COLOMBIA. A joint venture between Dufry and DFASS has been confirmed as winner of the duty free contract at Bogotá El Dorado International Airport. The Moodie Davitt Report broke the story initially last August, with the agreement subject to contract at the time.
The ten-year concession agreement (to 2027) with airport operator Opain S.A. covers close to 2,200sq m of retail space, including at the expanded North Terminal. With the new concession, Dufry adds a new market to its portfolio and DFASS (a Dufry partner in other projects) expands its operations in Colombia.
With Dufry responsible for the retail activities, the joint venture will operate three shops in the departure areas of the North Terminal. This includes two units over 1,300sq m in the existing area and 880sq m of new space in the extended area. The stores will offer the traditional core category duty free mix.
Under Dufry’s plan for the international roll-out of the Hudson concept, the convenience store brand is also expected to open a shop.
El Dorado International Airport is the largest in Colombia and one of the major airports in Latin America. In 2015 the airport welcomed over 30 million passengers, ranking third in Latin America.
Dufry Group CEO Julían Díaz said: “I am pleased to announce our first concession contract in Colombia. With the start in this new country for Dufry, we will consolidate further our presence in Latin America. We have been operating in many locations across Latin America for many years and the expansion of our presence into a new market like Colombia shows again Dufry’s experience and knowledge in offering competitive retail solutions for airport operators across the world.
“We are excited to work with Opain to develop El Dorado airport further. Last but not least, we look forward to the cooperation with our partner DFASS and we will work together closely to bring customers another world class shopping experience. In particular, I appreciate the long relationship with Bernard Klepach and our ongoing successful partnership, which has now been extended into South America.”
The DFASS Group CEO and Chairman Bernard Klepach added: “We are both proud and excited about the new concession in Bogota. DFASS’ current inflight concession with Avianca and duty free stores at El Dorado International Airport have provided a unique platform to grow our retail footprint in the region.
“Our 20 years of operating experience in this market were a key factor in Opain’s decision to award the concession to the joint venture. We are looking forward to working with Dufry to leverage the expertise and retail knowledge of both our organizations, and to deliver an unparalleled retail offering with an enhanced digital platform for the airport passengers and staff. Additionally, we appreciate the partnership and commitment of Julían Díaz and Dufry Division CEO Latin America René Riedi,, as we venture forward in this tremendous new project. I have great respect for Julían, whose personal involvement and support has been crucial. This concession represents yet another expression of the joint potential for our organizations.”
Opain CEO Andres Ortega Rezk said: “We are extremely pleased to have received such a strong proposal from the Dufry/DFASS joint venture, and we award the duty free/specialty concession with the confidence of having chosen the perfect partners for Opain and El Dorado International Airport.
“It is the collective global experience, operational strength, breadth of brands and local expertise which solidified our decision. We therefore look forward to a smooth transition as the joint venture takes over the current spaces and proceeds to develop the new retail operations in conjunction with our terminal expansion.”
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