Avolta has substantially expanded its business by operating all types of commercial spaces, including travel retail, hybrid and F&B formats, as well as acting as master concessionaire partner in some locations. Avolta develops best-in-class concepts based on our deep understanding of customer expectations and access to comprehensive data on shopping and eating behaviors in each location, creating value and maximizing revenue generation. Our portfolio includes both highly specialized concepts as well as hybrid formats, allowing us to completely revolutionize customer experience. The trust our concession partners place in us makes Avolta the leading travel experience player, with operations at over 5,100 outlets across 70 countries, in airports, motorways, seaports, railway stations, down-town areas, border crossings, cruise liners & ferries, hotels and other locations with captive audiences.
Benefitting from the widest industry experience
Traditionally featuring a comprehensive portfolio of attractive concepts tailored to the individual needs of duty-free, duty-paid and F&B environments, serving domestic and international passengers, Avolta constantly renews and updates its formats to meet expectations of existing, and newly emerging customer profiles.
Intelligence on changing profiles and customer insights is regularly collected through dedicated surveys, in-store technologies and by analyzing social media engagement of our customers. This forms the basis of successful marketing initiatives tailored to the specific requirements of each airport or any other type of location. Our global presence and the extensive intelligence of customer profiles are core competitive advantages and key drivers to increase sales and profitability, combined with our ongoing evolution of shop design and customer services.
Avolta’s physical travel retail and F&B concepts are supported by an array of online services and platforms, which considerably increase the number of touch-points along the traveler’s journey. Complemented by extensive expertise in all operational and regulatory aspects, as well as the sustainability management systems provided by Avolta, concession partners receive a complete package to best operate their spaces in a profitable and sustainable way.
Highly digitalized smart stores with an authentic sense of place
In line with its strategy, Avolta continues to drive digitalization of its shops and restaurants. This enables us to offer new services to travelers, increase engagement with instore messaging that adapts language in real-time to target nationalities passing through at different times of the day, and implement location-specific formats with attractive designs that evoke a strong sense of place. Most recent examples include the newly refurbished duty-free shop at Mexico City International Airport (Mexico) and Calgary International Airport’s (Canada) “Summit House” which offers travelers a new dining adventure with an authentic taste of Calgary, by way of serving local favorite dishes coupled with a selection of award-winning beers from one of the city’s best-known craft breweries.
Our highly digitalized shops and F&B outlets continue to evolve, incorporating pre-order applications, integration of our Club Avolta loyalty program, phygital experiences, contactless shopping and palm recognition technologies, with innovations typically implemented during refurbishments or during the construction of new outlets. For a more detailed description of our digital strategy read the full document here.
Avolta’s concepts allow for a high degree of customization, including sense-of-place designs, which remains an important aspect. Avolta knows how to match local requirements and specific customer profiles with suitable commercial formats, to best serve travelers’ needs while generating value for concession partners and Avolta alike.
Real Partnership for mutual value creation
Over the many years we have been in the business, we advocated for the importance of close collaboration between concession partners and operators of retail and F&B formats to optimize customer satisfaction and sales. Joining forces with our concession partners, creates attractive commercial spaces in airports that maximize spend from the traveler’s arrival until boarding and – if legislation allows – replicate this for arrivals duty-free.
Important contract wins, extensions and footprint increases
In 2024, Avolta successfully secured new concessions and contract extensions while significantly expanding its footprint with the purchase of the Free Duty concession, a leading border travel retail operator in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The acquisition grants access to 150 million passengers and is forecasted to generate CHF 250 million sales in the 2024 business year. Footprint expansion, new concessions and contract extensions foster the company’s resilience with the necessary “operating licenses” to serve meals as well as selling products and services in the years to come. The current remaining lifetime of Avolta’s portfolio amounts to over seven years.
Key highlights in 2024, additional to the Free Duty purchase, include several major long-term contract wins. Among others, the newly awarded eighteen-year contract to operate numerous duty-free, travel convenience, and specialty retail stores, as well as hybrid concepts across 2,600 m2, in John F. Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) Terminal 6. At Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Türkiye, Avolta was awarded a nine-year contract for 26 F&B outlets, including the extension of 22 existing stores and the opening of 4 new ones. A a ten-year extension was won at Athens International Airport until the beginning of 2034, which sees Avolta continue to operate 31 retail stores, over a combined floor space of more than 4,900 m2 in Greece’s busiest airport. Avolta also bolstered its presence in Bulgaria with an eight-year contract extension, 6 new stores and an increase in its total retail space to 2,707 m2 at Burgas and Varna airports. The tender win marks a significant milestone granting the company the exclusive Master Retail Concession airside at Burgas and Varna airports. In addition, a fifteen-year contract at John Wayne Airport in California will improve options for travelers with more food and beverage outlets, as well as multiple travel convenience and specialty retail stores covering nearly 3,500 m2 of concession space. The win of a ten-year contract for 17 F&B outlets at Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany will provide access to 17 million customers.
In Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avolta won a new seven-year concession contract at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (Serbia), encompassing the operation of ten duty-free shops, including hybrid elements and featuring a combined floorspace of more than 3,500 m2. Avolta also expanded its footprint in Africa through the win of a ten-year duty-free store contract at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos (Nigeria), the largest airport in Nigeria and one of the busiest in Africa. Avolta also entered the Saudi Arabian market with a new contract to operate 10 F&B concepts, spanning 2,125 m2, across King Khalid International Airport’s Terminals 1 and 2 in Riyadh. In North America, alongside J.F. Kennedy International Airport’s contract mentioned above, Hudson signed a seven-year contract at Pittsburgh International Airport to open 6 new retail stores across 2,400 m2 and won a new eight-year contract to open 3 additional retail stores at Salt Lake City International Airport. Similarly, HMSHost was awarded a new fifteen-year contract to open 9 new dining options at Sacramento International Airport.
In Latin America, Avolta secured 4 new Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ships, adding to the 14 ships it already operates, with extended duty-free concessions for those as well. Moreover, Avolta was awarded a new ten-year contract at Manaus Airport (Brazil) for 4 new stores across more than 1,000 m2 of duty-free and duty-paid space and won a new six-year contract at Brazil’s Maceió-Zumbi dos Palmares Airport for a 170 m2 duty-paid store. As an international gateway to vibrant tourist destinations and historic cities, the airport attracts over 2.5 million passengers annually. In Asia-Pacific, Avolta won 8 new F&B concessions for ten years at the soon-to-be-opened Noida International Airport in India, thus further strengthening its footprint in the important subcontinent. Avolta also signed a new duty-free contract at Kualanamu International Airport, serving the city of Medan and North Sumatra (Indonesia). Having operated in Indonesia for more than ten years and with nearly 50 stores, this contract marks Avolta’s third location in Indonesia, joining existing outlets at Indonesia’s two main international airports; Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport. Avolta further reinforced its presence in Macau, the tourism magnet of southern China, by winning a new seven-year contract to operate key duty-free categories and general merchandise at Macau International Airport. Another important step is the new five-year contract with Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China – the country’s 4th busiest – to bring a dynamic range of retail and dining experiences to the hub.
Concession portfolio further expanded with 182 new outlets
In 2024, Avolta further increased its portfolio by opening and expanding 182 new retail shops and adding over 125,185 m2 of retail space across all regions. At December 31, 2024, commercial retail space totaled 506,450 m2 – additionally Avolta manages a comprehensive number of commercial F&B spaces.
Within our total concession portfolio, 24 % have a remaining lifetime of ten years or more, 23.5% have between six and nine years, and another 30.5 % have three to five years. The final 22 % of our contracts have a remaining duration of one to two years. That 47.5 % of contracts have a lifetime of over six years, is testimony to the resilience of the Avolta business. On average, Avolta renews existing contracts, representing between 10 % and 15 % of our sales, each year. The largest concession accounts for less than 4 % of sales, while the 10 biggest concessions represent less than 18 %, thus reducing cluster risk and exposure to impacts in any single market or operation.
Financial discipline to focus on investment returns
Avolta maintains strict financial discipline when evaluating new projects and opportunities. This has proven to be highly valuable during challenging business environments as it allows to optimize costs and flexible investments. Projects are analyzed on a commercial and financial basis. Evaluations encompass various factors, including development potential, analysis of initial investment requirements, as well as the expected development of traveler numbers and profiles. Through a close evaluation of these criteria and our disciplined approach to returns, we ensure that our concession portfolio remains of the highest quality and that each concession offers attractive returns for the company. This methodology is applied to all project types, irrespective of whether we participate in a tender process, engage in direct negotiations with concession owners or perform acquisitions.
As part of our Destination 2027 strategy, we have put active portfolio management at the core of our long-term strategy, following the principle of full profitability evaluation for each concession contract and, at the appropriate times, renegotiation or exit from any concession that does not match our concession-specific objectives. We continuously update and review our portfolio, including post-opening performances.
