to lever blended Scotch up the value chain and the dangers of money laundering in Travel Retail.

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