Destination Guadeloupe: Dufry unveils new walk-through store at Pôle Caraïbes Airport

GUADELOUPE. Dufry last Friday inaugurated its newly refurbished walk-through store at Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport in the Caribbean.

The store, sited in the international departures hall, occupies 800sqm, an increase of +60% over its forerunner. The inauguration follows the company’s opening of two other landside stores in May 2017: Beach Store, a surf shop located on the ground floor of the international terminal; and a Hudson convenience shop in T2, serving regional traffic.

The refurbishment was carried out in partnership with CAFOM, Dufry’s local partner in Guadeloupe, and with Société Aéroportuaire Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes.

“It is crucial that each store fits into the backdrop of the country in which it is located, and we would not be where we are today without our local teams” – Pedro Castro, Division CEO for Southern Europe & Africa, Dufry

Dufry has been operating in Guadeloupe for 17 years and has concluded (with CAFOM) a further ten-year contract. This latest collaboration is the result of two years’ planning, development and implementation, the company said.

The next projects for the partnership are to be unveiled in coming months. These feature a new 108sqm Hudson News store landside in the international terminal and a complete revamp of the regional departure hall duty free shop. The latter will involve a tripling of commercial space.

Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport is ranked first amongst the French Overseas Departments’ airports and 11th at national level, Dufry said. It handled over two million passengers last year, serving as the gateway to a tourist destination famed for its beaches and nature parks.

Sense of Place to the fore

Dufry said it was determined to reflect the spirit of Guadeloupe in its new stores, which offer over 300 local food and liquor products. These include Guadeloupian rum brands such as Damoiseau, Bologne, Bielle, Longueteau, Karukera and Madras, accompanied by a new tasting bar with 250 sampling days planned each year for local rums.

The duty free store offers a wide assortment of local delicacies, such as fine chocolate and confectionery goods, jam, honey, locally grown and produced coffee. All these are key reflections of the eco-tourism which the island has to offer, Dufry said.

For those who want to take home a memory of their moments in a beach restaurant or ‘lolo’, eating fresh fish ‘accras’, the store sells bottles of the islands’ renowned spicy sauce. “The focus on local culture and produce in-store is an important aspect of Dufry’s business approach and a key part of the Dufry Pôle Caraïbes concept,” the company noted.

Strong international offer

As well as celebrating local flavour, the duty free store provides customers with Dufry’s international brand assortment, tailored to the airport’s passenger profile.

The retailer has doubled the perfume and cosmetics area to 200sqm, a quarter of the shop’s commercial area. The company’s signature walk-through design ensures that all passengers get to see and experience the offer.

“The inauguration we are celebrating marks the pursuit of our business relations for the next ten years and I am sure that they will be as fruitful as the 17 that have just ended” – Chairman of the Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport Management Board, Alain Bièvre

Great importance has been placed on making the retail proposition “new and exciting”, said Dufry, noting that the final assortment followed a “complete review, renewal and update of the product range”. In the perfume and cosmetics section, based on customer demand, 18 new brands have been introduced, including Zadig & Voltaire, Escada, Roberto Cavalli, Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger, Clinique, Nuxe, and OPI.

In the jewellery and watches category, the store now houses eight new brands, including Hugo Boss, Swatch, Skagen and Daniel Wellington. In sunglasses, another eight new brands make their debut here, including Maui Jim, Havaianas, Polaroid and Armani.

The fashion category has also been updated with “iconic global brands” such as Furla, Dufry said.

“Dufry was chosen amongst tough competition from other key operators, but the company’s experience, very precise knowledge of the specific expectations of our customers and above all the business ties, partnerships and trust that has been established with local producers is what made the difference” – Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Colette Koury

The inauguration was presided over by Pedro Castro, the Division CEO for Southern Europe & Africa at Dufry; Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Colette Koury; and Chairman of the Management Board, Alain Bièvre.

Colette Koury said: “The strengthening of our partnership with Dufry was a strategic decision, to group all the boutiques operated by different retailers in the boarding area into a single commercial space, with a walk-through concept. Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes was the first ‘Département d’Outre Mer’ airport to house this new shop concept, which was very innovative at the time.

“Dufry was chosen amongst tough competition from other key operators, but the company’s experience, very precise knowledge of the specific expectations of our customers and above all the business ties, partnerships and trust that has been established with local producers is what made the difference.”

She congratulated Dufry and André Saada of CAFOM, for the renewal of its commercial concession agreement for ten years.

Bièvre said: “The inauguration we are celebrating marks the pursuit of our business relations for the next ten years and I am sure that they will be as fruitful as the 17 that have just ended. We are delighted with the professionalism, reactivity, and the best-in-retail standards that Dufry brings to Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes airport.”

Castro said: “It is crucial that each store fits into the backdrop of the country in which it is located, and we would not be where we are today without our local teams.

“We have had the good fortune to work with Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport for 17 years almost to the day. The two-way support and sharing of know-how for our mutual business needs and objectives, to create the commercial offer that the airport has achieved today, is an example to follow and repeat across the world.

“Our fantastic local partners, CAFOM, have been crucial in adjusting our business strategy here to best fit in the Guadeloupian local context and we are positive that the outcome of these strong partnerships will provide the foundation for our joint success over the next 10 years.”

Castro concluded: “In a difficult economic context, we have created 15 new job positions today, and plan to keep expanding and investing in this local area throughout our partnership. I wish to thank the airport for the trust they continue to place in us. We hope that our passengers enjoy our new store as much as we do and are delighted to be here to celebrate this milestone today.”