TUNISIA. The partnership between ATÜ Duty Free, Gebr Heinemann and Hamila Duty Free has opened its first stores at Tunis Airport. The consortium last year won a tender to manage duty free shops at five Tunisian airports under an eight year and two month deal.
At Tunis Carthage, 1,235sq m of the total 1,552sq m retail space opened on 16 September (first images online here, with more to come in our Cannes Print Edition).
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The store design carries a distinctive Tunisian feel |
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ATÜ Duty Free General Manager Ersan Arcan said: “We combined with Gebr Heinemann, which is the largest duty free retailer and supplier in Europe, who took the lead in the bid. We also had the opportunity to benefit from the valuable insight and support from our other partner, Hamila Duty Free, a strong Tunisian duty free operator.
“Tunis Carthage Airport is a very important operation for us. We believe there are genuine opportunities to increase the scope and scale of our business. Airports are generally the first point of contact with visitors to any country. It is part of our business culture to offer our customers the best welcome possible.
“Our main aim is always to create real added value by delivering the best international retail standards as well as featuring and supporting local culture. Considering the fact that olives and olive trees are of great importance in Tunisia, the general concept of the store is based on the “olive theme” and it was designed to genuinely reflect the cultural elements of Tunisia in a modern way.”
Across Tunisia, the consortium of travel retailers will manage 5,406sq m of duty free space eventually. The airports are Tunis Carthage, Djerba-Zarzis, Sfax-Thyna, Tozeur-Nefta and Tabarka-Ain Draham.
Tourism in Tunisia has been hit by the impact of recent terror attacks, notably that in Sousse on 26 June, which killed 38 people.
In a recent interview (see our September Print Edition), Heinemann Executive Director Retail & Human Resources Raoul Spanger said: “Tunis has been steady as it’s not a major holiday destination but all of the others are affected in a major way. The only thing you can do is continue to talk to the authorities and take measures where you can. We will stay of course and have faith that this will be a good business in the long term.”
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The stores are the first from the three-way consortium to open at Tunisia’s five major airports |
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