Athens, 1^st June, 2017. – Yesterday Dufry celebrated the inauguration of its newly refurbished Hellenic Duty Free Shops stores at Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”. The remodeling of these stores is the latest opening as part of the company’s global plan to offer all Dufry customers a WorldClass experience.

Each space which Dufry operates across the globe is created to reflect the culture and emblematic features of the city in which it is located. The new Hellenic Duty Free Shops are no different, offering passengers a unique range of items from the traditional duty-free categories, to local specialties and delicacies, as well as a wide range of luxury and fashion items, all without losing the warm welcome and local touches so characteristic of Greece.

The largest store inaugurated is the 1,227sqm walkthrough store, housing ‘Perfumes & Cosmetics’ on one side, with renowned fragrance, cosmetics and skincare brands presented in a friendly, easy to access format, and ‘Cava’ on the other, where travelers can find a wide range of categories including liquor, confectionery, tobacco, toys, souvenirs, electronics and travel accessories.

With the refurbishment, new brands have been introduced to the ‘Perfume and Cosmetics’ space, including Aqua di Parma, Jo Malone, Benefit, Bobbi Brown and Armani Privé, especially selected for the passenger profile which travels through this airport. In addition to this, a wide variety of Greek natural perfumes and cosmetics such as Korres, O Live, Creta Net and Luxurious also form part of the assortment, created using natural herbs, honey, vanilla, fig and other indigenous Greek products. Timebox, also now operates as a Shop in Shop offering a wide collection of watches from various well-known brands.

The ‘Cava’ section boasts the Group’s new Hellenic gourmet concept corner store, themed and designed especially to offer travelers a last taste of Greece in the form of traditional and contemporary Greek foods, wines and spirits. The company carefully sought out producers from all over the country whose products represent the wealth of the Greek earth and table. Great care has been taken to train sales assistants to know the products and bring a sense of pride when sharing them with others. “Kerasma” - a Greek treat – is offered every day, giving people the opportunity to enjoy a last taste and sip of a delicious treasure of Greece before they fly. Terkenlis, a bakery also located in the ‘Cava’ area, offers a range of freshly baked Greek pastries and treats including tsoureki (a popular Greek Easter sweet bread), cakes, tarts and syrup sweets made to traditional Greek recipes. The smell of the freshly baked products invites passengers into the store.

A unique, innovative wine tasting machine welcomes travelers to taste one (or more!) of the 16 different, specially selected wines available, while an experienced oenologist introduces customers to the secrets of Greek wines found in different regions and wineries.

Video walls and screens provide an interactive backdrop to the store, and promotional activities and services are provided for a best-in-class passenger experience.

The new openings also include 12 other stores, including Max Mara; a brand which Hellenic Duty Free Stores is introducing to the Greek airport market for the first time, Michael Kors; exclusive to Hellenic Duty Free Stores at Athens International Airport, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, a boutique housing Zeus + Dion; a Greek brand offering high-end luxury clothing and accessories, and Links of London; a quintessential British jewelry brand, Victoria’s Secret, including a range of their beauty and accessories products, Folli Follie, a Swarovski + Swatch boutique, a Sunglasses Boutique offering a wide range of name-brand sunglasses, a Korres Greek natural products boutique and finally two Hellenic Duty Free Shops express stores, offering passengers a selection of best-sellers across key categories found in the main store, including fragrances & cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, souvenirs, confectionery, Hellenic gourmet, sunglasses and electronics, for last minute shopping before departure.

The refurbishment project was carried out in close collaboration with Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA), a company with which Dufry has had a close partnership with since 2001 and which has successfully created a unique and exciting shopping environment for the millions of passengers passing through the airport.

The Hellenic Duty Free Shops intra-Schengen inauguration was presided over by the CEO of Hellenic Duty Free Shops at Dufry, George Velentzas, accompanied by Julián Díaz, CEO of Dufry, Pedro Castro, the Division CEO for Southern Europe & Africa at Dufry, and the Chief Executive Officer of Athens International Airport S.A.; Yiannis Paraschis.

In his speech, George Velentzas stressed that "for us the development and renovation of the intra-Schengen area is a clear commitment to long-term investment in one of the key airports in which we operate in Southern Europe, so important to Mediterranean tourism. With these new stores, we have achieved an entirely new and exciting offer for passengers who travel though Athens International Airport. Our common vision with the airport, to bring something truly different to airport shopping on a global scale, whilst celebrating the Greek heritage of our stores has brought us a range of stores which we hope travelers will enjoy when they spend time here and are sure they will remember when they reach their destination".

Mr. Velentzas continued: "We extend our thanks once again to AIA for the trust they continue to place in Dufry, we are delighted with what our collaborative effort has achieved. We invite passengers to get to know the new commercial spaces and hope they enjoy their time at this airport as much as we do, we look forward to a continued successful partnership with AIA for many years to come".