BRAZIL. Global retail giant Dufry is thinking local with the launch of a destination merchandise store at São Paulo International Airport (GRU Airport).
The 500sq m store in Terminal 3 departures area offers a diverse array of Brazilian products from premium local brands. It evokes a strong Sense of Place via a wide selection of categories, including perfumes & cosmetics, confectionery, spirits and fashion. Dufry launched the ‘Destination’ concept in Brazil in 2016.
Dufry said that the store presents unique concepts that capture São Paulo’s atmosphere in an environment reflecting the city’s way of life. Popular touristic and local sites are embodied in the offer.
Each brand has its dedicated space and is represented within themed city neighbourhoods. For example, the ‘Oscar Freire’ area offers products from renowned fashion brands such as Farm, Lenny Niemeyer, Cia Maritima, Osklen and Havaianas.
“Upon leaving the country, travellers will… be able to take part of Brazil with them through the products of the best and famous local brands.” – Dufry General Manager for Brazil and Bolivia Gustavo Fagundes
The ‘Ibirapuera’ space offers products for pets products and sports brands, including Zee Dog and Penalty. ‘Avenida Paulista’ presents souvenirs and Natura products. In ‘Vila Madalena’, confectionery items such as Garoto chocolates and local spirits including cachaças Leblon, Mata-Velha and Sagatiba are available.
Dufry General Manager for Brazil and Bolivia Gustavo Fagundes said: “This new space is another successful accomplishment of our project expansion and partnership with GRU Airport.
“In this space, we aim to bring a sense of place to international and Brazilian travellers, showing typical local brands in an exclusive retail environment. Upon leaving the country, they will have a unique shopping experience and be able to take part of Brazil with them through the products of the best and famous local brands.
“Dufry strongly believes in the potential of travel retail in Brazil. Therefore we are introducing this concept, that has already proven elsewhere to be hugely successful, to attract more passengers to our shops. We thank GRU Airport for this long-standing partnership and, we trust to continue with many other opportunities and achievements together going forward.”
Test-piloting drones in-store
The world’s leading travel retailer by turnover has also recently extended its T3 electronics space to 235sq m. The reimagined environment is designed to encourage customer testing and a more interactive experience. Tailored spaces are offered to several brands including JBL, Bose and DJI to accentuate the interactive focus. The store features a flying area for DJI, the world leader in drones, allowing customers to test-pilot them. New brands will be released soon, including Garmin and Sonos.
Dufry has run arrivals and departures stores in GRU Airport for several years and has a long-term contract. The company manages a 34-store, near-15,000sq m retail footprint across GRU, combining traditional duty free arrivals and departures shops with luxury and fashion brand boutiques and Hudson stores.
GRU Airport is the largest hub in Latin America. It handled over 37 million passengers in 2017, with some 40 million expected this year.
