RUSSIA. Local duty free retailers are eagerly awaiting further details of a new project that could lead to the opening of duty free outlets at up to 30 railway stations serving cross-border lines in Russia.
The government approved the project in April, extending the remit of OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) to implement a chain of duty free shops. The government ordinance effectively opens a new retail channel in Russia, where duty free shops have previously only been allowed at airports, ports and borders.
With international lines connecting Russia to 20 countries across Europe and Asia – among them China, North Korea, Finland and Germany – the retail opportunity could be vast.
In a Kyiv Post report subsequently confirmed to The Moodie Report, RZD Head of Railway Stations Sergei Abramov announced plans to start developing the business this year. He said the initative would be realised in cooperation with private-sector investors and RZD partners.
Abramov added that Finland Station in St Petersburg, which connects cross-border services between Moscow and Helsinki, might be the first station to house duty free outlets. But no definite schedule or list of stations has emerged, nor any confirmation on whether RZD will seek to work with one retailer across all locations, or with multiple partners.
One interested party told The Moodie Report: “No procedure has yet been developed to put this new type of operation in place, and it is not possible to know how long it will be until any railway station duty free shop can open.”
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How the Kyiv Post reported the new project in April |
