After IGI T3, Airports duty-free services go global; offer international brands at dirt-cheap rate

Bangalore: Last Christmas, a husband and wife had a loud argument at the duty-free counter at Bangalore International Airport. Store staff rushed to the spot. They didn't know they would be thrilled soon.
The couple, returning from Dubai, had checked out Sony camera prices at the counter before flying out, convinced that the international shopping centre would yield better bargain. The husband bought the camera abroad despite his wife's protest that it is cheaper back home.
It turned out she was right. The camera would have cost them $45 less if they had bought it from the Sony electronics counter at Bangalore airport.
"Unfortunately we have had such a situation only once," jokes Rolf Blaser, country head of Nuance Group (India), the Zurich firm that operates duty-free shops at the Bangalore airport in a joint venture with Indian retailer Shoppers Stop.
Unbelievable as it may sound to many travellers, Indian airports are now cheaper than better-known international destinations for branded goods ranging from spirits and cigarettes to electronics to cosmetics, thanks to increased duty free options due to airport privatisation and growing international travel.
19/08/11 Sarah Jacob/Economic Times

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Categories: airports aug 2011