As predicted by TRBusiness, Lotte Duty Free and JR/Duty Free have both confirmed that they have signed the ‘main contract’ for the former to acquire JR/Duty Free’s business in Australia and New Zealand.
The transaction does not include JR’s interests in its duty free businesses in Israel and Tahiti and is still subject to ‘a number of conditions’.
Lotte’s acquisition of James Richardson Pty Ltd.’s Australian and New Zealand duty free business, includes stores in the following Australian airports – Brisbane Airport, Melbourne, Darwin and Canberra – as well as one on Swanston Street in downtown Melbourne. It also inlcudes an on-airport store in the capital of New Zealand, Wellington Airport.
Lotte estimates that the Australian duty free market registered sales of around KRW1.35 trillion ($1.2bn) last year, and that the number of outbound travellers has been increasing by 10% each year.
Starting with the acquisition of JR/Duty Free, Lotte Duty Free is aiming to become the No.1 global travel retailer by 2023. Lotte Duty Free currently has seven overseas branches in operation – in Jakarta downtown, Guam Airport, Kansai Airport, Tokyo Ginza, Bangkok downtown, Da Nang airport, Nha Trang Cam Rhan Airport. According to its H1 2018 report, offshore sales grew +60% increase year-on-year.
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