duty free shops

Giant Ash Cloud Is Costing Duty-Free Shops Millions

Here's one fallout of the Icelandic ash cloud that you might not have thought of: the duty-free market. According to a Bloomberg article the shutdown of travel across the European airspace is costing duty-free retailers an estimated 25 million euros ($34 million) a day in lost revenue. The industry has had a quiet decline over the last couple of years as travel for both business and pleasure has decreased. Generation Research estimates that sales of duty-free items sold at airport shops and on planes fell 8 percent to $22.7 billion last year and European sales accounted for almost half of that. The lack of passenger traffic from delayed flights means lost revenue for the airport shops. Even those travelers that are stranded in the airport itself aren't in a buying mood. Travelers from Asia who often spend a lot on European luxury goods have not been able to fly in.

Airspace is gradually reopening across Europe but a new ash cloud headed for the U.K. means London's airports may not be able to open as quickly. The ash could clog plane engines and so most of Europe has been under a prolonged shutdown waiting for the air to clear. It's not all bad news for some luxury retailers, the volcano may have crippled duty-free sales but travelers stranded in European cities may decide to spend a little spare time shopping in other stores in the towns.

Tags: ash cloud, duty free, duty free shopping, duty free shopping warning, duty free shops, duty-free, iceland volcano

Dubai Airport's Ultra-Pricey Wine Shop

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Many duty-free shops in international airports sell expensive wine and spirits but a new shop at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 is one of the most extravagant yet. The shop, Le Clos, sells many of the world's most sought-after wines including not just recent vintages but some legendary bottles like the Chateau Petrus 1947, Château Cheval Blanc 1961 and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2005. Their website shows that their range of vintages starts in 1945.

The shop is staffed with wine advisors with expertise on specific regions and varietals and whisky experts are also on staff for help with selecting the best single malts. There are several options for buying. You can pre-order through the online store and collect your bottles in the store before you fly out of Dubai. Or if you are making a return journey back into Dubai you can choose your wines ahead of time and pick them up after your flight.

[via Decanter]

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Tags: dubai, duty free shops, DutyFreeShops, le clos, LeClos

Chinese Wine Comes To Duty Free Shops Worldwide

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

I've talked about the rapidly increasing world of Chinese wine before, now a big step has been taken. China Daily reports that made-in-China wine will be available all over the world in duty-free stores at major airports. Cognac producers Camus, who have 4,000 duty-free stores worldwide have entered into a ten-year agreement with Chinese winemaker Dragon Seal. They are starting small, selling the wine in 50 of their stores. The deal is part of the "Spirit of China" project. Camus has already arranged to have other Chinese liquors on their shelves. Dragon Seal will sell their Osmanthus King wine in the shops.The wine, which also uses osmanthus flowers, is only made in China. Cyril Camus, the president of Camus, predicts big growth for Chinese products over the next few years. Although a lot of wine production in China is new, Dragon Seal has been in business 95 years and uses only Chinese grapes.

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Tags: china, chinese wine, ChineseWine, dragon seal, duty free shops