Kevin Brown, CEO, Perth Airport (second from left) and Andrea Belardini, Divisional CEO, Asia Pacific and Middle East (second from right) inaugurate the new store.

Dufry Group has opened its fully refurbished duty free walkthrough store at Perth International Airport having signed the contract in July 2018.

The store is located in international departures and delivers a ‘dynamic and engaging retail space’ alongside Dufry’s Melbourne and Hong Kong MTR operations, according to the company. Dufry also says this latest opening further consolidates its presence in the country and wider Asia Pacific region.

The 1,200sq m store incorporates a stronger focus on digital execution and offers customers a range of products from leading beauty, liquor, confectionery and fashion accessories brands.

NEW BRANDS

Various new brands have been introduced including La Mer, Kiehl’s, Too Faced, Bobbi Brown, Sisley, Tom Ford and Jo Malone London. There is also a strong focus on sense of place including a new concept unique to the airport (Perth Street Market).

This invites travellers to celebrate local Australian food, homewares and gifts and wine, giving customers the opportunity to taste and discover the fine flavours of Western Australia.

The range of homeware and gifts is created by local artisans and feature a number of handmade products in the form of ceramics, woodwork, cushions and prints to adorn the home, alongside homemade soaps and natural skincare.  The store’s promotional areas have also been designed to resemble the endemic Boab tree.

Andrea Belardini, Divisional CEO, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Dufry said: “The new Perth Airport shops showcase our commitment to grow Asia Pacific and in particular Australia. It is great to return to expanding our presence in the country, where we hold a deep-rooted experience.

“The new shop is the result of a close cooperation with Perth Airport management in setting a common vision for a shop development with a consumer-centric approach. We would like to thank Perth Airport and its commercially-driven management team for their trust in us and we look forward to working in close partnership to delight customers and deliver growth.”

Kevin Brown, CEO, Perth Airport added: “This investment has completely changed the face of the duty free offering and delivered a world-class retail experience for travellers.

“The Perth Street Market will showcase the finest local products from Western Australian producers. It’s fantastic that Dufry, a huge international player in duty free, recognise the value of introducing this unique local touch in what is a major investment in our airport and our State.

“Working with Dufry to make this a reality has given us a great opportunity to further build the Perth brand among international travellers. Our aim is to give them a great travel experience —a warm first welcome to Perth and a fond farewell with something that will remind them of their stay and hopefully bring them and their family and friends back.”

Back in March, Dufry Group released its 2018 results and according to Julián Díaz, CEO, Dufry Group the start of operations in Hong Kong and Perth were key to its success across the Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia division.

He said: “The opening of operations in Hong Kong and Perth were key to maintaining organic growth at high levels, despite the higher comparables since the third quarter.”

Perth Airport is the main gateway to Western Australia and its doorstep to Asia. It is the fourth busiest airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic and welcomed more than 4.3m international travellers in 2018.