Today saw the official launch of the fully refurbished World Duty Free store onboard P&O Ferries’ “Pride of Burgundy”, the first to be completed across the fleet of 14 ships.  The 11 deck ship which has operated on the Dover to Calais route since 1993, makes 8 crossings each day, carrying 530 cars and 1,420 passengers.   

Operated by Dufry under its World Duty Free brand, the 280sqm walkthrough store will offer customers a wide selection of international and local brands across the main categories including beauty, liquor, food and confectionery, tobacco, fashion and accessories including sunglasses, toys, souvenirs and travel essentials.

An integral part of P&O Ferries’ strategic vision is to deliver the “next generation” of ships and an unrivalled experience for customers onboard its ferries.  To enable it to achieve this the company chose to outsource certain elements it had previously handled itself, including the retail operations. 

The P&O Ferries strategy of delivering an enhanced customer experience fitted well with the World Duty Free brand.  Dufry is delighted to have the opportunity to work with P&O Ferries in this new partnership to operate on board their 14 ships, and working closely with P&O Ferries to transition the business, DUFRY additionally undertook a full rebrand of the stores.  11 stores on 11 ships have already been fully rebranded, with the remaining 3 happening in July, of which 2 stores; the Pride of Burgundy and the Pride of Kent have been a full refurbishment.  All other stores will be fully refurbished during the next 12 - 18 months.

Fred Creighton, CEO at Dufry for UK and Northern Europe commented, “We are extremely delighted to be working with Janette and her team to realise their vision for the customer, which partners with that of World Duty Free.  An excellent start and we look forward to many years of success together.”

Janette Bell, CEO at P&O Ferries continues, “Our vision is to put the customer at the heart of everything we do and I am delighted that we have transformed the shops on board our ships by partnering with World Duty Free. We are now able to offer our passengers the very best retail experience - in line with what they expect at an airport – by combining the undisputed number one name in travel shopping’s expertise and range with the exceptional customer service of our on-board teams that will continue to make the P&O brand special.”