PANAMA. Tocumen International Airport will issue a tender for three separate duty free areas in the second half of January 2017.
Incumbents Grupo Wisa and Motta Internacional’s contracts expire in December 2017. A spokesperson for the airport told The Moodie Davitt Report that a decision had been made to issue the tender early as it is was expecting the process to take more time than usual. The Waked organisation, which controls Grupo Wisa and its La Riviera brand, is facing charges of money laundering and this factor is likely to have influenced the airport’s decision, but the spokesperson said there was no official link.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced extensive sanctions against the Waked organisation in May.
The airport is under no legal requirement to close Grupo Wisa’s stores. The spokesperson noted that the company could participate in the tender “if it met all the requirements”, but said if the retailer was unable to do business with US companies then its inventory would naturally be lower.
Grupo Wisa has already voluntarily closed electronics & mobile accessories stores at Tocumen International, the spokesperson said.
Tocumen airport is seeking two duty free retailers to operate the three 700sq m spaces in Terminal 1. Retailers can bid for a maximum of two areas, with one company operating one space and the other operating two.
The contracts run for ten years and will operate according to a Minimum Annual Guarantee model. Successful bidders will also be required to pay an undisclosed amount upfront, which will be deducted from monthly payments.
The airport is looking for retailers with experience in a number of airports worldwide and that can demonstrate economic solvency. The spokesperson noted that DFASS, DFS Group, Dufry, Duty Free Americas and Gebr. Heinemann were among the interested retailers, while the airport is also expecting Motta Internacional to participate in the tender.
The timeline for the tender and a decision on awarding the contracts is not yet known.
The spokesperson said that tenders for electronics, food & beverage and brand stores in Terminal 1 would follow around April-May 2017. The airport will also issue tenders for concessions in the 12,000sq m of commercial space in the upcoming Terminal 2 building, scheduled to open in 2018, around the same time.
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