ARI Chief Executive Ray Hernan reflects on the milestones of the past 12 months for the Irish state-owned travel retailer including landmark openings, record sales and the launch of an updated ESG strategy.
In a year where globally, we faced much turmoil and uncertainty, we have a lot to be positive about as we look back on 2025, writes Ray Hernan.
Our teams have doubled down on our brand promise to deliver Joy On Your Way and it continues to be a defining factor in growing our business globally.
Across the board it has been another successful year for ARI, with several business units delivering record sales. With continued passenger growth this year – expected to continue into next year and beyond as global travel evolves – our focus remains on doing the basics exceptionally well.
We are focused on driving Average Transaction Value (ATV), improving PAX conversion and growing Items Per Transaction (IPT) across all core categories to minimise the reliance on passengers to grow our sales. In fact, all our locations this year have grown passenger spends compared to 2024, and this growth trajectory continues to be a key focus for our teams in 2026.
New stores unveiled
2025 marked several milestones for our business, in particular across our North American and European operations.
The new Portugal Duty Free stores, particularly the flagship Lisbon Duty Free Terminal 1 store, generated much excitement when officially unveiled in Q1. Since assuming operations in June 2022, extensive refurbishments got underway to completely transform and reimagine the retail experience across Portugal’s international airports.
The end result is arguably one of the world’s best modern airport shopping experiences, combining an unparalleled sense of place experience in terms of design and brand curation with digital and experiential retail.
We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved with our partners, ANA-VINCI Airports, and this is testament to what we can deliver as a business. It shows our follow-through when it comes to new business delivery – what we present in a bid tender is what we deliver for our partners.
The final chapter in the refurbishment work is our Porto Duty Free store, where we look forward to completing work in late spring.
In Canada, refurbishment works were completed at the newly opened Edmonton Duty Free stores in January, which have continued to trade well despite a turbulent year for US-Canadian relations.
In July, in response to the growing success of the sunglasses category, we opened our second concession at Quebec City International Airport – the duty-paid Spectrum sunglasses boutique. We will continue to expand our existing offerings across our key Canadian locations, working closely with our long-standing airport partners to adapt to an evolving passenger base across the region.
In Montenegro, the new retail outlet in Tivat Airport Terminal 2 has further strengthened our business in the region and we hope to maintain this positive performance as tourism to the Baltics continues to grow.
Major refurbishment work will continue in 2026 with full refurbishments to be progressed in key flagship locations of Dublin and Montreal.
Changing of the guard
This year we welcomed back Paul Neeson, who returned from his tenure as Vice President Commercial at daa International in Jeddah to assume the role of Retail Director, ARI Ireland. He has returned at a pivotal time for our Irish business as we look to enhance our retail offering at one of our flagship locations, with extensive refurbishment of the Terminal 1 retail space getting underway as we close out 2025.
Nuno Amaral joined ARI Middle East as CEO, heralding a new chapter for our Middle East business with plans to grow and maximise the exciting opportunities of the region. Thirty-five years on, we proudly remain the largest multi-site operator in the Middle East and we plan to continue to grow our presence, together with our regional partners, as part of our long-term commitment to the region.
Journey with Purpose
Having a robust ESG strategy is not a ‘nice to have’ – it’s expected by our passengers, partners and talent, and importantly it’s the right thing to do.
This year marked an important stage in our ESG journey with the launch of a revised five-year strategy, Journey with Purpose. It signals a doubling down on our commitments and holding ourselves better to account, with ambitious KPIs in place for our global operations by 2030.
Importantly, the new strategy features an additional fourth pillar – Passenger, joining People, Planet and Product – ensuring that the passenger is at the heart of everything we do. So far, the new strategy roll-out has seen a renewed energy for change and importantly, provides a clear roadmap for where we want to be as a business.
The digital age
This year, like so many others, an important focus for ARI has been on AI and exploring ways to best use it for our business.
The AI Centre of Excellence is being developed at our central support office in Dublin as we look to enhance back-of-house functions and efficiencies, as well as the front-facing passenger experience, through AI technology.
Already, work has started on a number of high-priority projects and 2026 will see many positive developments for us in this space. We are firm believers that it should never be technology for the sake of technology – we must be practical in our approach and embrace new technological advancements where it makes sense for our business, our teams and our customers.
Regulatory progress
While we began the year under a cloud of uncertainty around changes to MOP4 legislation, we welcome the recent findings by the WHO in relation to illicit trade and the role of the duty-free sector. (Click here for more.)
As an industry, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to minimising and eradicating the illicit trade of tobacco and in protecting the reputation of the industry. It shows the importance of collaboration between fellow operators, brands and governing bodies, and I would especially like to commend the ETRC and Duty Free World Council for their relentless work in this space.
Looking forward
We remain optimistic about the future of our industry and the strength of our business in catering to the ever-changing global passenger.
Travel retail is entering a transformative phase, driven by technology but underpinned by an innate drive for discovery and authenticity. It is an exciting time for global retail as these two worlds collide, and travel retail can be the epicentre of these modern, yet authentic, experiences.
In 2026 and beyond, we will be reinvesting in our stores as large-scale refurbishments get underway at Dublin Airport Terminal 1 and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. We will continue to prioritise the passenger experience, raising the bar for our business and the industry in how we reposition airport retail as an integral part of the overall passenger journey.
Against a global backdrop of uncertainty and volatility, we must stay true to our values and be clear in our mission as we continue to deliver Joy On Your Way.
We look forward to another collaborative year of working with our brand partners to deliver and, indeed, exceed our customer expectations.
Our teams appreciate the pivotal role we play as custodian to local and global brands, and we are excited to work together with our brand partnerships to deliver joy to the passenger and enhance brand value in 2026, be that through first to market launches, channel exclusives or immersive brand experiences.
We remain assured of our unique proposition and our bespoke approach as an operator; for us, creativity, passion and agility trump scale when it comes to delivering the best passenger experience. ✈
*Ray Hernan will be a speaker at the eagerly-anticipated Trinity Forum in Doha on 5-6 February. The world’s most influential airport commercial revenues conference will be hosted by Qatar Airways, Hamad International Airport and Qatar Duty Free.
The Trinity Forum is owned by The Moodie Davitt Report and co-organised in a highly successful long-term partnership with Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific & Middle East and ACI World. This year, the additional inclusion of ACI Europe as a co-organiser marks a significant enhancement to the event’s scope and influence. Click on the banner below for more details.
