Auckland International Airport has welcomed the opening of James Richardson's JR Duty Free brand at the airport this month, where it is competing with DFS Group after winning the concession earlier this year which runs

until June 2015.

General Manager Retail & Commercial Adrian Littlewood said: ‘We're very pleased that JR Duty Free are now open for trading, and we look forward to what they can add to the existing duty-free offering at Auckland Airport.

‘JR Duty Free has already shown that they bring an absolute passion for getting it right for our customers here in Auckland, and because they do not operate airport stores in Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, a sale lost here will be a sale lost to them. That means duty free shoppers at Auckland Airport will benefit. There are already great deals on offer with JR Duty Free, and an increased choice and options now available to travellers’, he added.

The selection of JR Duty Free followed an international tender process and like its rival, DFS Group, it operates in both the departures and arrivals areas of the international terminal.

Background: Last year, Auckland Airport changed plans to have a single, non-exclusive duty free retailer, following Commerce Commission intervention. Although it believed it had not breached the provisions of the Commerce Act, and that a single operator model offered benefits to travellers in terms of range and quality, the airport decided to retain two operators rather than face the prospect of an extended dispute with the Commerce Commission.

Incredibly, this year marks James Richardson founder David Mandie's 37th year in the business after opening his first duty free shop at Brisbane Airport in 1972. For several years he also owned and ran the market leading off airport chain called City International Duty Free, which he eventually sold to Nuance for a premium price.