Sky Duty Free set to open first land border store in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

BRAZIL. Sky Duty Free will open its first land border duty free store in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil in coming weeks.

The independent travel retailer already operates several duty free stores in Asia (including in Langkawi, Malaysia) under the Sky name. It will hold a soft opening for its 550sq m Foz do Iguaçu store followed by a Grand Opening in the New Year.

Sky Duty Free will offer a wide range of spirits, wine, tobacco products, perfumes & cosmetics, and food & confectionery.

“Many brands have already visited us and love the shop. Brazil is going to be a huge hit [for land border duty free]”

Sky Duty Free enjoys a prime position in the popular tourist destination of Foz do Iguaçu

Foz do Iguaçu, located in the Brazilian state of Paraná, is gateway to the famous Iguaçu Falls, one of the world’s largest waterfalls. Foz do Iguaçu borders Puerto Iguazú in Argentina and the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este.

The Sky Duty Free store is the city’s first land border duty free store, and follows the Brazilian government’s 2018 decision to establish the channel. As reported,  current legislation allows 33 Brazilian cities to open border duty free stores. So far six stores have opened: Dufry do Brasil, Central Free Shop, Brasil Free Shop and New York Free Shop in Uruguaiana; Free Shop Caraballat in Jaguarão; and Emporio Duty Free in Barra do Quarai.

At the inaugural Latin American border store conference (Encuentro de Frontera 2019) held in Porto Alegre on 5-6 November, it was announced that seven new border duty free stores (including Sky Duty Free) would open inside Brazilian territory by year-end.

The nearby Iguaçu Falls are one of the world’s great tourist attractions
Picture credit: visitefoz.com.br

Sky Duty Free Director Alex Beridze told The Moodie Davitt Report that the opening had been delayed until the licence was finally issued last Thursday but all was now set fair for the opening. The Internal Revenue Service had approved the operation one day earlier.

Stocks are still arriving in due to the delay, but the company has received good support from many leading brands, including Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Hennessy, PMI and JTI, he said. Sky Duty Free is looking for more beauty, tobacco, beer and spirits brands, he said.

This store shot was taken weeks earlier, pre-stocking and brand personalisation, before the licence was granted

“Many brands have already visited us and love the shop,” he said. “But we’re also looking to talk to several brands that are missing. Brazil is going to be a huge hit [for land border duty free],” he said. “Some of the brands don’t yet understand that and will be late – but other brands are taking up their places.

“We are already working on other locations and hope to open a few more shops in Brazil in the first quarter of next year. Plus, we will tender on new opportunities that open up globally. As a company… we are looking to expand as fast as possible.

“Our store here has been ready for a long time and we are ready to go,” Beridze said. “We are in a very good location. We are right on the border with Argentina and Paraguay. We are exactly in the centre of town where everything happens. The borders are very nearby as are the waterfalls. We’re surrounded by hotels and all the hotel rooms are fully booked upfront for months. It’s amazing here.”

Beridze noted that intra-regional tourism and travel retail spending is set for a sharp boost following last week’s agreement between the Mercosur countries to increase the buying allowance for tourists travelling around the region to US$1,000.

Footnote: To contact Sky Duty Free email info@skydutyfree.com

Food & Beverage The Magazine eZine