TOP 10 OPERATORS 2018 9: DUTY FREE AMERICAS (DFA)
Falic tells TRBusiness that if a company was to buy DFA, they would effectively be securing the ‘key to America’ and they’d be ‘the biggest in America by far’. “I mean in terms of location, in
terms of diversity, it’s a big business, but again we’re not for sale and we still feel like we can add value.” Falic believes that companies
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that are interested in entering the Americas travel retail business will not be able to do so through bidding for new tenders alone.
Bidding is not enough... “They are definitely not going to get in by just coming in and bidding; just like it’s hard for us to do the same in Asia. You need to buy someone and from there you can grow. “Speaking of some of the big companies in Asia, who talk about being the biggest and best in the world...If they don’t buy something big they’re not going to get very far, because at the end of the day, they are dealing with different company cultures and mentalities [in the Americas]. “Obviously they know what
they are doing in their markets, just like we know what we are doing in ours. “So I think that any of those big
companies that are talking about buying; if they are really going to buy
One of DFA's new stores at Salvador Airport in Brazil.
something, expand and grow in this business, then they are going to have to buy somebody. “Equally, if they want real diversity
and to be strong in this business it’s going to be very difficult to go and build it themselves. It’s impossible. “Again I don’t think you’re going
to see a lot of acquisitions [by the big travel retail operators]. “I mean you might see some
small ones, but I don’t think you’ll see anyone big buying another big player. Everyone is happy and stable with where they are at. “It can happen, but [in our case]
there are few companies that can afford to buy us.” «
Black targets ‘major airports’
In December, DFA opened the first retail store in its luxury coffee boutique franchise Black Barista Coffee World at Singapore Changi Airport. Measuring approximately 50sq m,
Black Barista Coffee World is positioned as a premium experience aimed at global coffee connoisseurs, merchandising
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more than 60 types of coffee beans from the top growing regions, including Asia, Africa, South and Central America at a variety of price points. “Right now there are 60-plus types
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of bean and many accessories, but we are developing capsules for machines to fulfil all your needs for premium coffee,” said
Paneco.com and Black CEO (DFA APAC) Jonathan Cohen. According to Cohen, the concept
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engenders an artisan approach similar to whisky in terms of its tasting notes – blended or single estate for example – and elegant packaging. “We looked at the market segment
The Black coffee boutique concept. OCTOBER 2018
and metrics and saw the growth in consumption in China – Japan is also huge,” commented Cohen on the potential for Asian expansion.
He tells TRBusiness there is significant opportunity to grow the franchise, with plans to enter another major Asian country before the end of the year. The plan is to open multiple shops
globally at major locations/airports and DFA is understood to be actively seeking out concession opportunities in Asia Pacific, although the group is playing its cards close to its chest when asked by TRBusiness to provide specifics. “We really believe in this business and
this region; we see the opportunity so are putting a lot of emphasis in terms of growth,” added Cohen. At this stage, the business is purely
engineered towards core retailing, but Cohen hasn’t ruled out combining retail with a coffee shop model, which brews and sells onsite.
TOP 10 OPERATORS 75
“I think that any of those big companies that are talking about buying, if they are really going to buy something, expand and grow in this business, then they are going to have to buy somebody.”
Leon Falic, DFA
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