The travel and fashion retail division of SMI Retail has generated a total retail sales turnover of $13.3m in its 2017 fiscal year – just one and half years after announcing the award of its duty free, retail and F&B contract at Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport.

As reported exclusively by TRBusiness way back in June 2015, this follows the company’s five-year contract gains covering duty free, retail and F&B outlets at Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport Terminal by the Singapore Myanmar Investco Limited (formerly known as ‘Singapore Windsor Holdings Limited’).

This operation was established after DFS Group and the-then Singapore Windsor Holdings Company agreed a 10-year supply deal in Myanmar to supply the duty free operation [see original story here: http://www.trbusiness.com/regional-news/international/dfs-agrees-10-year-duty-free-myanmar-contract/76890]

The duty free operation at Yangon International Airport.

EARLY ENCOURAGING RESULTS

SMI only formally started its duty free retail operation at Yangon Airport’s new terminal back in September 2016, suggesting that its sales would have been higher had the trading period stretched to a full 12 months.

However, President and CEO Mark Bedingham was nevertheless very upbeat on the progress to date in his summary of the early trading highlights.

Commenting in the company’s recently released annual report, he said: “SMI’s duty-free travel and fashion retail business started its retail presence with the completion of the duty free and travel retail fashion and lifestyle stores in the new Yangon International Airport (YIA) Terminal One (T1) by September 2016, after being awarded more than 6,700sq m of commercial space.

“The initial results of its retail operations at YIA are encouraging, although it will take time for the new terminal to reach traffic flows at projected levels.

POSITIVE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

“We have received much positive feedback from passengers and the airport management company on the quality of the duty free and travel retail stores that we have created and this initial success has been widely noticed in the city itself.

Mark Bedingham SMI President and CEO.

“Notably, we have used our relationship with DFS to supply a comprehensive portfolio of international wines and spirits and beauty brands for both departures and arrivals at YIA and have introduced more than 30 international fashion and lifestyle brands to create an outstanding retail experience for this very modern, newly-built terminal.

“This new terminal has dramatically increased the capacity of YIA to meet the expected rapid rise in international travellers; for business, for tourism and for Myanmar nationals who are also starting to travel overseas in greater numbers. This new terminal is already scheduled for further expansion and this will undoubtedly create new opportunities for SMI in travel retail at the airport.

For SMI’s fiscal 2017 results click to expand here.

“A number of mall owners and developers in Myanmar are seeing SMI as a highly desirable partner and we have been pleased to work with Junction City – a new integrated upscale development in downtown Yangon.

EXCLUSIVE SHISEIDO TIE UP

“We have been able to introduce several international brands that we work with at the airport into Junction City and nearly all of these retail stores have been opened by the end of April 2017.

“We have also been fortunate enough to sign an exclusive distribution agreement with Shiseido Asia Pacific, one of the world’s leading cosmetic houses, in February 2017 and the first Shiseido flagship counter in Myanmar will be opening in Junction City by mid year 2017.”

SMI at Yangon International Airport.

Yangon International (15km north of downtown Yangon) is the busiest international airport in Myanmar, ahead of the country’s other two main international airports at Mandalay and in the capital city of Naypyidaw.

MULTIPLE BUSINESS INTERESTS

SMI has several diversified interests in Myanmar besides its new duty free interests. These include telecom infrastructure construction; trading, distribution and retail; serviced office business; car hire and rental services; plus logistics and warehousing services.

[In his earlier career, Mark Bedingham, President and CEO of SMI worked for seven years on the Board of DFS Group and also extensively for LVMH- Ed].