NORWAY. Travel Retail Norway, Gebr. Heinemann’s joint venture with Norse-Trade, has captured the contract to run the duty-free and single-price (Travel Value) shops at Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim airports from 2028 to 2036 following a tender.
The partnership, which operates under the Tax Free Norway brand, has been the incumbent travel retailer for over 20 years. Norwegian airport company Avinor announced the decision today (29 October).
When Avinor announced the tender via The Moodie Davitt Report in March, it said the contracts were valued at an estimated NOK50 billion (US$5.1 billion) over the eight years.
Under the agreement, the partners will develop a new 3,300sq m departures shop at Oslo Airport. The 4,000sq m arrivals shop will continue as the flagship and Norway’s single largest airport store.
Gebr. Heinemann Chief Sales Officer Florian Seidel said: “This tender win is a major success and the result of a close and trusted partnership spanning more than 20 years. The strong team effort resulted in a bid that will add value for the airport as well as for travellers to and from Norway.
“It is once again a testimony to the strength of partnerships that combine local and global expertise. We thank Avinor for placing their trust in us and for their commitment to continuing our long-term partnership as equals. Together with our partners we are looking forward to writing the next chapter in Norway.”
TRN Managing Director Tore Hov added, “We were confident that we had submitted a very strong, future-ready bid that included an innovative retail concept.
“Therefore, we are all the more delighted that it won Avinor over and that we can continue our partnership also beyond 2028. Everyone across the team is excited to bring the new concepts to life. We will start working on the realisation as of today.”
As the tender was launched earlier this year, Avinor Executive Vice President for Commercial Areas Joachim Lupnaav Johnsen said, “This is the most important commercial contract in Avinor. It secures the financing of our nationwide airport network and lays the foundation for its continued development in the years ahead.”
Duty free stores and Travel Value (single-price retail) outlets account for around 25% of the airport company’s total revenue and around 40% of its commercial income. The revenues play a crucial role in financing Avinor’s network of 43 airports across Norway.
Dermot Davitt comments: If there was one major contract in play in 2026 that Gebr. Heinemann management prized retaining above all others, it was the duty-free and Travel Value business in Norway, which it has held in partnership with Norse-Trade for over two decades.
While the Oslo Airport business is not what it once was – the duty-free business has been challenged by the weakness of the Norwegian Krone in recent years – it remains one of the jewels in the Heinemann crown.
In 2025, Oslo ranked third by sales value among all Heinemann airport locations, after Istanbul and Tel Aviv, and ahead of Antalya and Frankfurt.
Oslo Airport alone generates annual duty-free revenues exceeding NOK3.3 billion (US$340 million) a year, while Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger combined generate more than NOK1.1 billion (US$110 million) annually.
Earlier this year, Avinor called on bidders to consider how its airports could become “modern, seamless marketplaces where the digital and physical shopping journey are fully integrated”. The airport company also said that its chosen partner for the future should be “action-oriented, adaptable and customer-focused, and capable of remaining relevant despite short trend cycles and a changing passenger mix”.
Clearly, Travel Retail Norway has ticked those boxes and more, having proven its ability to manage the complexity and volume of business at Oslo and other airports through its strong logistics backbone. How it manages the vast existing business while tackling the changes in traveller demographics and purchasing demands through to 2036 will be fascinating to follow. ✈
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