In an exclusive two-part video interview the CEO of Dufry, Julián Díaz told TRBusiness that he believes industry consolidation is inevitable, but this doesn’t necessarily mean more acquisitions.

 

Díaz says that the opportunity to consolidate values is what is really relevant – whether these means an allegiance, joint venture or merger – whilst reiterating the point that the relationship between airports and operators has to evolve to keep up with a fast-changing retail environment.

 

He also spoke about the important role airlines could play in the airport retail model. “Historically we have not been able to provide airlines with a value proposition to convince these institutions to participate in the existing model, but we are now at a time in the business where we need to do this, we need to create this value proposition.”

 

Díaz points out that the inflight sales channel is in need of technological advancements (logistically speaking) in order to survive and he suggests that operators like Dufry could play a valuable role in boosting the business, by providing products (in over 350 locations worldwide).

 

[As previously reported, Fraport revealed information about a new partnership struck between the airport authority, Heinemann and Lufthansa, which could signal some big changes for the inflight retail industry, back in September at the Trinity Forum.]

 

 

He also points out that combining CRM systems with the airlines could really enable the industry to mount a solid defense against the potential erosion of the business from Internet players.

 

He also said that the global average penetration levels for DF&TR stores at around 15% must be addressed and that Dufry has a division dedicated to increasing this percentage by better tailoring its retail offer.

 

Finally, he spoke about the emergence of DF&TR price comparison applications and his concerns about the way they could possibly distort perceptions of the duty free industry, creating some confusion for passengers. However, he does believe that there are opportunities that can be leveraged from this technology, if executed in the right fashion.

 

Part 2 of this interview will appear on TRBusiness.com shortly.