Airport shops are adapting to a new clientele

Empty airport halls and closed shops have been one of the faces of the pandemic. Long in constant growth, the “travel retail” sector suffered heavily from health restrictions, and lost 85% of its turnover at the height of the crisis. Store operators in duty free and other airport businesses breathe again. They have yet to return to their pre-crisis activity levels. But at the end of a beautiful tourist summer, they are no longer very far away. According to the Bain firm, the sector should achieve 80% to 90% of its pre-pandemic turnover this year, compared to 55% to 65% in 2021.

Travel retail players are all seeing a gradual recovery in sales in their stores. “We have ramped up in recent months. We were at 85.5% of our 2019 turnover in June, 90% in July”rejoices Xavier Rossinyol, the CEO of Dufrya Swiss giant in the sector (3.9 billion Swiss francs in turnover…