Weitnauer Group has evolved its business since its establishment in 1865 in Switzerland as a tobacco retailer in Basel. Pictured is Eric Laurent, President.

Weitnauer Group is celebrating its 160 year anniversary in 2025 with its largest expansion programme to date, a milestone that it said underscores the company’s enduring legacy and proven expertise in cross-category omnichannel distribution in the travel retail industry and domestic markets.

Since January 2024, strategic investment in the expansion of its global footprint has opened 30 new markets across Europe, CIS, Middle East, the USA, South America and Africa; designed to leverage the opportunity in the luxury goods market, notably in developing economies. 

 Weitnauer Group noted it remains dedicated to building on its heritage of growth, innovation and market leadership as  President Eric Laurent explained: “Since day one in 1865, our family business has been driven by our passion as entrepreneurial pioneers to explore and develop new, uncharted markets where we identify cross-category potential.  Our specialist local teams ensure direct expertise in the operational and geopolitical dynamics of niche economies enabling our clients to localize their strategies and optimize regional demand. 

 As we celebrate 2025, we proudly reflect on 160 years of heritage and the enduring trust placed in us by our brand partners—a trust we view as our most valuable asset. Our ongoing adventure into rapidly expanding markets continues to inspire us, as we seek out and realise new opportunities for our clients, anchored by our unwavering commitment to complete transparency and open information sharing.”

Throughout the 160th anniversary celebrations, Weitnauer Group has created a community support initiative ‘Giving Back to our Communities’.

The local teams in each market have selected local organisations and projects supporting socially vulnerable groups, providing them with much needed resources and financial support.  For example, the team in Brasil donated winter kits to bring comfort and warmth to patients at Nefroclínica in Foz do Iguaçu and, in Ivory Coast, the local team organized a donation of essential goods to Maison Akwaba by Soleterre—supporting children with cancer and their families during treatment at Treichville CHU. 

Its journey in travel retail began in 1948 as a wholesale distributor, rising, over half a century, to become one of the top five retail operators, trading as Dufry. 

In 2004, the company divested its Dufry retail operations, to focus on B2B execution and to build on its legacy as a global distribution network enabling new market opportunities for brand partners. 

Laurent added: “Our comprehensive distribution network empowers us to craft bespoke, strategic solutions tailored to the unique needs of each partner. This encompasses a full suite of resources from devising go-to-market strategies and optimizing outlet selection, to managing distribution and warehousing, brokering licensing agreements, forging partnerships, and overseeing sales and marketing initiatives.

For our partners, this approach offers a more efficient and risk-averse alternative to establishing their own operations in new territories.” 

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