Duty free operator bags China deal

Dublin Airport Authority subsidiary Aer Rianta International (ARI) has signed a contract to operate 11 duty-free shops at the new Kunming Changshui International airport in China.

ARI will run separate duty paid stores selling branded skincare products, perfume and cosmetics, fashions items, accessories and other goods.

Set up in 1988, ARI is one of the world’s largest airport retailing companies and operates in the Middle East, Cyprus, India, Canada, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Ukraine. It also holds minority shareholdings in Dusseldorf Airport in Germany and in Pafos and Larnaca Airports in Cyprus.  Overall, the company has a role in 24 airports in 14 countries, and also operates downtown stores and inflight retail.

The new Kunming airport, which is currently under construction, is a world-class facility, capable of handling up to 70 million passengers per year. The airport has four runways and its new terminal will be the largest single terminal building in China. The new airport is expected to be China’s fourth largest after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The existing Kunming airport, which will close when the new airport opens, is currently the seventh largest airport in China by passenger numbers.

Last summer, DAA signed a strategic collaboration agreement with the Yunnan Airport Group, which operates 11 airports in south-west China, and it is hoped that the deal to operate the 11 stores at the Kunming Changshui airport will be the first of many partnerships between the two airport authorities.

The aviation market in China is expected to expand rapidly during the current decade. Total passenger numbers are forecast to increase from 266 million in 2010 to 700 million in 2020 while the number of Chinese airports is expected to grow from 176 to 250 during the same period.

“This is a very significant strategic move for ARI, as it means we will be operating outlets in the fast-growing Chinese airport market for the first time,” said DAA chief executive Declan Collier.

“The Chinese aviation market is experiencing phenomenal growth and we are very excited at the potential for further opportunities in China,” he added.

ARI’s move into China follows the company’s recent entry into the Indian duty free market just over a year ago when the company opened a duty-free outlet in the new Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi.