ILLVA Saronno shows its commitment to travel retail with two new appointments

ILLVA Saronno is showing its commitment to the travel retail channel with the announcement that it is strengthening its global travel retail team with the appointments of Nikos Tsagarakis and Valentina Cozzi as Global Travel Retail Director and Global Travel Retail Marketing Manager.

Both new appointments show the focus that ILLVA Saronno is putting on the travel retail channel to ensure its continued growth and development.

Tsagarakis initially worked for Allied Domecq Greece for 8 years in both sales and trade marketing, before moving to Boutari Wines S.A where he held the Sales Manager position. After a 5 year stint as Regional Manager at Gruppo Campari, Tsagarakis joined ILLVA Saronno Holding S.p.A in 2011; holding a number of roles including Regional Manager and Regional Director across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“I have been a member of the ILLVA Saronno family for a number of years now, and every position I have held has added to my professional development. During my time, I have worked extensively in developing brand portfolios in different countries, sharing and improving methodologies and best practices, all with an aim to build upon commercial and marketing excellence and business growth,” adds Tsagarakis.

“Holding the title of Global Travel Retail Director is an exciting opportunity. In the last eleven years, I have had the privilege to work in an international environment that has driven me to form an international mindset and excellent communication skills. As travel retail is the ultimate international channel, I believe that I am well suited for such a role and look forward to developing the global travel retail channel for ILLVA Saronno.”

Valentina Cozzi first joined ILLVA Saronno as a Shopper Marketing and Travel Retail Specialist in 2013. Her main role was to lead the development and the innovation in the off-premise and travel retail channels for ILLVA’s portfolio of brands.

“Since the beginning, I had the opportunity to develop and implement new shopper marketing strategies, like the 360° limited edition project. We developed a high-end, but very cost-effective limited edition bottle in order to create an in-store event. The event aimed to gain a strong share of voice in a crowded and challenging period for dark spirits – Christmas. I’m proud to see the project entering in its seventh year, still true to its origin despite improvements and new tools being introduced - like the very successful collection of limited edition 5cl bottles,” comments Mrs Cozzi.

“After 6 years successfully working in the Global Marketing Team and partnering with distributors to develop local plans, I’m excited to take the role of Global Travel Retail Marketing Manager to further boost the ILLVA portfolio growth within this exclusive and premium channel. Travel Retail is becoming a more strategic channel for every company, with the number of travellers growing year after year, making it the perfect display for brands.”