The existing Hyderabad Duty Free departures shop spans 800sq m and will soon move to a more strategic location within the passenger area.

Hyderabad Duty Free (HDF) is embarking on an extensive revamp of its arrivals and departures operations at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in line with expansion work at the airport.

Details of the airport expansion, which will increase capacity to around 30m passengers were revealed in March by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), a subsidiary of airport operator GMR Group at a lavish event marking RGIA’s 10th anniversary.

As part of the project, an airport city (Hyderabad Airport City) will be developed comprising business, health, logistics, education and fun ports.

HDF, a division of GMR Hospitality and Retail Limited, is a 100% subsidiary of the airport. It boasts an offer comprising around 100 brands in arrivals and departures across the liquor, perfume, confectionery, tobacco and authentic handpicked souvenir segments.

FUTURE PLANNING

Speaking to TRBusiness as part of wide-ranging interview which will feature in the July issue of the magazine, HDF Chief Executive Officer Saurabh Kumar said: “We are planning for a terminal which will handle around 25m to 30m passengers annually in the next year-and-a-half or two years. Last year, the airport handled around 18m passengers.

“With this in mind, our overall duty free set-up will increase in size. Currently, the departures shop spans 800sq m and arrivals outlet 450sq m.

“Design work has started and the project will obviously mean a huge conversion and new customer experience.”

According to Kumar, the new duty free area will be designed ‘quite scientifically’ keeping the existing passenger flow and passenger movement. The departures store will also move to a new strategic location within the passenger area to increase exposure and visibility. This is part of a store modernisation which is expected to take around two or three months.

He explained: “For the new departures shop, we are holding discussions with our brand partners regarding the design of the wall-bays and display-units and they are all being extremely supportive.

“From a design perspective, the architectural heritage of the store will be ‘subtly reflected’ creating a good experience for those passing through.”

Meanwhile, modification of the existing arrivals space will take place simultaneously over the next six to nine months. He explained: “We are re-doing our entire arrivals store, which is one of the major determinants of our growth. It is what we call a facelift.”

Once modification of the arrivals store is complete (phase one), focus will turn to phase two and the expansion of the arrivals footprint. “Within two years, we will have a totally new and extremely large arrivals store up to four-times bigger than the existing one.

“This will coincide with the completion of the overall airport expansion,” he concluded.

The current 450sq m Hyderabad Duty Free arrivals shop will undergo a ‘facelift’ over the next six to nine months.