Retailers are lining up to register interest for the new duty free concession at Istanbul’s new airport which is set to open in 2018.

 

 

Currently under construction the new facility  will ultimately have an annual capacity to handle 150m passengers, although it is due to be constructed in three key phases.

 

Several companies have already shown interest in the tender process which is being organised well ahead of the opening.

 

They include the incumbent Istanbul Atatürk Airport duty free joint venture operator Unifree, comprising Gebr. Heinemann, ATÜ and TAV.

 

Others who have indicated interest in this business include Setur and Lagardère Services, while Dufry is certain to look at bidding, as may DFS Group, World Duty Free and others.

 

 

UNIFREE WILL BE A STRONG CONTENDER

Not surprisingly, the Heinemann joint venture of Unifree will be the favourite to retain the concession, although money will talk, since the timing of the tender more than three years ahead of the opening is a reflection of an increasingly popular trend by landlord/developers.

 

This relates to airport companies looking to secure as much future ‘guaranteed income’ as possible, against which they can then borrow, or present a certain asset more attractively to banks or lenders.

 

Turkey is already Gebr. Heinemann’s second biggest market with sales of around $700m last year, eclipsed only just by Norway with $738m.

 

[Gebr. Heinemann Executive Director, Raoul Spanger talks about the retailer’s top markets – including Turkey – in The World’s Top 10 Operators 2014 report  this month-Ed].

In the first eight months of this year nearly 25.7m (+7%) tourists visited Turkey, with Germans accounting for the number one spot, followed by Russian and British holidaymakers.

 

BOTH IMAGES: Nordic architects Grimshaw and Haptic’s artist impression renderings of the new  terminal complex for Istanbul New Airport. The architects have been appointed by the airports consortium comprising Cengiz, Kolin, Limak, MAPA and Kalyon.