AUSTRALIA. Heinemann Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heinemann Asia Pacific, has extended its duty free concession contract at Gold Coast Airport until 2029. The retailer won its initial seven-year contract in 2018.
As part of a terminal redevelopment and expansion, the Heinemann Tax & Duty Free shops will almost double their floor space across departures and arrivals to 1,324sq m.
The retailer said that it planned to introduce new brands to the airport, led by a “significant expansion” of its perfumes & cosmetics offering. For the first time at Gold Coast Airport, this includes a full product portfolio across skincare, fragrance and cosmetics.
Heinemann said that this “reflects strong international passenger demand for skincare and cosmetics, and draws upon Heinemann Australia’s deep category expertise from its extensive assortment in Sydney International Airport”.
“With a new terminal space, we saw an opportunity to significantly upgrade our retail offering for passengers,” said Isabelle Yates, General Manager – Commercial Revenue at Queensland Airports, which owns and operates Gold Coast Airport.
“We were impressed with Heinemann’s understanding of our vision for the terminal and their ideas for creating a shop that reflects our design concept inspired by the Gold Coast’s unique geography. We are excited to embark on this new journey with them to welcome back international passengers with a brand new shopper experience.”
“We are thrilled to extend our concession with Gold Coast Airport, and to have the opportunity to expand and elevate our shops,” said Heinemann Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer Johannes Sammann.
“The extended lease term gives us a longer runway to further invest in and develop our offering for travellers to the Gold Coast. This puts us in a perfect position to capture growth opportunities created by the continued development of the Gold Coast as a premier business and leisure travel destination in Australia, and the long-awaited recovery of tourism in the Asia Pacific.”
Once completed, the Gold Coast Airport three-level, 30,000sq m terminal expansion will double the terminal size and include a larger retail space, connections to four glass aerobridges, a spacious departure lounge, and new baggage handling and border control facilities.
The terminal expansion is part of a wider A$500 million investment into Gold Coast Airport precinct, which includes a new airport hotel and a mixed-use Airport Central complex, which hosts retail, food & beverage and medical services businesses.
The expansion sets the airport up to capitalise on the travel industry’s recovery following the removal of border restrictions in Australia, said a statement.
*As reported, The Airport Retail and Commercial Forum will be held on Australia’s Gold Coast on 20-21 July. It is a partnership between the Australian Airports Association, The Moodie Davitt Report and Ivo Favotto’s The Mercurius Group. The event, a first for Australasia and the Pacific region, will be a chance for industry to celebrate its resilience through a particularly challenging two years and offer critical wayfinding to help the sector come back stronger than before.
