AUSTRALIA. The Nuance Group has vowed to mount a positive defence of its key duty free concession at Sydney International Airport.
As revealed by The Moodie Report last Friday, Sydney Airport Corporation is to call for Requests for Proposals early next year for a contract that expires at the end of October 2006.
Nuance said the announcement was in line with the expected timetable leading up to the expiry of the concession [Sydney Airports owner Macquarie had informed the retailer some time ago of its decision to go to market – Ed]. And it vowed to be among the retailers which offer new approaches to structuring the contract – as requested in the airport management’s announcement last week.
The Nuance Group President and CEO Roberto Graziani welcomed comments by Sydney Airport Corporation Executive Chairman and CEO Max Moore-Wilton that the airport “has an excellent working relationship with Nuance”, its current duty free retailer. Moore-Wilton said that Nuance had brought about “significant innovations and developments and as a result created a world class duty and tax free shopping environment for passengers”.
The Nuance Group’s newly-appointed CEO Australia & New Zealand Christian Strang said: “The expiry date of the concession at Sydney has been known for a long time and it [the RFP announcement] does not come as a surprise. We continue to work closely with Sydney Airport developing a vision for the future and we relish the challenges and opportunities that a market evaluation will provide. Having held the concession since 1991 it is entirely reasonable to expect that a new airport owner would want to establish a valuation of the concession on the open market.”
Graziani added: “The Nuance Group has a long partnership with Sydney Airport and has enjoyed a very productive working relationship with successive management teams through the transition from government ownership to a corporate structure and now in the post-privatisation era.
“We hope that this level of partnership and professionalism will continue into the new concession. Whilst it is an opportunity for Sydney Airport to value the concession it is also an opportunity for a retailer to offer new approaches to structuring what is a significant contract. We will be one of many interested parties and we look forward to a new era.”
Nuance said it is committed to working closely with Sydney Airport Corporation in the lead-up to the RFP and the expiry of the concession.
MORE STORIES ON SYDNEY AIRPORT
Sydney Airport to go to market for Australia’s largest duty free contract – 26/08/05
