From the multi-colored striped lights of the MAC boutique that beckon to travelers passing through immigration, to the specially curated selection of products for transit passengers at the far side of the store, Dufry’s $7 million renovation of the Lima Duty Free stores at Jorge Chavez International airport in Peru is a world class addition to the travel retail offer in Latin America.
Dufry and airport operator Lima Airport Partners (LAP) inaugurated the store with a gala ribbon cutting on Monday, August 8. Following presentations by René Riedi, chief executive officer of Dufry’s Latin America division, LAP CEO Juan José Salmón and Dufry Peru Gerente General Edgar Farfan Trelles, LAP Commercial Officer Sabine Trenk officially cut the ribbon (photo above).
Dufry Divisional Commercial Director, Latin America & Caribbean Cyrille Beauviche, and Oscar Garcia Pedrosa, DCOO – Interbaires-Dufry
Dufry worked very closely with Lima Airport Partners during the renovation of the duty free stores at Jorge Chávez International Airport, a company which Dufry has worked continuously with since 2001.
Commercial spaces now occupy a total of 3,025 sq. meters over three stores – double the previous space – with nearly 2,400 sq. meters in the departures area alone. Dufry took full advantage of the space to design modern, appealing and efficient shopping areas that still embodied a ‘sense of place’ through incorporating aspects that align with the culture and unique features of the host city.
With its ‘walk through’ format, Lima Duty Free leads passengers into the curved and faceted space which offers a complex mix of reflections and images, representing the dynamic and changing character of the city of Lima.
Local Peruvian color at the official opening of Lima Duty Free on Aug. 8.
The ceiling and floor create a flow through the store, with the overlapping ceiling panels subtly representing the stones of the ancient Inca heritage of Peru.
Capitalizing on the expanded retail area, the new commercial offer features 15 new brands including Tom Ford, Givenchy Make Up, Urban Decay, Viktor & Rolf, Giorgio Armani Make Up and Polaroid. Seven of the new brands are not currently available in the local market, adding to their exclusivity and appeal.
The Lima Duty Free stores offer all the traditional travel retail categories, as well as a wide range of watches, leather goods, sunglasses and other items. The perfumes and cosmetics selective is particularly extensive, with promotional areas for travel retail sets, duos, promotions and local brands.
A special feature of the store is the “Thinking Peru” area (pictured above), dedicated to a broad range of local products, including local spirit pisco, chocolate produced from the famous Peruvian cacao, and other delicacies like turrones and alfajores, and beautiful scarves, gloves and hats made from alpaca and kuna.
The design of the “Thinking Peru” space is based on elements and materials inherent to the Peruvian culture, such as the colorful lattice across the ceiling that brings to mind the traditional Peruvian fabrics.
In his speech, René Riedi stressed that “for us the renovation and expansion of our new Lima Duty Free commercial space is a clear commitment to long-term investment in one of the major airports in which we operate in Latin America. With these new stores, we have completely renewed and updated our offer at Jorge Chávez International Airport. We seek to bring together a wide range of designs from the most exclusive brands, without losing local essence and flavor. In addition, the expansion of the commercial space allows us to offer our customers a much more exciting in store experience, which includes brands that wouldn’t normally be found on the high street.
The remodeling of the Lima Duty Free stores forms part of Dufry’s global plan to offer all its customers a WorldClass experience.
“We thank LAP for the trust they have placed in Dufry, and we are proud of what we have achieved in collaboration with this important partner. We look forward to passengers enjoying the new commercial offer, and to continuing to work closely with this airport for many years to come,” concluded Reidi.
LAP CEO Juan José Salmón told TMI that LAP is very pleased with the look of the store and how well Dufry worked with LAP to create such a world class shopping environment.
LAP Commercial Officer Sabine Trenk added that LAP saw that other airports were investing in improving their commercial offer and LAP wanted to create the best, most appealing offer.
TMI will present more detailed information in a future issue.
