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TURKEY. Urart, the joint venture between The Nuance Group and Turkish company Net Holding, will start operating at Antalya International Airport Terminal 2 at midnight tonight.
The takeover follows the signing of a 17-year contract in 2007 giving the partnership exclusive operation of duty free shops at all Antalya terminals. The contract expires in 2024.
In the initial phase of the contract, Urart has operated the duty free business in Terminal 1 as well as the CIP International Terminal. The operations in T2 will be added to the portfolio as of 23 September at 00:01 hours.
Nuance owns 55% in Urart A.S. with the balance controlled by Net Holding. The alliance has managed the duty free concession at Antalya Terminal 1 since 1998 and currently operates the main Departures and Arrivals duty free shops as well as 16 specialty shops covering some 1,850sq m, and employing some 300 staff.
Through the take-over of the operations in T2 around 2,300sq m of retail area will be utilised as main Departures and Arrivals stores concentrating on core categories and eight speciality shops.
The Nuance Group Europe CEO Andrea Belardini said: “We are now moving into the second phase of our 17-year contract at Antalya International Airport. The excellent relationship with the airport operator, built up across 12 years of cooperation and confirmed until 2024, has enabled us to constantly invest in the improvement of the shopping offer and deliver increased value to all stakeholders.
“Nuance has developed unparalleled experience through the numerous recent renovation projects across the globe. We look forward to using our learnings to contribute to the development of a state-of-the-art retail environment in Terminal 2.”
Nuance-Net Joint Venture (Turkey) Managing Director Cengiz Iman said: “We look forward to expanding our operation to Antalya Terminal 2, thereby further deepening our partnership with [airport operator] Fraport-IC Holdings established over the last 12 years.
“We have all the resources in place to create a truly attractive shopping offer also at the airport’s Terminal 2, and my team and I are determined to create another success story here at Antalya.”
