The Nuance and DFASS US airports joint venture has had its Orlando duty free concession extended by a further three years to 2022.

 

The extension comes at a good time in Orlando where the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has just announced another record year with 3.9m international arriving and departing passengers in 2013 generating a 4.24% rise over 2012. International passengers now account for 11% of all traffic at Orlando, where domestic traffic at 30.8m registered around 2.1% growth.

 

Part of this new contract extension will help cover the investment that the joint venture is making in expanding its Airside 1 store to appeal more to Orlando Airport’s growing number of South American passengers.

 

Orlando Airport’s stores have long sold merchandise to both international and domestic customers, but clearer nationality and demographic customer profiles are now dictating the product mix and promotions in these stores, with the Airside 1 outlet now catering for more Latin Americans, while Airside 4 focuses more heavily on European travellers – and UK passengers in particular.

 

Richard Rendek, CEO of Nuance North America.

 

EXTENSION: ‘IMPORTANT RECOGNITION…’

Richard Rendek, CEO of Nuance North America said he was pleased with the development: “This is yet another important recognition demonstrating that our retail approach is a successful one. Located close to famous resorts and major themed attractions, including Disney World, the airport is a gateway destination for holiday-makers all over the world, and boasts an interesting potential for Nuance.

 

“We look forward to enhancing travellers’ journey with excellent customer service, an exciting store experience and innovative surprises.”

 

DFASS Group CEO Benny Klepach added that he was ‘thrilled’ with the extension: “With Orlando being such an important tourist destination, we look forward to continuously providing travellers with a world class duty free offering.”

 

Meanwhile, Jim Rose, Deputy Executive Director at Orlando International Airport said management has been ‘very pleased’ with Nuance since it commenced operations at Orlando: “They have been responsive to the needs of our administration and guests and have been able to grow the duty free business significantly at the airport, despite a challenging aviation economic environment,” he said. “We look forward to our continued relationship with them.”

 

Orlando International Airport.

GOOD NORTH AMERICAN PRESENCE

Nuance has a long established track record in North America, and currently operates 40 stores across eight airports in the USA and Canada (Calgary, Toronto, Chicago, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas and Orlando). In addition to its Orlando contract, Nuance also recently announced plans to upgrade its retail facilities at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

 

Last January it also announced that its joint venture with DFASS was also awarded a seven-year duty-free contract extension at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International,  worth in excess of $80m over the full contract period.

 

Meanwhile, the proportion of international traffic as a percentage share of the total continued to grow at Orlando International Airport last year and this is encouraging more investment.

 

GOAA IS BUILDING ON INTERNATIONAL

“International traffic now accounts for more than 11 per cent of our total traffic at Orlando International which is why we’re placing a major focus on enhancing the arrival experience for our international guests,” says Frank Kruppenbacher, Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA).

 

“By providing a better Orlando Experience for our international arrivals with new self-processing kiosks and planned infrastructure enhancements we hope this level of growth, which leads to more jobs for our community, continues for years to come.”

 

According to airport authority, Orlando International now ranks as the ninth busiest port of entry to the United States for overseas arrivals.