FRANCE/INTERNATIONAL. In major breaking news tonight, Dufry Group unveiled Avolta, a new brand identity representing the Dufry and Autogrill combination.
“More diversified and resilient together, both geographically and on business lines, Avolta reflects the company’s long-term vision by putting the travellers’ needs at its core and unifying the travel retail and food & beverage (F&B) businesses under a single company name,” the company said.
Dufry said the new identity is the next step in an already effective integration, characterised by the company’s recent notable performance.
CEO Xavier Rossinyol said; “We see a great opportunity emerging from the changing traveller and customer expectations and their boosted appetite to travel.
“Our Destination 2027 strategy set our ambition to create a Travel Experience Revolution, and Avolta is the vessel that will help us navigate this journey with success. Avolta encapsulates our expanded vision and commitment to innovating the traveller-cantered experience with enhanced digital engagement.
“With Avolta we are more than ever one team, visually and operationally unified. Avolta translates our strategy into a common brand identity, reflecting our travellers’ needs and putting them at the centre of our focus and initiatives.
“Avolta stands for smart stores and advanced entertainment, digitalisation and omnichannel, hospitality and culinary, and the ultimate combination of the businesses.
“We are Avolta, and we are a unique, resilient and highly diversified company – with the aim to deliver reliable results for our shareholders and stakeholders. After many months of working on this beautiful brand together with our team, we are so happy to finally share it with the world. The travel experience revolution is in motion – Journey On!”
Avolta represent a more diversified and resilient group, “more than the sum of its parts”, the company said. Operating in more than 75 countries and 1,200 locations, with 5,500 points of sale across three segments – duty free, travel convenience & essentials, food & beverage – and a wide range of channels – from airports and motorways, through to cruises, railways and more, Avolta’s diversification provides stability and resilience in volatile markets, the company added.
With an extensive portfolio including thousands of long-term concessions, around 1,200 brands and 150 proprietary brands, Avolta said it is less vulnerable to macro-economic impacts, its unique offering combining risk protection and resilience in crises with attractive growth potential, sustainably improving profitability and cash flow.
Avolta: maximising every moment of the journey
“The launch of a common company name reinforces the long-term vision of the combined company and is a powerful part of Destination 2027 strategy. Operating as One Team, under one brand, Avolta can leverage further benefits of the collective Group, realizing the company’s full potential.
“The cultures and brand identities of the legacy companies are harnessed within Avolta’s common new identity, uniting and giving a new permanent home to all employees, increasing collaboration by reducing geographical and cultural distances.
“Avolta continues to create value for all stakeholders by transforming the traveller journey to be as rewarding as the destination. Combining a strong sense of place with global expertise, Avolta enhances traditional travel retail and F&B with new hybrid and digital frontiers.”
Avolta: bringing in the new era for Dufry & Autogrill
Moving forward, the Avolta brand will lead all internal and external communications, with all corporate brands of the former Dufry and Autogrill Group transitioning to the Avolta brand family. Consumer-facing brands, including consumer-facing elements of corporate brands, like Dufry, Autogrill, World Duty Free and Hudson, to name a few, will continue to operate as previously.
Dufry will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to ask its shareholders to approve Avolta as the new company name for the holding entity. ✈