Annual Review 2011 - The Nuance Group

The Nuance Group
Annual Review 2011 Chairman’s introduction
W elcome
I am pleased to report a year of significant
progress for The Nuance Group.
This has been an excellent year for The Nuance Group,
as our business model again proved its worth. We
operate in a fast-paced environment where we match
our retail approach in each location to the needs of
travellers. Put simply, we make sure that the consumer is
at the heart of our business, using our experience to
deliver world-class service and maximise consumer
spend across our portfolio.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to place on record
our thanks to the Group’s management team. As we
celebrated our 95th year in retail and our 50th year at
Zurich Airport, as well as our 20th year at Perth and 10th
at Singapore, our team, ably led by Roberto Graziani,
continued to raise the bar for travel retail. Our
management resources were strengthened during the
year by the arrivals of Derek Larsen and Andreas Rudolf,
our new CEO Australia & New Zealand and Chief
Financial Officer respectively. Derek is a well-known
figure in the region’s airport retail industry with over
20 years’ experience, most recently as General Manager
for Sydney Airport’s retail operations, whilst Andreas
brings two decades of finance experience and a wealth
of knowledge gathered across a number of highly
competitive industries.
There was one change to the Board during 2011.
Peter Everts retired in September, with Salvatore Dina
elected in his place. I would like to thank Peter for his
many valuable contributions and wish him well in
retirement. Peter chaired our Audit Committee and
has been succeeded by Vittorio Levi.
We welcomed a new shareholder in 2011, with the
conclusion of the deal that saw PAI Partners purchase
Stefanel’s 50% share in February. PAI is now co-owner
of the Group alongside GECOS SpA, and the Board
looks forward to working with both partners as well as to
their continuing support in the future.
In light of the recent global financial crisis, the corporate
governance of all businesses has rightly been the subject
of increased interest. As Chairman, one of my roles is to
make sure that good governance is not only part of our
Group but is embedded in our processes. During 2011,
the Board held regular discussions on governance
matters and also ensured that our practices and
procedures reflect the highest standards.
In conclusion, I wish to thank all of our people for their
support over the last 12 months. Your energy and
expertise is the foundation stone of The Nuance Group
and is the single most important factor in making us the
successful organisation we are today.
Josef A Felder
Chairman
07
Overview
Review of 2011
Financial statements