SOUTH KOREA: KOREA AIRPORTS CORPORATION (KAC)
KAC selects Entas and City Plus for new arrivals licenses
Entas and CityPlus will be the first companies to operate duty free arrival shops at Busan Gimhae and Muan airports respectively, as Incheon Airport looks to retender key T1 duty free licenses. David Hayes talks to the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC).
K
orea Airports Corporation (KAC) has selected Entas Duty Free to operate Busan
Gimhae International Airport’s new duty free arrival shop concession while CityPlus Duty Free has been selected to manage Muan International Airport’s new arrival and departure shop concession. Both appointments are subject
to approval by the Korea Customs Service (KCS). Confirmed by KAC to TRBusiness,
but still to be publicly announced at the time of writing, the Gimhae and Muan airport duty free arrival shop licenses are the first in a series of arrival shop concessions that KAC plans to tender for all its international airports. “At Muan Airport, the [arrival
and departure] licenses went to CityPlus,” Kwon Seung Joo, Manager, Duty Free Shops in Korea Airports Corporation’s Commercial Facilities Team told TRBusiness. “The shops are scheduled to open
in mid-May when the contract for the current duty free shop in the departure hall expires. “With Gimhae Airport, arrival
shop installation will proceed if Entas Duty Free receives approval from Korea Customs Service in June.” Muan’s arrival shop takes up a
modest 18sq m, while Gimhae’s store has a more generous 90sq m footprint. “Duty free shops in the arrival hall
will sell liquor, cigarettes, perfumes and cosmetics,” explained Joo. The Gimhae and Muan airport
licenses stipulate a five-year contract period. Both Entas and CityPlus will be able to extend their operator licenses under KAC rules, which permit large companies to renew once and small operators to renew twice.
MAY 2020
While KAC plans to open duty free arrival shops at all its other international airports eventually, actual opening dates for the other arrival stores will depend on possible delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Other airports such as
Gimpo, Jeju and Cheongju are also considering attracting operators during the first half of this year,” said Joo.
Tobacco now in arrivals KAC’s selection of Gimhae Airport as the location for one of the first two duty free arrival shops, is not really a surprise considering it handles the largest number of international passengers among all KAC’s airports. TRBusiness understands that Muan
Airport was selected – in addition to Gimhae – because its current departure shop license expires on 8 May, allowing KAC to bundle it up with the arrival shop license in one concession package Both the Gimhae and Muan
arrival shops will sell liquor, tobacco, cosmetics and food items following the South Korean government’s decision in January to add tobacco to the list of products that can be sold in duty free arrival shops. Gimhae Airport, which serves
Busan and the surrounding area, handled 9.59m arriving and departing international passengers in 2019, down 2.5% compared to the previous year due to lower Japanese visitor numbers. Gimhae records the second
highest duty free sales among KAC’s airports after Jeju Airport, and accounts for about one third of KAC’s total airport sales.
“With Gimhae Airport, arrival shop installation will proceed if Entas Duty Free receives approval from Korea Customs Service in June.”
Kwon Seung Joo, Manager, Duty Free Shops in Korea Airports Corporation’s Commercial Facilities Team
TRBUSINESS 71
Above: Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) has selected Entas Duty Free to operate Busan Gimhae International Airport’s new duty free arrival shop concession.
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