CANADA. The Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) has reported total sales of C$64.7 million (US$49.5 million) at Canadian border stores for the first half of 2019, a +0.4% year-on-year increase.
The moderate increase was consistent across Canada with a year-on-year sales increase of +0.45% in Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick) and +0.24% in Western Canada (British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).
The three largest categories nationally were spirits & wines (43.17% of total sales), tobacco (23.31% of total sales) and perfumes, cosmetics & skincare (13.2% of total sales).
Despite the increase in overall sales, it will be of concern to border store operators that sales of tobacco, traditionally the second biggest category for border store operators, were down -3.64% year-on-year.
Commenting on the figures, FDFA Executive Director Barbara Barrett said: “Overall, sales in the duty free market were positive for the first half of the year. The moderate growth in the market reflects the resilience of the land border duty free industry, despite the economic slowdown and related uncertainties in Canada and the US. Travellers continue to show strong interest in the unique experience, low prices and the vast product range offered by our stores.”
The steady climb in border store sales came as overall tourism spend by international visitors to Canada rose by +0.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019 and +2.4% year-on-year in the second quarter.
