MALAYSIA. Malaysia Airports has launched a Request for Information (RFI) to gather industry insights about the future of its duty-free concession model.
The review will assess “potential approaches to delivering a more distinctive and relevant retail experience, with greater product differentiation and choice that better reflects current travel and shopping patterns,” said a statement from the airport company.
It added, “The review responds to changing passenger expectations and shopping behaviours, which continue to influence demand within airport retail. Rather than beginning with a predetermined concession structure, Malaysia Airports is first defining the experience it wants to create, and identifying the model best suited to deliver it.”
An independent benchmarking exercise against regional and international airports has identified “opportunities to strengthen the existing model and highlighted alternative approaches” to enhance the passenger retail experience, the company noted. Building on these findings, Malaysia Airports is issuing the RFI “to gather market perspectives and better understand different commercial and operating models, industry capabilities and investment appetite”.
Malaysia Airports Managing Director Dato’ Mohd Izani Ghani said, “Following the recently issued RFI for our airport advertising estate, this review extends our focus to another important part of the commercial environment.
“While each area has different requirements, both exercises reflect our wider effort to ensure that commercial offerings contribute meaningfully to the airport experience.”
He added, “This is why we are taking an evidence-led approach. We have benchmarked different models internationally, and the RFI allows us to test those findings against market insights and industry capabilities. That will give us a stronger basis to determine what is right for our passengers and our airports over the long term.”
The company stressed that the RFI is a market-sounding exercise and not a procurement process. No decision has been made on the future concession model or whether Malaysia Airports will proceed with any subsequent procurement exercise.
Malaysia Airports said that incumbent duty-free concessionaires (led by in-house duty-free company Eraman) have been engaged throughout the review process. Individual engagements with partners were followed by a joint dialogue session to explain the objectives and approach of the RFI, provide clarity on the process and give players the opportunity to raise questions and share their perspectives, said Malaysia Airports.
“The findings from the RFI will be assessed alongside the benchmarking results and other relevant considerations before management develops its recommendations to the Board. Any future recommendations will be guided by data and market insights, with the passenger experience remaining the primary consideration.
“Malaysia Airports will continue to engage relevant stakeholders throughout the process and conduct the review in a fair, transparent and objective manner.”
Interested parties are invited to submit their responses electronically in both PDF and Excel (Financial) format to the Strategy and Development Unit with more details available here: https://corporate.malaysiaairports.com.my/en/business/business-opportunities/commercial-leasing-opportunities
Email: dutyfree@malaysiaairports.com.my
The submission deadline is 2 October at 5pm Malaysia time. ✈
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