BRAZIL. Dufry yesterday hosted a media tour of one of its biggest expansion projects, its duty free and duty paid stores at RIOgaleão Airport, which were transformed last year.
The tour was held to coincide with the 21st and final ASUTIL conference, being held this week in Rio de Janeiro.
Vibrancy, colour and passion Architecture and retail design specialist The Design Solution played a key role in transforming RIOgaleāo – Tom Jobim International Airport. It served as an architect partner on commercial planning and as retail designer to Dufry. The Design Solution Founder and Director Robbie Gill said it was “one of the most complex, challenging and ultimately exciting” architectural projects the company had ever worked on. To read the full story on The Design Solution’s involvement, please click here. |
Last year’s development included an extensive redesign and the opening of several new stores and boutiques. Duty free space was doubled to 8,000sq m, anchoring some 10,000sq m of retail space.
RIOgaleão CEO Luiz Rocha commented: “The new duty free stores have provided passengers with a complete experience in RIOgaleão, taking into account their wishes and needs. Our strategy is to continuously improve and requalify the service delivery and increase the variety of products and brands.
“Along with Dufry, we have brought to Rio’s international airport quality items and attractive offers that combine the best of Rio with the best of the world. The project was designed so that the passenger has his first and last Rio experience in the airport.
“The architecture combines elements such as wood and curved lines, to represent the mountains and the sea typical of Rio de Janeiro. Within this setting we have, for the first time at the airport, local brands that represent the carioca lifestyle and are recognised worldwide, including brands such as Farm, Osklen, Lenny Niemeyer and a dedicated area to the city’s bohemian experience.”
Dufry CEO Julián Díaz said: “We are extremely proud of everything we have achieved here at Tom Jobim International airport. We have been able to significantly expand our retail presence and showcase the best of Dufry’s store concepts, which have been designed to deliver a world-class airport shopping experience to the millions of passengers that use the airport each year.
“The increased commercial offering, extended choice of brands and range of customer services on offer have already helped drive strong performance and growth. Our thanks go to the team at RIOgaleão with whom we continue to work in close partnership, to ensure that the traveller’s experience at this airport is second to none.”
Sense of Place to the fore
Dufry said that a key consideration was to ensure that its new stores featured thematic concepts and design details that captured the spirit and vibrancy that Rio is famous for, delivering a tangible ‘Sense of Place’ to the 17 million passengers the airport welcomes each year.
The main 2,200sq m departures duty free store enjoys prime position in the renovated and expanded terminal. Its design was inspired by the city’s famous Copacabana Beach. Design details such as curved walkways guide customers to the heart of the store. In the extensive beauty hall, strong personalisations have been introduced for several international brands, including Dior, Chanel and Armani, to create a luxury shopping experience.
The main store also houses a Samsung Corner – a strong brand personalisation showcasing Samsung accessories, mobile phones and VR GEAR.
Dufry also offers an Apple shop-in-shop, featuring the full Apple range.
The concept of Sense of Place is delivered through a range of innovative concepts that reflect aspects of the Brazilian culture. In addition to the main departures store, a ‘Destination Area’ is dedicated to local brands and is designed to capture the colour, flamboyance and energy of the most famous neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro – Maracanã, Ipanema, Copacabana and Lapa – through imaginative use of design details, fixtures and lighting.
Luxury is also a key focus. A watches boutique showcases a wide range of brands including Montblanc, TAG, Hublot, Breitling and Bvlgari. The design incorporates reflective and metallic elements such as crystal and gold, to create premium and relaxing shopping environment.
The luxury theme continues with a quartet of boutiques from Hugo Boss, Salvatore Ferragamo, Polo Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors. The design concept creates the appearance of four separate stores, but all are connected via a central, mirrored corridor allowing customers to easily walk between all four and pay for their various purchases at one point.
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Arriving in style
In arrivals, so critical to Brazilian airport retailing, Dufry said it has taken the design and service elements of its store “to the next level, to deliver a truly world class shopping experience to customers”.
The offer includes brands unavailable on the domestic market such as Victoria’s Secret, Polo Ralph Lauren (exclusive to duty free in Rio), or have restricted distribution, as with Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, Moroccanoil, Kérastase and Hugo Boss. All have personalised corners in arrivals.
Again, Sense of Place is key. The green mountains that surround Copacabana beach are referenced in the store’s ceiling design, while the walkway resembles the classic beach boulevard flooring. The chosen lighting mimics the reflective qualities of sunlight on water and a curving walkway guides customers intuitively through the extensive 3,800sq m store.
Just inside the wide store entrance passengers discover a relaxing Lounge Area where they can ‘de-stress’ before entering the shop itself. Dufry’s Drop & Pick Up Luggage Service is located here and allows customers to hand over their bulky luggage to be securely stored. It is then returned to them at the exit of the arrivals store, after they have shopped in comfort.
A ‘Reserve and Collect’ service is also offered, which enables customers to pre-order products online, by phone or through an app. A dedicated Reserve & Collect point is conveniently located further inside the arrivals store, where customers can collect their pre-ordered goods and pay for them. Another lounge area can also be found here, where customers can relax and enjoy light refreshments, having collected their reserved shopping.
An extensive beauty area offers services including hair and skin diagnostics from brands such as Vichy, La Roche Posay and Kérastase. Space is dedicated to a range of travel exclusive products.
The liquor area incorporates Dufry’s World of Whiskies shop-in-shop, a Rare & Vintage area for whiskies and Cognacs, and tasting bars for wines, spirits and confectionery.
‘Must Have in Rio’ presents a product mix tailored to what travellers might need during their stay in Rio de Janeiro, including flip flops, sunscreen and beach wear.
The arrivals store also presents a dedicated ‘lifestyle’ area which showcases products chosen to satisfy Brazilians’ unique purchasing preferences, at attractive prices compared to the domestic market.
Items include baby buggies, pet accessories, home appliances and tech items such as drones, which are especially popular in Brazil.
The 1,300sq m Dufry Shopping Megastore in Terminal 2 plays a department store role within the local Brazilian market, the retailer said. New brands have been introduced across several core categories including Beauty – Dufry is the exclusive retailer for MAC (other than the brand’s own stand-alone stores in the high street); and Fashion – with the introduction of Salinas and Reserva.
Watches and accessories also feature prominently. Dufry is the only authorised dealer (other than Vivara) for Tommy Hilfiger Watches and the only travel retailer to operate a shop-in-shop Vivara jewellery boutique. A Sunglass Hut boosts the accessories offer.
Corporate Social Responsibility central to Dufry
In line with its commitment to the wider community, Dufry has for the past 21 years sponsored a social promotion programme in Rio de Janeiro. This programme provides free professional education to 30 young people every year and since it began, it has benefited almost 600 teenagers in total.
Classes can be attended by teenagers aged between 16 and 20 years in subjects including English, computer classes and retail operations, alongside modules in teamwork, leadership, ethics and citizenship.
Students also receive free meals, medical and dental care, life insurance, uniforms, educational materials and assistance with transport. Dufry helps students with their career progression, alerting them to any opportunities within the business, or with external partners. Employability rates reach almost 90% for those teenagers taking part in the programme, the retailer said.
Dufry employees regularly participate as volunteers in the programme, as well as acting as mentors to individuals taking part. The programme involves 60 volunteers each year from Dufry and other partners.
