UK. World Duty Free has officially opened a 302sq m tax and duty free store at London Southend Airport.
The Dufry-owned travel retailer commenced operations at the store in November 2016, working in partnership with previous operator the Stobart Group.
World Duty Free said it had introduced a wider range of brands at the Stobart Aviation-owned regional airport. Among the bestsellers so far are Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Ray-Ban and Swarovski.
When the company took over the store operation, five of the existing Stobart team transferred across and the total headcount in the store is now fourteen.
London Southend forecasts passenger traffic of just over one million in 2017.
Broad selection: World Duty Free has introduced a wider range of brands
Dufry Managing Director for the UK and Germany Fred Creighton said: “Since it started trading towards the end of last year, our Southend store has exceeded all expectations and sales are well ahead of what was forecast. This is due in no small part to the great store team led by manager John Miles and of course to the outstanding support we’ve had from the Stobart Group, with whom we quickly developed an excellent working relationship. We expect the store to continue going from strength to strength.”
Stobart Aviation CEO Glyn Jones said: “World Duty Free are a world class operation and we feel that since the store launch they have provided a fantastic product offering and exceptional customer service. We look forward to a successful future together.”
