Irish airport retailer ARI expands global presence in Montenegro and invests online

Irish global travel retailer Aer Rianta International has won the duty-free concession to operate stores at airports in Tivat and Podgorica in the Balkan state of Montenegro on the Adriatic Sea.

The new contract will run for five years, with the opening of two stores under the “Montenegro Duty Free” brand before the end of the year. The outlets are small: at Tivat airport, it will be a little over 1,000 square feet and in Podgorica, which serves the capital, it will be 1,300 square feet.

However, the victory is an important comeback in the wider Balkan region where markets like Croatia and Slovenia have emerged as major tourist destinations, and where there are good long-term growth prospects for other countries like the Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria. ARI, part of the state-owned daa group that operates Irish airports in Dublin and Cork, was in Kosovo for a brief period in the past.

The award-winning owner, Airports of Montenegro, selected ARI based on a variety of criteria, but Executive Director Danilo Orlandic specifically cited “ARI’s long legacy of operating in new locations ”and the“ global standard of duty-free shopping experiences ”, the company has brought to small and medium-volume airports. Larnaca airport on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean is a good example.

The dealership also underlines ARI’s commitment to develop the retail channel despite the current slump in sales due to travel restrictions and quarantine rules that industry tries to backtrack in favor of testing.

Commenting on the contract, ARI CEO Ray Hernan said: “The opening of new stores in Tivat and Pogorica this year is a sign of our strong balance sheet. We are committed to profitable long-term growth and will invest in the Montenegro market for at least the next five years. “

When the two location-appropriate stores open, they will offer the main travel retail categories of perfumes and cosmetics, spirits and confectionery, as well as sunglasses and designer jewelry, both of which are said to be very popular with consumers. local Montenegrin travelers and tourists. Local wines and local products will also be part of the offer.

Chief Operating Officer at ARI, Nuno Amaral said “a huge selection” of premium spirits and luxury beauty brands will be available, including Chanel, Dior, Tom Ford and By Killian. “This corresponds to the region’s ambitions to become a modern, glamorous and luxurious luxury destination,” he said.

Dynamism of e-commerce in North America

Meanwhile, in North America, ARI recently upgraded its e-commerce platform for passengers at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport where they are encouraged to pre-order products online before traveling to The duty free loop. The “click and collect” service is available up to 90 days before the flight.

The new website was designed to feature over 4,000 branded products and now uses near real-time cataloging, inventory, pricing, promotions and orders.

Canadian introduction follows inaugural launch of same platform in Ireland last year, and at The Loop at Auckland Airport in New Zealand in February.

Sarah Jane Lynch, Head of Ecommerce and Innovation at ARI, tells Forbes.com: “We have invested a lot to relaunch our website and have had positive results. This signals the importance of the digital future in our offering, as we deliver a true seamless retail experience across the range.

“We launched our new platform in 2019 in Ireland and have seen a dramatic change in the number of users to the site and the conversion. We’re still in the early stages, but as an example of early results, in Ireland in Q4 2019 we saw a 113% increase in sales, 41% in conversions and 80% in sessions. ”

Last year, in the same quarter in Ireland, 3.3% of ARI’s beauty product sales were made online “and it just keeps growing,” says Lynch.

In 2019, ARI’s profit on ordinary activities after taxes and non-controlling interests amounted to € 13 million, compared to € 11.1 million in 2018. Group profit for the year last reached 150.2 million euros for a turnover of 935 million euros.