AUSTRALIA. Cairns Airport has appointed Lagardère Travel Retail to operate its arrivals and departures duty free and specialty stores in T1 (international terminal) for the next ten years, commencing March 2017. The French travel retailer replaces JR/Duty Free, which had not taken up an earlier renewal option (for the company’s reaction see below).
Cairns Airport General Manager Commercial Fiona Ward said her team had received bids from leading duty free retailers during the tender process, which commenced in June.
“The decision to award this exciting new opportunity at Cairns Airport was made after a robust evaluation process,” Ms Ward said.
“Lagardère Travel Retail already operate 16 stores within our two terminals across their Travel Essentials and Food Services business units. They currently have six core duty free concessions in the Pacific region in Noumea, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Townsville, Queenstown, Dunedin and Auckland.”
She added: “We are confident Lagardère Travel Retail will bring a strong mix of local regional network and support functions and global experience to Cairns Airport’s duty free offer. We look forward to furthering our already strong partnership as they deliver exceptional value and accessible indulgence to our customers.
“Their global reach will now enable them to access luxury international brands for our duty free offer, particularly to meet the high demand from the growing number of Chinese visitors travelling to Cairns, while also offering products that celebrate the vibrant artists of the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region. These will be supported by a great range of technology, fragrance, beauty, liquor, comfort and convenience items.
Lagardère Travel Retail CEO for the Pacific region Matthieu Mercier said: “This opportunity represents a significant milestone for us.
“Cairns Airport has been a key partner of ours for 25 years, starting with our Travel Essentials business, launching our Food Services business in 2012 and more recently bringing monobrand luxury stores as firsts to the Cairns market. Together, we are well versed in operating in this unique environment.”
“Opening in both arrivals and departures in March 2017, a number of new brands and product categories will be introduced to the North Queensland market. With a great understanding of both the terminal and travelling passengers, the needs of the travellers will be met through a constantly evolving offer, award winning customer service and the ability to adapt quickly to an ever changing environment.”
Ms Ward thanked outgoing duty free partner JR/Duty Free, which opened at Cairns Airport in 2012, for contributing to the airport’s customer experience over the past four and a half years.
“We appreciate the input made by JR/Duty Free over this time to grow our duty free and specialty offer to our diverse range of international passengers. In particular I would like to thank the JR/Duty Free team on the ground here in Cairns for their commitment and dedication to excellent customer service.”
JR/Duty Free – “Our bid was a realistic one”
Reacting to the change, JR/Duty Free Chairman Garry Stock said: “We are disappointed that we will not be continuing at Cairns Airport . However, we realised that this was a possible result of not exercising the option.
“We believe our bid was a realistic one given the circumstances. Perhaps the fact that we were not successful indicates that certain operators may be becoming 1) more sceptical of airport passenger forecasts; and 2) wary of the effect of the Chinese tax changes on Chinese PSR.
“We wish LS well in the future and thank our staff for the fantastic service they provided over the past five years.”
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