Denver International Airport (DEN) has confirmed that Dufry has been awarded a seven-year contract to operate at several duty free and travel retail locations at the hub – the 15th busiest in the world.

 

While the spokesperson confirmed the award to Dufry – which will operate as the 67% lead shareholder in a joint venture called Denver Duty Free – he said: “The deal is not official until the mayor signs it off, which is likely to happen next week.” Dufry declined to confirm the award yesterday.

 

The contract covers three core locations with a total area of 560sq m: two DF&TR in-line stores located in the centre cores of Concourse A and Concourse B plus one at the Mezzanine Level. There is also an option to develop and operate a speciality perfume, cosmetics and fashion accessories store in Concourse C.

 

The original RFP was released in October 2013 with a deadline of mid-December. Nuance and DFASS operate the existing business through the joint venture Liberty Duty Free.

 

Denver’s traffic declined by -1.1% in 2013 to 52.56m passengers. International traffic at the United Airlines hub grew last year but its share remains small accounting for just 3.7% of the total.

 

In 2013, gross revenue to DEN from merchandise/retail sales reached $78.3m while F&B hit $187.0m. Total concession revenue in 2013 (including services) was $294.8m.