ATU Duty Free Managing Director, Ersan Arcan tells TRBusiness that 2014 is turning out to be a challenging year for the Turkish joint-venture company.

“Q1 was very challenging, but in the second half this year, with the help of the renovation and increasing transit passengers, we are passing last year’s departure sales; but we are still trying to gain back arrival sales as the Turkish lira is suffering against the Euro,” he said.

ATU recorded an 11% increase in duty free sales at Istanbul Ataturk International Airport in 2013, helped by a strong increase in transit passenger numbers as national carrier, Turkish Airlines continues to expand its international route network using Ataturk Airport as its main hub.

“2013 was a good year, but signs of an economic crisis started at the year end,” said Arcan (pictured here). “There was an economic crisis at the beginning of this year, but the second half looks better. We think sales will be up slightly at the year end.”

 

According to the Turkish State Airports Authority, 34.1m international passengers used Ataturk Airport in 2013 representing a 14.4% increase compared with 29.8m in the previous year.

 

International passenger numbers are expected to grow by about 12% in 2014 as Turkish and transit passenger numbers continue to rise. The retailer comprises TAV Airports Holding and Unifree, in which Gebr. Heinemann is the main shareholder.

 

Above shop image: Istanbul Ataturk International Airport.

[A major in-depth interview with ATU Duty Free Managing Director, Ersan Arcan appears in the December issue of TRBusiness].