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Alpha Airports Group has accused big tobacco suppliers of a lack of support on pricing at its travel-retail stores in Sri Lanka and India, and plans to reduce the space [...]

Muscat Duty Free is to use its forthcoming renovation at Muscat Seeb airport (see Retail News) to encourage cross-selling between the cigar and liquor categories. General manager Steve O'Connor told [...]

Cuban cigar supplier Habanos is to unveil the Serie P No 2, a new addition to its Partagas brand. The cigar, which features the tapered head characteristic of the pyramid [...]

The world of international finance has lurked in the shadows of travel-retail for some time now. When The Nuance Group was sold in 2002, several groups of investors from beyond [...]

Travel-retail is often dismissed as a niche industry, often far removed from the domestic market. While suppliers tend to focus on the high street more than the airport business, travel [...]

FINLAND/SWEDEN. Nordic investment group CapMan has completed its acquisition of Swedish travel retailer and distributor Inflight Service after competition authorities in Poland approved the deal. The Helsinki listed investment company, [...]

EU. The European Commission has revealed it is preparing to publish a proposal on updating allowances for passengers coming into the EU. The decision is in response to a letter [...]

OMAN. Muscat Duty Free has extended its contract with Seeb airport operator Oman Airport Management Co after the landlord decided to build a new international airport instead of expanding the [...]

Greek cigarette supplier Karelia has reported strong results with World Duty Free at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports since its Slims brand made its debut in July 2004. The company [...]

Mobile phones and bar codes have been around for decades, but their potential for driving commercial revenues at airports is only now becoming apparent. UK software company Mantic Point Solutions [...]

US/UK. New low-cost business carrier Maxjet has awarded inflight concessionaire Duty Free World a three-year contract to operate retail on board, effective from November 1. The airline operates services between [...]

UK. A new system that uses mobile phone networks, bar codes and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to locate passengers and send them relevant information is to be offered to [...]

SWITZERLAND. Swiss airport authorities and travel retailers hope to persuade the government to introduce legislation allowing arrivals duty-free shopping, following the lead set by Norway earlier this summer. The Nuance [...]

RUSSIA/CIS. Gebr Heinemann has reported a year of encouraging growth in its Russian and CIS business. Director Pierre Viarnaud told DFNI that barring unexpected events, all the company's contracts in [...]

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Fraport Group advertising agency Media Frankfurt officially inaugurated 94 Camel and Winston smoker stations at Frankfurt International airport terminals one and two last month. The [...]

As the crowd dispersed from last month's Trinity Forum event in London, there was a sense of optimism in the air; an atmosphere not unlike that of the ASUTIL conference [...]

Campaigners lobbying against excessive charges imposed on retailers by credit card companies scored an important victory in the UK last month when the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) released its [...]

A familiar name in Australian duty-free is set to make a long-awaited return to the country this year after a 10-year absence. James Richardson, now better known as the principal [...]

KUWAIT. National carrier Kuwait Airways has tendered its onboard retail concession and is in the process of appointing an operator for a three-year term. The contract is currently held by [...]

The newly-formed Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) has appointed a committee to monitor the threat to duty-free tobacco sales in the region. APTRA has made the issue a key [...]

SWEDEN. Inflight Service's new owner has pledged to bring 'more than money' to the company as it seeks to build on the Swedish retailer and distributor's market position. Private equity [...]

European Travel Retail Council secretary general Keith Spinks risked causing offence last month when he told DFNI that national and trade media should only hear of threats to travel-retail once [...]

The Vietnamese government is considering a ban on duty-free tobacco sales at airports and border stores, DFNI has learned. Industry campaigners are working with local operator Imex Pan-Pacific to assess [...]

Readers in the UK will have noted the disruption caused by disgruntled Gate Gourmet employees and workers at London Heathrow airport last month. Both airport authority BAA and British Airways [...]

AUSTRALIA. Brisbane International airport has received expressions of interest from almost 100 companies for commercial space at its expanded international terminal, due to open in late 2007. The airport said [...]

Philip Morris International has reported a 2.9% increase in worldwide duty-free shipments in the second quarter of the year, with particularly strong sales in Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania. Cigarette volumes [...]

More than six months after Malaysia Airports was due to publish retail tenders for Kuala Lumpur International airport (KLIA), details of the selection process are finally emerging, and the nature [...]

EASTERN EUROPE. Aer Rianta International (ARI) is hoping to boost its recently established trading division through securing supply contracts with duty-free retailers in Russia, the CIS and eastern Europe. The [...]

ANTIGUA. VC Bird International airport is to overhaul its commercial offer early next year in preparation for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, DFNI has learned. The airport will decide whether [...]

PORTUGAL. Lojas Francas de Portugal (LFP) has signalled its interest in operating retail outlets at Lisbon harbour if plans to develop the port are realised. The move would mark the [...]

DFNI EXCLUSIVE MALAYSIA. Malaysia Airports is to negotiate directly with operators rather than hold open tenders for core categories at Kuala Lumpur International airport (KLIA). The airport authority revealed that [...]

UK cruiseship concessionaire Harding Brothers has launched an in-house training programme in a bid to ensure that it has a consistent source of jewellery sales staff. The company, which ranks [...]

The tobacco category recorded the strongest growth in global duty-free and travel-retail sales for many years in 2004, according to Swedish market analyst Generation's annual publication Best 'N' Most. Sales [...]

Swedish analyst Generation has hailed the travel-retail industry's 2004 performance as its best in 20 years. Last year's recorded sales increase of $4.5bn--more than 22%--is certainly encouraging. But a closer [...]

It is difficult to avoid developing an apocalyptic mindset when cataloguing the myriad threats to the travel-retail industry. If it's not the World Health Organizauon demonising tobacco, it's the Danish [...]

INDIA. Zurich airport authority Unique is to determine the layout of commercial space at the new Bangalore International airport in the next few months, DFNI has learned. Unique holds a [...]

MALTA. Air Malta is seeking to offload its 100% holding in Air Supplies & Catering after initially aiming to sell a 60% share in the company (RavenFox.com January 14). The [...]

UKRAINE. Kievrianta has reported a 44% year-on-year increase in first-half sales at its Kyiv Duty Free departures store at Boryspil airport. The company said the results, combined with a 22% [...]

The latest index of the French travel-retail trade may have changed format, with liquor, tobacco and beauty products separated rather than grouped together, but the challenges the market faces remain [...]

UK. Cruiseship spa and retail concessionaire Harding Bros has reported that its investment in systems and training last year has prepared the company for rapid growth. In August 2004 the [...]

DENMARK. The Nuance Group has completed the renovation of its flagship store at Copenhagen Kastrup airport in a bid to improve penetration and sales at the location. Despite the acclaim [...]

SCANDINAVIA. Nordic duty-free operators are braced for a new threat to their business following the Norwegian government's decision, announced on June 17, to allow arrivals duty-free shopping in the country's [...]

NORWAY. Travel Retail Norway has reported impressive results from its expanded operation at Oslo International airport, six months after its contract began. The airport's new duty-flee store, at more than [...]

Although it is widely-respected for its commercial operations, Vancouver International Airport Authority has been slow to change its policy on concession contracts, which makes the airport's duty-free tender documents, released [...]

ICELAND. Keflavik International airport has opened the biggest arrivals duty-free shop in Europe. The store, operated by airport landlord Leifur Eiriksson Air Terminal's sister company Duty Free Store has been [...]

UK-based cigarette manufacturer Gallaher has appointed Midas International as its exclusive duty-free distributor for the Indian sub-continent. The deal marks a return to the region for Gallaher, which withdrew from [...]

A record turnout at the TFWA Asia Pacific tobacco workshop last month confirmed the industry's 'play hard, work harder' ethos, with delegates attending the 8.30am briefing despite the previous night's [...]

EUROPE. The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) is urging the European Commission to reconsider a recent proposal restricting the number of liquor and wine bottle sizes. If implemented in their [...]

Malaysia Airlines is testing several cigar products with a view to building its offer in the segment, DFNI can reveal. The company currently only offers three cigar skus but hopes [...]

Retail tenders at two key Caribbean airports have attracted an impressive list of travel-retail's biggest operators over the past month. Aldeasa, Aer Rianta International and Dufry Group joint-venture Duty Free [...]