The iconic mosque in Medina is the second holiest shrine in Islam and a place of pilgrimage. (Photo/Abid … [+]
Lagardère Travel Retail has won a master concession contract on Saudi Arabia’s fourth busiest airport and will take control of it at the end of the year, making the French global duty free distributor the only one to have operations on the country’s four international airports. gateways.
Historic retailer ATÜ Duty Free – a joint venture between Turkey’s Unifree (controlled by Germany’s Heinemann) and global airport operator TAV Airports – has had a contract there since 2015, operating five outlets covering 13,200 square feet.
The success of Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Medina, a major place of pilgrimage, is an important step in Lagardère’s efforts to consolidate its distribution activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Growth in air traffic is expected to be rapid due to the government’s focus on international tourism, which is only part of its ambitious Vision 2030 project that creates new high-end tourist resorts costing billions of dollars.
Lagardère Travel Retail, part of media giant Lagardère Group, has seen a strong retail rebound since the start of the year. It has also experienced promising growth from the airports of the oil state where it is present (Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam), last year. In 2021, retail sales in the Middle East jumped almost 40% year on year (down 15.5% compared to 2019), thanks to a good performance in Dubai (up 24%) and Saudi Arabia (up 48%) due to rapid growth. resumption of air traffic.
Move-in date: December 2022
At Medina International Airport, located in the west of the country about 220 km from the Red Sea, Lagardère will take charge of 14 new duty-free and retail spaces in December covering a total commercial area of 20,450 square feet, including 6 600 square feet will be allocated to duty-free stores.
An Aelia brand store at Riyadh International Airport.
Lagardère refused to reveal the duration of the contract in Medina or which brands might be present from December, but a spokesperson told me: “Initially, the stores will be Aelia Duty Free and Relay stores, but in the longer term, with redevelopments, we may develop new concepts and introduce more brands. Underneath the Aelia fascia, typical duty-free categories such as perfumes, cosmetics, travel accessories, confectionery and souvenirs will initially be offered.
In a press release, Vincent Romet, Managing Director of Lagardère Travel Retail’s activities in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, said: “Our local teams are all mobilized to start the new operations before the end of the year. Saudi Arabia is an extremely dynamic market and we are delighted to open this new chapter. »
As Saudi Arabia weans itself off oil and diversifies – non-oil revenues grew nearly 122% between 2015 and 2020 – tourism will become a new mainstay of revenue and investment. Last week, the Hungarian low-cost airline WizzAir, currently the seventh largest airline in Europe, signed the 20 new routes to the kingdomone of the biggest course announcements this year.
Although the inaugural flights from Europe will not include Medina, they will go to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports where Lagardère Travel Retail has a presence, with one-way fares starting at $55. The move is expected to attract more than a million additional travelers to Saudi Arabia next year.
Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi has described Saudi Arabia as “a strategic long-term market” for the airline, which will no doubt send a message to all international travel retailers looking to expand into the region.
