RUSSIA. Dufry has concluded a transaction to acquire 51% of a joint venture with Regstaer Group, further expanding its presence in Russia. Regstaer Group holds Regstaer’s duty free operations at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow and generates annual sales in excess of US$50 million.
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“This is an important transaction for Dufry as it substantially strengthens our position in the Russian airport travel retail market and sets the basis for developing other travel retail markets in the region“ |
Julián Díaz Chief Executive Officer Dufry Group |
The transaction further includes an exclusive commercial and purchasing agreement for Regstaer Group’s operation at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow.
Dufry already has operations at Sheremetyevo Airport as well as at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. It said it could generate “important synergies” through the acquisition of one of its peers in Russia as well as the possibility of developing together with Regstaer Group at Vnukovo Airport, the third airport in Moscow. Dufry said the transaction will allow it to achieve a pre-eminent position in Russia, forming the basis for further development of the business in the region.
On the operational side, the acquired business complements Dufry’s existing operations at Sheremetyevo Airport and Regstaer will add nine duty free shops with a total retail space of 1,200sq m in different terminals of the airport. The shops offer a general duty free assortment, including perfumes & cosmetics, accessories and wine & spirits.
The acquired business, which employs a workforce of 200 persons, will be integrated into Dufry’s existing local organisation and the new operations will be managed jointly with Dufry’s other business in Russia.
Sheremetyevo International Airport is Russia’s second busiest airport with 14 million international passengers per year. It is also one of the fastest growing airports in Europe and recorded a passenger growth of close to +20% in the last 12 months.
Dufry CEO Julián Díaz commented: “This is an important transaction for Dufry as it substantially strengthens our position in the Russian airport travel retail market and sets the basis for developing other travel retail markets in the region.
“We have been an important player in the country since more than ten years and with this transaction, we have established ourselves as the leading operator with a strong presence in the two largest airports in the country, namely Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo. Thanks to our partners, we will also be able to support them in their business at Vnukovo Airport and we are very happy to team up with such a strong local competitor.
“By combining the new businesses with our existing ones in the country, we will be further able to extract a substantial amount of synergies in the region.”
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RegStaer already has a significant presence at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport via its Duty Free Moscow stores |
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