SERBIA. Avolta has captured a new seven-year contract at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, which encompasses ten duty free stores and includes hybrid elements with food & beverage. The stores occupy more than 3,500sq m of space.
Formerly as Dufry, Avolta has managed the duty free stores in the airport since 2006.
The company said the new contract “signifies more than just the extension of a business agreement; it symbolises an opportunity for Avolta to deepen its collaboration with airport partners, innovating through hybrid concepts, giving travellers the best of both travel retail and F&B”.
The centrepiece of the new retail space is a large walk-through duty free store, the newest incarnation of Avolta’s ‘store of the future’. This will showcase a strong Sense of Place with a diverse range of brands and travel-exclusive products, the company said.
Alongside an Apple shop-in-shop concept, Avolta is introducing two additional shop-in-shop concepts – its wellbeing concept mind. body. soul. catering to the growing demand for health, wellbeing and sustainability focused products, plus its immersive phy-gital experiential concept Haute Parfumerie, elevating the fragrance discovery experience.
Leveraging Avolta’s travel retail and food & beverage strengths, the space includes a strong hybrid element with three distinct food & beverage concepts.
A Welcome Bar greets travellers at every entrance with a range of beverages and ice-cream and a small seating area, while the mind. body. soul. café builds on the shop-in-shop concept to offer organic products such as fresh juices and healthy raw cakes with a dedicated small seated area.
Rakia Bar, celebrating the region’s potent fruit brandies, offers a full selection of Rakia with customer sampling in a large bar and seated area, which is complemented by a full food menu.
In addition, Avolta will run five fashion boutiques representing brands such as Boss, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Victoria‘s Secret and Avolta’s multibrand store concept Urban Attitude.
Two dedicated children’s shops, Candy Fair and Toy Fair, are further additions alongside specialised souvenir store Belgrade Market, which will “embody the spirit of the region” said the retailer.
Avolta Regional President and CEO EMEA Luis Marin said: “We are extremely proud to have been awarded this contract in Belgrade and we would like to thank VINCI and the airport team for the continued trust they have shown in us.
“As the leading global travel experience player – and now as a combined business – we will use our extensive knowledge and expertise in this region to take the airport’s shopping experience to an entirely new level, for the over seven million passengers who visit Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport each year.
“This contract win is a demonstration of the momentum in our EMEA growth strategy, adding to the continued performance and positive expectations we see across all our geographies as most recently demonstrated in our strong Q3 results – another quarter in which Avolta delivered its targets.”
Belgrade Airport Chief Commercial Officer Miodrag Mirkovic said: “We are delighted to continue the successful cooperation with Avolta and enhance it further, thanks to the three times larger future commercial areas than before.
“The planned store of the future concept at our airport will be among the first in Europe, and our passengers will be able to enjoy this next level of design innovations, engagement and comfort offered.” ✈
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