WORLD DUTY FREE GROUP BRINGS JANET SHEED ROBERTS RESERVE TO EDINBURGH AIRPORT Edinburgh 4th November 2012 - World Duty Free Group, the leading global travel retailer, today unveiled the exceptional Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve whisky in their Edinburgh tax and duty free store. The Group was fortunate enough to place the winning bid for bottle No.7, when it was auctioned in London earlier this year, on behalf of The Lotus Flower Trust. The money raised has been used to help fund the building of a school and home for physically and mentally disadvantaged children in Ramnagar, India. This rare 55 year old single malt was created to honour Janet Sheed Roberts, the granddaughter of William Grant, who founded the Glenfiddich Distillery. Mrs Roberts celebrated her 110 th birthday in August 2011 and was the oldest woman in Scotland. Sadly she passed away in April and this exclusive bottling seemed an apt commemoration of her remarkable life. Just eleven bottles of the Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve were released, one to represent each decade of her life. The bottle takes pride of place in Edinburgh airport s departure lounge, in front of the World Duty Free store. Everything about The Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve is unique. The stunning packaging is inspired by some of Janet s favourite personal items and has been carefully and intricately designed by the country s finest craftspeople. The glass bottle was hand-blown by Brodie Nairn of Glasstorm and the stopper has been hand pressed with Janet Roberts initials, monogrammed in gold on an aquamarine Cloisonné medallion.
This beautiful bottle is then presented in a luxurious leather covered case, which takes its inspiration from a travel trunk that Janet used to use. It is finished with a Scottish deer horn toggle and lined with bespoke patterned silk. Finally, a hand made, limited edition, original print accompanies the bottle and is signed by the artist, Alison Watt OBE, an Associate Artist to the National Gallery in London. The whisky is being sold at Edinburgh airport for 50,000 and World Duty Free Group will be donating a total of 70,000 to The Lotus Flower Trust. Rita Greenwood, Global Travel Retail Director at William Grant & Sons says, We have been touched by the incredible lengths that World Duty Free Group has gone to in support of this fantastic charity. It has been a real Travel Retail effort with World Duty Free Group buying bottle no.7 of The Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve at auction, Women in Travel leading the campaign to gain funds for the Lotus Flower Trust and so many Travel Retail organisations and individuals involved in Travel Retail coming together to donate and fundraise, to ensure that the Residential School for Special Needs Children was build in Ramnagar. That the story continues in Edinburgh airport is very fitting, as Janet Roberts was the first woman to graduate from Edinburgh University with a law degree. I would like to thank everyone involved, in particular Padraig Drennan and Sarah Branquinho at World Duty Free Group and all of their teams and Edinburgh airport. It has been a great team effort from everyone. Sarah Branquinho, Founder of Women in Travel and Chair of Trustees at the Lotus Flower Trust, who returned yesterday from India added, "The opening ceremony of the Janet Sheed Roberts Residential School was incredibly moving. Fifty children with a spectrum of health challenges ranging from cerebral palsy and cleft palates through to Downs syndrome and club foot are already registered to attend.
Many of them took part in a fantastic song and dance programme alongside children from the secondary school in the same grounds, where many of the physically challenged will study. A further fifty families, some of whom had travelled through the night to get there, came to enrol their children. Women in Travel (WiT), working with Lotus Flower Trust and local NGO USR Indu Samiti, has completed this project which fulfils a desperate need in this remote rural community in a record 13 months - I just wish that everyone who contributed so generously could meet these wonderful children whose lives they have changed". Gordon Dewar, CEO of Edinburgh Airport concludes, Edinburgh Airport is incredibly lucky to have the Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve here, not only because the whisky is so rare, but because it also celebrates the legacy of a Scottish woman who had a fantastic life and spirit. It is also very special as proceeds of the bottle go towards helping improve the lives of disadvantaged children in India via the great work of the Lotus Flower Trust". -Ends- For further information or images please contact: Karen Sharpes World Duty Free Group Press Office Karen.sharpes@wdfg.com 0208 624 4326 07799 623323
NOTES TO EDITORS About Women in Travel Women in Travel (WiT) was created in 2006 to recognise the contribution of women to the travel retail industry. With more than 400 members, WiT is generating a network for women in all categories and functions within the travel retail channel, as well as providing a forum to share learning and experience. About the Lotus Flower Trust Lotus Flower Trust is a UK based charity (Reg. no. 1127316) which over the past three years has changed over 1000 children s lives by building homes and skills centres, typically in remote rural areas. Three of these projects have been financed by TFWA Care. Lotus Flower Trust has few overheads - no office premises, no paid staff, so almost all the funds raised go direct to the projects. The Lotus Flower Trust worked with local NGO U.S.R Indu Samiti who employed local builders and will provide staff to look after the students. The Janet Sheed Roberts Residential School for Special Needs Children is in Ramnagar in the state of Uttrakhand and it will welcome 75 students fifty per cent more than the original target. A further 200 children are on a waiting list, which underlines the need for the facility. About William Grant & Sons and Glenfiddich William Grant & Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1886. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distils some of the world s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world s favourite single malt Glenfiddich, The Balvenie range of handcrafted single malts and the world s third largest blended Scotch Grant s as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick s Gin, Sailor Jerry, and most recently, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey William Grant & Sons has been named 2011 s Distiller of the Year and International Spirits Producer of the Year at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) Awards. The company has been awarded this highly sought-after title since 1999, having received distiller accolades from ISC and IWSC an unprecedented nine times in the last 12 years.
About World Duty Free Group World Duty Free Group, one of the world s leading airport retailers, has grown out of Autogrill Group s acquisition and integration of the Aldeasa, World Duty Free and Alpha Airport Shopping businesses. Today the company operates 325 stores in 21 countries. It has developed its own commercial concepts, tailored to match the purchasing preferences of travellers passing through the 72 airports in which it operates. World Duty Free Group has become one of the world s benchmark retail operators because of its depth of understanding of the needs of passengers. The Group is the market leader in the UK and Spain and has a significant presence in the Americas and Middle East. About Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's busiest airport. More than 40 airlines serve 100 plus destinations and some 9.3 million passengers a year pass through the airport figures which are set to grow as Scotland's international connections develop. The airport is the 6 th largest in the UK and employs over 5000 people, contributing hundreds of millions of pounds to Scotland s economy.