TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL OPERATORS 2017: INTRODUCTION
more of the global industry’s sales than they did 20 years ago; 17.5% more in fact. Of course, this has everything to do
with operator consolidation, which has been voracious in recent years, with some citing the movement as a very positive evolution of our industry and others feeling the complete opposite. Another observation that can
be made from comparing the two reports side by side, is that although the lists are clearly different, there are some familiar ‘faces’ that appeared to have stayed the course.
DFS dominate in 1997 Back in 1997 DFS was the clear dominating force, topping the list with $2.4bn in sales; almost double that of its closest competitor; Nuance/Allders, which reported $1.25bn. It also represented 11.5% of the global industry’s sales. As was explained back then, DFS had just faced its ‘toughest year’ to date as a direct result of falling Japanese spending and ‘the Asian currency crisis’. It is fair to say that the company
has endured some tough years since then, particularly due to the depressed tourism market in Hong
Top 10 2018 vs Top 10 1998* 1998 ($bn)
TOP 10 TOTAL WORLD TOTAL
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7.50 21.0
36.72 68.60
Contact:
janice@trbusiness.com 36.0% 53.5%
TOP 10 OPERATORS’ SHARE OF WORLD SALES
*Sales refer to full-year 2017 vs full-year 1997 figures.
Kong, which eventually led (through a combination of factors) to it exiting its Hong Kong Airport contracts in 2017. Still, DFS Group remains in the Top
10 list – this year in sixth position – with TRBusiness estimating a circa 10% rise in sales last year. Below DFS in 1998’s list we find
two components of what is now Dufry; Nuance/Allders and BAA (World Duty Free). Interestingly, in the Top 10 report from 1998, BAA/WDF made its ambitions to become the ‘No 1 travel retailer’ very clear. Twenty years later, after being
Above, top to bottom: Dufry CEO, Julián Díaz; Lotte Duty Free CEO Jang Sun-wook; Lagardère Travel Retail CEO, Dag Rasmussen; President of Hotel Shilla’s travel retail business, Ingyu Han; Gebr. Heineman, Co Owner, Claus Heinemann.
acquired by Dufry – which picked up some other important players including Hudson, RegStaer, Folli Follie and of course Nuance – in some way it may feel like it reached its goal... or perhaps not. Of course, Dufry in its original
form also appears on the 1998 list in 7th position as Weitnauer Trading, founded in 1865. However, it wasn’t until 1948 that Weitnauer actually entered the duty free business and it wasn’t until 2003 that the company rebranded as ‘Dufry’. Gebr. Heinemann (No 5) as it was
also known 20 years ago was listed in sixth position in 1998’s standings with $500m sales recorded. Although it only appears to have
The first Top 10 Operators report was published in October 1998.
improved this ranking by one place in 20 years, it has actually grown its business by more than seven times,
or $3.1bn; a reflection of how the company has adapted its business model to focus more keenly on the duty free and travel retail business. Aer Rianta International (ARI) is
another company which features on both Top 10 lists, although it has dropped from fifth to tenth in the last two decades. Still, it has more than doubled its sales in that time from $557m to $1.2bn in 2017.
Back in 1997 DFS was the clear dominating force, topping the list with $2.4bn in sales; almost double that of its closest competitor; Nuance/Allders which reported $1.25bn. TRBusiness
What is also very interesting about
the two tables is the shift in regional dominance. Back in 1998, clearly the global duty free & travel retail industry’s growth was being driven by European businesses, with the exception of a few. In today’s ranking, whilst Europe is
still important, Asian operators now represent four of the top 10 retailers; Lotte, Shilla, KPIG and China Duty Free Group. Aside from that fact, many of the global operators would admit that Asia is a region in which
2018 ($bn) SUBSCRIBER ONLY CONTENT
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