SOUTH KOREA. The Shilla Duty Free, Shinsegae, Doosan and Lotte Duty Free have responded to Incheon International Airport Corporation’s (IIAC) revised tenders for the Terminal 1 duty free concessions recently exited by Lotte, according to local media (subsequently confirmed by The Moodie Davitt Report).
Shinsegae confirmed it was bidding in an interview in the latest issue of The Moodie Davitt Report. The other bidders were named today by Yonhap News Agency and others.
IIAC has combined the previous three packages into two, and bidders were able to apply for both packages. Perfume & cosmetics was combined with ‘all categories’ into one package, while leathergoods and fashion accessories remained a separate opportunity.
Lotte cited the “burden of rent increases” following the sharp downturn in Chinese tourists in 2017 amid the THAAD dispute with China as the reason for its exit, but the retailer has maintained its core liquor & tobacco business.
A Lotte spokesperson told The Moodie Davitt Report: “We believe Lotte Duty Free holds a prominent position in the evaluation of business capability. The key part is the price of the bid. As we decided to return the former licenses due to the difficulties caused by high rent in unpredicted situations, we will pay close attention in suggesting the bid price in this retender.”
Confirming its bid, a spokesperson from The Shilla Duty Free told The Moodie Davitt Report: “The Shilla Duty Free has successfully secured duty free concessions at Incheon, Changi and Hong Kong. Shilla is the first and only travel retailer to operate at three major Asian hub airports simultaneously. Our speciality and know-how of airport duty free have yielded a proven record of successful business at the world’s leading airports and we are going to highlight our exceptional competitiveness to harness the best result from this bidding.”
IIAC will recommend two top candidates to the customs office for a final decision by early next month, local media said.
The new five-year contracts are scheduled to start on 6 July.
