October 8, 2025
Women in Travel Retail+ celebrates record attendance and fundraising success at TFWA Cannes event
A raffle was held to raise funds for Toutes à l’École, which supports the education of disadvantaged girls in Cambodia, WiTR+’s 2025 charity
Women in Travel Retail+ (WiTR+) marked another milestone at this year’s highly anticipated networking event in Cannes, welcoming over 350 members and guests for an evening of connection, celebration, and charity.
Hosted by Brown-Forman, the event brought together some of the most dynamic women and allies from across the global travel retail industry. The evening was the perfect opportunity for making connections with women from all sectors of the industry and was praised for its vibrant atmosphere, excellent hospitality, and strong sense of community that WiTR+ has become known for.
There was huge energy and buzz in the room as women shared their experiences. A special guest was Ylva Binder - it was a conversation in 2006 between Ylva and Sarah Branquinho, now Chair of WiTR+, which sparked the notion of WiTR. At that time Ylva worked for Bacardi, and she is now a distiller in her own right, as is Dr Rachel Barrie, Master Blender at Brown-Forman who gave the audience a taste of her amazing career path and a swift master class tasting of Glendronach.
WiTR+ membership continues to grow rapidly, now approaching 900 members worldwide – a testament to the group’s ongoing commitment to supporting, empowering, and connecting women across all sectors of the travel retail industry.
A raffle was held to raise funds for Toutes à l’École, which supports the education of disadvantaged girls in Cambodia, WiTR+’s 2025 charity. Thanks to the incredible generosity of members and supporters - including significant donations from Victoria’s Secret and Brown-Forman - this year’s fundraising to completely refurbish the sleep and study areas for female students in Cambodia has already surpassed its target.
WiTR+ Chair Sarah Branquinho, said, “This was our flagship event, and we were delighted that it was hosted at the Brown-Forman stand in the Beach Village. We reached absolute capacity, which was wonderful to see. Our membership is now heading towards 900, thanks in part to the corporate partnership scheme that has really helped boost our numbers – a fantastic development for WiTR+.”
WiTR+ extends its heartfelt thanks to Brown-Forman for hosting such a memorable event and to all members, partners, and donors for their ongoing support.
