1989 was the year Mars Confectionery started trading with Macintyre Scott as it started its duty free operation. The Macintyre Scott business founded by Fred Ridges was already widely regarded within duty free circles and the team there provided a lot of help to Mars and its team in understanding the dynamics of a very different industry.
Aside from the market place knowledge, Macintyre Scott were invaluable in providing an efficient and effective distribution network to enable supplies of our brands to reach the various far flung corners that were customers delivery points.
Since those early days so much has changed, duty free in Europe has been abolished and very sadly Fred is no longer with us, however the business is still in great shape and acknowledged for its customer service and the same efficiency as the early days. That there were changes in the industry were also reflected by significant changes within Macintyre Scott, new premises, a new computer system and of course a new vision to carry the company forwards to meet the new demands of what is now know as Travel Retail. That second phase is down to the tenacity, patience and hard work of Nicola who like her father before her, set about making sure Macintyre Scott was synonamous with duty free.
It is now 10 years since I joined the Mars ITR team, and I too, like the early Mars pioneers, was very grateful to Fred and the team for helping me with my induction to Duty Free and latterly to Nicola for her continued support and commitment to our business.
Good luck for the future.
Martyn WestburyInternational Travel Retail Manager
