Germany-based global travel retailer Gebr. Heinemann is promoting the current chief financial officer at its Asia-Pacific division, Rajshree Dugar, to CEO from September 1. The incumbent regional head, Johannes Sammann, is moving to the company’s Hamburg headquarters to assume the role of vice president—people and culture.
The leadership transition comes as the Singapore-based division continues a restructuring process of the regional business which Dugar will now lead. The reboot is largely due to the impact of lower Chinese per-head spending which has had ripple effects across Asia-Pacific and changed the retailer’s—and some competitors’—strategic priorities.
Heinemann’s co-CEO Raoul Spanger has, in the recent past, noted the impact. He said: “There has been a significant change in the shopping behavior of Chinese travelers who used to be high-spending. We do not expect this customer group to return with their former purchasing power. As a result, our industry as a whole is experiencing a significant decline in sales in Asia-Pacific, not only now, but for the foreseeable future.”
Heinemann’s chief sales officer Florian Seidel, commended Dugar for “consistently showing vision and commitment” in her senior financial and strategy roles over the past few years. He added: “It is especially meaningful that someone from the region is now taking responsibility for this important market, ensuring that our strategies are deeply rooted in local expertise and understanding.” Seidel thanked Sammann for his “hands-on” approach in the Asian restructure which has “prepared us for future growth.”
Asia-Pacific remains a focus for targeted expansion
Driving the development of the Asia-Pacific business is important to Heinemann as it has retail stores in a number of airports in the region from Sydney to Singapore, and the region—including Oceania—accounted for 9% of revenue in 2024. The company is also preparing for the first flights at Jewar’s Noida Airport, its first location in India. The airport was formally inaugurated on 28 March 2026 by prime minister Narendra Modi, with commercial flights due to start within the next month.
Heinemann’s other co-CEO, Max Heinemann, has said that the company’s realignment in Asia-Pacific needed to proceed “as quickly and thoughtfully as possible to ensure we can operate efficiently in a significantly reduced market.” He added: “At the same time, we had to secure the expertise and resources to support the ramp-up of our new location at Noida Airport, together with our Indian consortium partner BBM Group and in cooperation with Zurich Airport.”
Max Heinemann made the point that India is the only country in the region that is in a positive and sustained growth phase in the Asia-Pacific region, something that was underscored at the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) annual conference last week in Bangalore. In recent years there has been explosive growth of Indian travelers and Deloitte says that India’s travel industry is expected to expand at about 9% CAGR, to reach $97 billion by 2030. This is being driven by rising incomes, a young population, and expanding digital adoption.
Back in Hamburg, Sammann will continue his 25-year career with Heinemann in a central role developing ‘people and culture’ as a key driver of the company’s success. His global experience in major hub airport locations like Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Singapore and Sydney, as well as his deep understanding of the Heinemann’s operational business will play a crucial role.
