We've come a long way since our first event, ARC2007!
ARC 2008 was very well attended. Some 273 delegates from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America joined us, making ARC once again a truly International event. Airline and concessionaire presence was high, representing 48% of
total delegates.
In fact, 26 of the Top 50 airline operators worldwide were either in attendance
or represented by their concessionaire partner. They alone represented 66% of
the total in-flight duty free market: a staggering $1.7bn in terms of in-flight
retail sales.
The calibre of delegates was extremely high with key decision makers from major airlines including Korean Airlines, American Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa, KLM, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic Airways to name but a few.The Grove Hotel, being only 35 minutes from London Heathrow, proved to be an excellent venue and Its excellent facilities enabled us to introduce the very successful "ARC Experience" on the first day, Monday 21st July.
This involved encouraging airline and concessionaire delegates to meet our sponsors in a relaxed and informal environment to enjoy makeovers by Coty and Elizabeth Arden, and wine tasting by Ratcliffe & Brown. And that's just a couple of the many activities that were organised.
Also on day one, we teed off with the ARC2008 Golf Tournament and ended with a fabulous beach party. These were swiftly followed by the glamorous Gala evening on the Tuesday evening in support of the Smile Train Charity.
This website provides an overview of what happened at ARC2008 and includes speaker presentations that can be sent upon request. In addition, you will find a host of images within our gallery and should you wish any images to be sent, please let us know by contacting events@ultra-marine.co.uk.
I hope you enjoy visiting this site and I look forward to keeping you updated on our plans for ARC2009.
We'll be in touch soon!
All the best,
Max Williams
Managing Director, Ultramarine Partnership Ltd.