Airport retail business tops $1 billion revenue

Mumbai: Airport retail business in India topped $1 billion in revenues during 2011, on the back of robust growth in passenger traffic and more people shopping on the go, according to a boutique retail consultancy. The business is growing at 17-18 % annually, emerging as a viable platform for retailers and operators of the new airports, according to Bangalore-based consulting firm Asipac Projects.
Beauty, personal care, alcohol and tobacco emerged as the top three categories in the dutyfree section, while food & beverage , books, periodicals and stationery took the top spot within the duty-paid segment. Globally, airports registered approximately $43 billion in sales, with the likes of London Heathrow and Seoul's Incheon being the most lucrative ones.
"Airport stores are twice as productive for us compared to stores outside, in terms of sales per sq ft, though operational costs go up substantially at airports . Internationally, sales per sq ft are four to five times more compared to street stores at some of the busiest airports. We have a long way to go to go to reach those numbers," said Dipak Agarwal, chief executive (operations and strategy), DLF Retail, which runs retail stores like Mango and Boggi Milano at Delhi's IGI Airport.
30/01/12 Samidha Sharma/Times of India

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Categories: airports Jan 2012