POLAND. Flemingo International subsidiary Baltona Duty Free has signed a concession agreement to develop and operate duty free stores with Baltic Sea Ferry company Unity Line.
The travel retail concession includes four Unity Line ships for a period of three years starting 1 November.
Polish ferry operator Unity Line operates on routes between Świnoujście in Poland and the Swedish ports of Ystad and Trelleborg. This year marks the 15th anniversary of ferry services between Ystad and Świnoujście.
The new Baltona contract comprises 500sq m of retail space and the establishment of duty free and travel retail shop-in-shops, serving over 500,000 ferry passengers annually.
The four vessels – Skania, Polonia, Gryf and Wolin – will see new stores offering a range of core category products such as liquor, tobacco, perfumes, cosmetics, confectionery and watches, as well as jewellery, fashion, accessories and sunglasses, among others.
Baltona Duty Free CEO Piotr Kazimierski said: “We are excited to be extending into the ferry business as we originally come from the shipping business. We [have] supplied the ships since 1946 so we are happy to add the ferry [channel] to our portfolio”
“[The] marine connection Świnoujście -Trelleborg has the status of a marine highway. Thanks to that, the port has acquired funding for the development of ferry terminals. As part of the new investment, the whole terminal will be reconstructed (ramp, railway, passenger gallery and handling equipment). This new investment means new business opportunities for the ferry terminal.”
The Unity Line is a part of Polsteam, Poland’s largest ship-owner and one of the largest in Europe, operating 54 ships with total capacity of 2,017 million dead-weight tonnage (dwt) — the amount a ship can safely carry.
