Having successfully operated the duty-free stores in the airport since 2006, new contract signifies more than just the extension of a business agreement; it symbolizes strengthening Avolta’s presence in Eastern Europe.
Avolta is delighted to announce the win of a new seven-year concession contract at Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport, encompassing the operation of ten duty-free shops, including hybrid elements. With a combined floorspace of more than 3,500 m², these new shops will offer a distinctive travel retail experience masterfully blended with food & beverage for travelers through Serbia’s busiest airport, strengthening Avolta’s presence in Eastern Europe.
Having successfully operated the duty-free stores in the airport since 2006, this contract win signifies more than just the extension of a business agreement; it symbolizes an opportunity for Avolta to deepen its collaboration with airport partners, innovating through hybrid concepts, giving travelers the best of both travel retail and F&B. In this way, it further reinforces the value fostering innovation and delivering a superior travel experience seamlessly integrating retail and F&B services.
The centerpiece of the new retail space is a remarkably sized walk-through duty-free store, the newest of Avolta’s ‘store of the future’, showcasing a strong sense of place with a diverse range of brands and travel exclusive products across all core product categories. Alongside a sleek and interactive Apple shop-in-shop concept, Avolta introduces two additional shop-in-shop concepts, its latest wellbeing concept mind. body. soul. catering to the growing demand for health, wellbeing and sustainability focused products, as well as its immersive phygital experiential concept Haute Parfumerie, elevating the fragrance discovery experience.
Alongside an Apple shop-in-shop concept, Avolta is introducing two additional shop-in-shop concepts – its wellbeing concept mind. body. soul
Leveraging Avolta’s travel retail and food & beverage strengths, the new space includes a strong hybrid element to this expansive space with three distinct food & beverage concepts. A Welcome Bar greets travelers at every entrance with a range of beverages and icecream and a small seating area, while our mind. body. soul. café builds on the shop-inshop concept to offer organic products like fresh juices and healthy raw cakes with a dedicated small seated area. Our Rakia Bar, celebrating the region’s potent fruit brandies, offers a full selection of Rakia with customer sampling in a large bar and seated area complemented with a full menu of warm meals and sandwiches.
In addition, Avolta will operate five fashion boutiques representing renowned brands such as Boss, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Victoria‘s Secret and Avolta’s multibrand store concept Urban Attitude. Two dedicated children’s shops, Candy Fair and Toy Fair, will provide a delightful shopping experience for younger travelers. Specialized souvenir store, „Belgrade Market“ will embody the spirit of the region, celebrating local products and bringing a strong sense of place.
Commenting on the new contract, Luis Marin, Regional President and CEO EMEA for Avolta AG said „We are extremely proud to have been awarded this contract in Belgrade and we would like to thank VINCI and the airport team for the continued trust they have shown in us.
As the leading global travel experience player – and now as a combined business – we will use our extensive knowledge and expertise in this region to take the airport’s shopping experience to an entirely new level, for the over seven million passengers who visit Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport each year. This contract win is a demonstration of the momentum in our EMEA growth strategy, adding to the continued performance and positive expectations we see across all our geographies as most recently demonstrated in our strong Q3 results – another quarter in which Avolta delivered its targets“.
Avolta will run five fashion boutiques representing brands such as Boss, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Victoria‘s Secret and Avolta’s multibrand store concept Urban Attitude
Miodrag Mirkovic, Chief Commercial Officer at Belgrade Airport, said, „We are delighted to continue the successful cooperation with Avolta and enhance it further, thanks to the three times larger future commercial areas than before. The planned store-of-the-future concept at our airport will be among the first in Europe, and our passengers will be able to enjoy this next level of design innovations, engagement and comfort offered“.
About Avolta: Avolta AG, (SIX: AVOL) is a leading global travel experience player. With the traveler at its strategic core, Avolta maximizes every moment of the traveler’s journey through its combination of travel retail and travel food & beverage, passion for innovation and excellent execution. Avolta’s well-diversified business across geographical, channel and brand portfolio pillars operates in 75 countries and 1,200 locations, with 5,500 points of sale across three segments – duty-free, food & beverage and convenience – and various channels, including airports, motorways, cruises ferries, railway, border shops and downtown. An inherent element of Avolta’s business strategy is found in ESG, aiming for sustainable and profitable growth of the company while fostering high standards of environmental stewardship and social equity – making meaningful impact in the local communities. The company’s access to 2,3 billion passengers each year reinforces the power of it’s more than 60.000 people, committed to surprising guests and delivering solid execution, supporting the company in creating value for all stakeholders.