DFS Group has opted to change its concession arrangements in India to become a supplier to the Mumbai Duty Free departures and arrivals operation at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) where it works with Flemingo International. DFS and Flemingo have run the retail concession as an equal joint venture operation since 2008.

 

DFS made its decision known very recently in a widely-circulated notice to suppliers, at the same time that it is understood to have maintained positive relations with its Flemingo partner at the location.

 

TRBusiness has learned that the newly-restructured arrangement is further understood to have received the necessary approvals from GVK Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) as Flemingo prepares to take over additionally-acquired operational responsibilities in the business.

 

VERY STRONG PAX GROWTH

This news comes at the same time that GVK Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) Pvt Ltd – the Public Private Partnership joint venture between a GVK-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) – has seen unprecedented passenger growth in both international and domestic traffic over the last four years.

 

At the last official count in 2015-16 airport management reported a total of 41.67m passengers at the location.

 

Thereafter in a subsequent ‘Sustainability Report 2016’ it cited a 14% rise in international passengers – as compared with the period 2012 to 2014 – as air traffic movements rose by 11% over the same comparative period.

 

PARTNERSHIP BEGAN EIGHT YEARS AGO

DFS and Flemingo originally signed their joint venture partnership at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport back in 2008 after DFS was initially awarded the concession by default (as the second-highest bidder) in March 2008.

 

This followed the failure of ITDC and Aldeasa – the winning joint venture at the time – to commence operations after ‘seemingly’ winning the contract with a very high bid.

 

FROM CONFRONTATION TO JOINT VENTURE…

Flemingo subsequently successfully challenged Mumbai Airport’s default appointment of DFS as the second-highest bidder in the Bombay High Court, but this case was amicably resolved and dropped after both parties later agreed to form the partnership that exists until this day.

 

(Flemingo International CEO Atul Ahuja was contacted directly for this report, but was unavailable for comment-Ed).