Dufry blossoms in Asia market

Asia “continued to boom” for travel retailer Dufry in the first half of this year.

Bali, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macau and South Korea all achieved double-digit sales growth during the half year, with Chinese tourists credited for much of that growth. Australia also achieved “strong double-digit performance” after the full renovation of Dufry’s stores there.

“Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia continued to outperform, driven by a growing number of Chinese passengers,” the company said in an earnings statement. Organic growth across Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia rose 22.1 per cent.

Globally, the Swiss company’s turnover grew by 7.2 per cent to CHF 4.097 billion (US$4.112 billion). Earnings before interest and tax grew 38.4 per cent to CHF 124.6 million.

Dufry says its organic sales growth rose by 5.5 per cent thanks to an expansion and refurbishment program across the group.

In the first half of this year, it expanded and opened 13,200sqm of gross retail space, which included new operations aboard 12 cruise ships, totalling 3500sqm across 38 stores. A further 22,400sqm of refurbishments are planned during the second half year, including the implementation of its new generation store concept at Heathrow Airport’s T3.