NORTH MACEDONIA. ATÜ Duty Free has opened a refurbished 326sq m store at Skopje International Airport.
Among the brands introduced at the location are Armani and Prada sunglasses, Buckley accessories, Fossil and Tommy Hilfiger watches, Travel Blue accessories, Cartier, Narciso Rodriguez and Tom Ford fragrances, alongside Tikiri toys.
ATÜ Duty Free is a partnership between Gebr. Heinemann-controlled Unifree Duty Free and TAV Airports. The store was inaugurated recently with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski, ATÜ Duty Free CEO Ersan Arcan, ATÜ Duty Free Operations Manager in North Macedonia Murat Demirag and TAV Macedonia General Manager Metin Batak.
After the opening ceremony, representatives of the retailer welcomed the first passenger that entered the shop with a special gift.
Minister Bochvarski noted that Skopje International Airport is the first point of contact for passengers visiting the country. He stated that travellers welcome ATÜ Duty Free’s presence and recognise how it is raising the service bar with this new investment.
Ersan Arcan said: “We are happy to contribute to the development of North Macedonia’s civil aviation and tourism with our store investments and expanded operation at Skopje and Ohrid airports. Türkiye and North Macedonia share deep-rooted historical, economic and cultural ties, and we are happy to build a bridge between the two countries in the field of aviation.
“We have invested approximately €1 million in North Macedonia so far. Since the start of our operations at Skopje and Ohrid Airports in 2010, we have achieved significant growth in our duty free operation. In parallel with the expansion of our operation, our contribution to employment has also increased.
“We have gathered here to inaugurate our main duty free store, where we have completed the expansion project with an investment of nearly half a million Euros for the increasing number of passengers, the demand in duty free shops and our expanding operation in line with the future projections we have built for North Macedonia. Our new main duty free store at Skopje Airport will continue to offer passengers a unique shopping experience with a wide range of products, including local products, along with world-renowned elite brands.”
On behalf of TAV Airports, Metin Batak said: “As an airport operator, TAV always strives and commits its efforts to bring the best airport services and air travel experience to its passengers and clients. Therefore, we are happy today to celebrate the grand opening of the new duty free sales outlet from ATÜ Duty Free, our sister company.
“We believe that this new duty free shop is yet another added value to passengers’ experience and benefits while travelling through Skopje International Airport. From today on, our clients will have the privilege and advantage to enjoy a unique duty free retail shopping experience at this concept store. We are at the same time delighted for ATÜ. Their major investment in this new shop and extensive duty free portfolio is now further enhancing the travel retail shopping experience at Skopje Airport.”
In addition to the revamped 326sq m outlet, the retailer manages a further 32sq m Macedonian wines store at Skopje Airport. It also runs a 50sq m duty free store at Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport. ✈
