middle east exclusive

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1 UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF H.H. SHEIKH AHMED BIN SAEED AL MAKTOUM, PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AVIATION, DUBAI AND CHAIRMAN OF EMIRATES GROUP middle east exclusive THE 3RD DUTY FREE, TRAVEL RETAIL AND LUXURY PRODUCT EXHIBITION IN THE REGION, FOR THE REGION 6, 7 & 8 DECEMBER, 2005 DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE, U.A.E The Middle East - the Envy of the Industry Following the success of Middle East Exclusive 2004, more than 110 exhibitors displayed their Brands and Products to over 2,000 Operators, Buyers and Executives from the Travel Retail, Duty Free and Luxury Goods Industry. Organised by Contact Ben Leighton on ben@channelsexhibitions.ae to join the exhibition, to secure your Brands, be seen and get listed at the worlds fastest growing Duty Free Show Channels Exhibitions, P.O. Box 55254, Dubai, U.A.E. Tel , Fax channels@channelsexhibitions.ae Supported by

2 MIDDLE EAST FOCUS ARI-ME May/June 2005 Aer Rianta International-Middle East yearns for the missing Peace Earlier this year Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME) opened its new offices in Bahrain. Their immaculate, understated style neatly symbolises this great regional success story. But Managing Director John Sutcliffe has an unfulfilled wish. Under the astute leadership of Managing Director John Sutcliffe, ARI-ME is enjoying impressive sales and profitability growth. And it is maintaining its tradition of carving out new business in markets that are ripe with opportunity but full of risk. The greatest risk, as always in the Middle East, is political instability. Sutcliffe s wish, as it has been for the two decades he has spent in the region, is for peace. I ve lived in this part of the world for 22 years, except for a couple of years in Moscow [running Moscow Duty Free Ed] and, you know, peace is all we need, he says. Everything else is there all the dynamics for growth. Each country in this region is putting huge amounts of investment into tourism and infrastructure, including roads and airports, and just about everything is positive. The people, both the local and ex-pat communities, are wealthier than they ever were and there is a really dynamic feel to every place. It s all there. All we need is peace... Sutcliffe s voice tails off because he knows, as everyone knows, that peace is an elusive commodity in the region. In 2003 it was the invasion of Iraq. This year has seen the tragic assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February, a suicide bombing attack in Qatar and, just as we went to press, tourist-related terrorism attacks in Egypt. Each location hosts an important ARI-ME business and, in the case of Lebanon and Egypt, finds itself vulnerable to any tourism downturn. But Sutcliffe denies that the company is exposed in the current climate. It comes with the territory, he says. If you are going to do business in this part of the world you have to appreciate there will be times when security is an issue and something will go wrong. Fortunately for us, because of the way we have grown in the region, our footprint extends out so if something happens in Beirut or somewhere else it doesn t necessarily hit us too hard. We are not over-exposed to one particular operation. That doesn t mean Sutcliffe isn t concerned commercially or personally. He has forged close ties with business partners who have become friends around the region, and he feels the pain they are feeling. We are obviously very concerned about these issues, particularly in Beirut. It s a small country and if it becomes unstable it certainly will affect tourism, which in turn will affect our business. But having said that, I think the people of Lebanon are tired of war. They ve built up a fantastic country and the reconstruction after the civil war 94 The Moodie Report

3 May/June 2005 MIDDLE EAST FOCUS ARI-ME has been phenomenal. It s a beautiful place with beautiful resources, and I can t see them letting it slide. What do ARI-ME s local partners (Phoenicia) make of the situation? They re confident, but they re concerned, Sutcliffe replies candidly. The tragedy of Hariri s assassination had a tremendous impact. It rocked Lebanon, physically and emotionally. In business terms Beirut Duty Free is still growing, despite a discernible (though single-digit) traffic downturn since the recent troubles began. That s testament to the quality of the acclaimed airport retail operation and the high average spends there the best in the region. Beirutis are good spenders; they like their brands and they like their bargains, says Sutcliffe. They are the highest spenders on any of the airlines in the region, for example. With its high penetration rates and average spends, Beirut Duty Free is described as a fantastic venture by Sutcliffe so much so that it is now ARI-ME s largest operation in the Middle East, well on target to reach the US$100 million turnover mark by Year-on-year sales were running at +14% ahead of 2004 in early April, an especially strong result in the current climate. The big forthcoming development is the extension of the perfumes and cosmetics store at the Lebanese gateway. Some 100sq m will be added to the number-one category by taking over the adjacent space, currently dedicated to children s products. Other changes will see an extended Made in Lebanon store and a high-end watches and jewellery store. Pertinently, with the exception of Muscat where the average spend is lower because of the sub-continent-driven passenger base, perfumes and cosmetics is now the number-one category in all ARI-ME s locations. Qatar s incredible growth But the undoubted star of the portfolio over the past year has been Qatar, where ARI-ME has been experiencing tremendous growth in both its operations the Qatar Distribution Co (the sole importer and distributor of alcohol in the country) and the Qatar Duty Free management contract at Doha International Airport (with Qatar Airways). At the time of writing Sutcliffe was highly optimistic of the duty free contract being renewed upon its expiry in April and little wonder. When we opened the duty free shop there five years ago the turnover was less than US$5 million; it will very shortly become US$50 million, he enthuses. The growth there is phenomenal we re +65% ahead of 2004 year-on-year. You ve got to give tremendous credit to Qatar Airways and its CEO Akbar Al Baker. He is a very dynamic leader and it s an incredibly dynamic country. And because of the changes in the shops we ve had a substantial increase in average spends. There are great plans as well. They have a new airport coming on line by It s under construction and it s fantastic. There will be a huge space for retail. Before that you ll see the Asian games in 2006 when they re expecting huge crowds. There s a big infrastructure build-up going on and the economy is going from strength to strength. They have the second largest reserves of natural gas in the world and have huge petro-chemical projects. It s just getting bigger and bigger, and they re putting Qatar on the map. The figures speak for themselves. What other established duty free shop in the region has got growth of +60%? Qatar Duty Free: The growth there is phenomenal +65% ahead of 2004 year-onyear The Moodie Report 95

4 MIDDLE EAST FOCUS ARI-ME May/June 2005 Bahrain floats high Bahrain Duty Free, 23 times over-subscribed when it went public in 1997, remains ARI-ME s flagship operation. It had a turnover of just over US$60 million last year, and is hoping to hit US$70 million in For the first quarter sales were around +9% up on the same period in 2004, itself a stand-out year thanks to the success of the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix promotion and the impact of the new arrivals shop, opened in November The big performer for us was the new arrivals shop last year, notes Sutcliffe. When we built it we doubled the turnover. If I could get the same space again I d double it again I m still short of space there. It does tremendous business. Can ARI-ME get more space? Not in the current scenario there s just no place to go, he replies. But there are places to go in the departures area and ARI-ME is about to claim them. Bahraini Minister of Transport Sheikh Ali Bin Khalifa has just given the company approval to proceed with a major development plan, forged in association with Bahrain Airport Services (BAS). This will see a full refurbishment of the existing terminal in which the retail and food & beverage facilities will be extended in both directions. This will create another 500 or 600sq m of retail for us, and another 1,500sq m of food & beverage. Basically it will transform the airport into a kind of shopping mall. We re working with BAS to sort out the finances, and if all goes well we could start work by summer 2006 or shortly afterwards. New Frontiers: Phoenicia Afro/Asia Managing Director Walid Saleh and Mohamed Zeidan, Chairman of Beirut Duty Free (PAC) and President of Phoenicia Afro/ Asia, accept the Frontier Best Specialist Concept award for the Beirut Duty Free walk-in humidor and cigars store from Martha Rosas, Duty Free Manager of sponsor Luxottica Group, in Cannes Bahrain Duty Free will also use the opportunity to revamp the existing shop arrangements. Sutcliffe plans to relocate the music shop and news/books stores, for example, into the area inhabited by a food court run by six or seven vendors. The free space will be dedicated to the booming electronics and communications category, the retailer s fastest-growing product sector. We sold millions of dollars worth of mobile phones last year, notes Sutcliffe. OK, you don t make as much profit as you do out of other products, but it s added value to your business and it s a great service to the customers. The retailer also plans to double the space allotted to confectionery, a traditional stronghold and still a very fast-growing area. The existing book shop will probably become the tobacco area and in turn the latter s vacated space will be dedicated to confectionery. Additional sectors, such as footwear, a pharmacy and more fashion accessories, are also likely to be added. Bahrain is our flagship operation and our base so we re always looking to improve it, note Sutcliffe. It s a great shop with a lovely feel to it, but you have to keep it fresh and move on. Key to keeping it fresh is intensive year-round promotion, best captured by the brilliantly successful Race 2 Win Grand Prix campaign. We put aside a serious amount of money for promotions each year to create feel and shop-tainment, and it really pays off for us. Our average spends are not so high compared with, say, Beirut, so we have to squeeze every dollar we can out of it. All change in Oman Muscat Duty Free in Oman has been another tremendous performer, Sutcliffe says. First quarter sales were almost +20% ahead year-on-year and the outlook is strong. It s the only full Trinity type concession in the region. We ve got MAGs and variables in place from when we were dealing with BAA [formerly a partner in airport operator Oman Airport Management Co (OAMC), now taken over by the government] and no matter what they say [about the airport retail tender model], they certainly know how to put a concession together The Moodie Report

5 May/June 2005 MIDDLE EAST FOCUS ARI-ME While ARI-ME was initially concerned about BAA s departure ( they had some good ideas ), Sutcliffe says relationships in Oman are very strong, especially with the company s 50:50 retail partner, Oman Aviation Services. The venture still has eight years to run on an unusually long ten-year contract. Our contract is secure, Sutcliffe notes, and they ve already recognised that we were somewhat compromised by the fact that we bid on the basis that we would have a new terminal within three years. We re in the third year now and they re nowhere near starting the new terminal. The key decision for all parties therefore is whether to invest heavily in improving the existing facilities or wait for the new ones. Sutcliffe is confident the strength of relationships with OAMC will ensure the retailer s position is recognised in contractual terms. It s a tremendous shop and a tremendous business, just heading over US$20 million in turnover, he says. I can see really see Muscat coming strongly into play in the future. Oman is a beautiful country and has tremendous tourism opportunities. Despite claims in some quarters that ARI-ME overbid for the contract, Sutcliffe says the company has outperformed the MAG in every month since it started trading. When or if the new terminal opens, then the operation could really leap ahead, he says. We have tremendous plans on the drawing board for the new terminal. It will have a nice African theme, because Oman has a strong historical attachment to East Africa. We want to put a lot of African/Arab flavour into the shop when we do it... it will be tremendous. Egypt and Cyprus potential ARI-ME has no fewer than 14 different projects coming online in Egypt. Last year the company signed a seven-year management consultancy contract to run shops in partnership with Egyptair Duty Free Shops. The contract involves the upgrading of Egyptair s operations, including Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Luxor airports. In addition it will involve the establishment of a new 2,000sq m post-arrivals duty free shop at the brand new City Stars Retail & Entertainment Complex in the affluent Heliopolis area of Cairo. Sutcliffe says progress is encouraging, though he doesn t underestimate the difficulties ahead. We have a great manager there in Michael Cashin, who is doing a fine job, and we hope to open our first two renovated shops within the next three months one downtown 2,000sq m outlet that should open by early June latest, and the other John Sutcliffe's Irish eyes are smiling and with good reason as the ARI-ME regional powerhouse continues to flourish one in Luxor. From Luxor we move to Sharm El Sheikh and then to Hurghada and Cairo. I feel we ll make good progress. We already have, but as soon as we open the shops we ll see great results. Egyptair Tourism & Duty Free Shops Chairman Captain Tawfik Assy is a very progressive man and very genuine about trying to bring the project forward. There s so much potential in Egypt, something I ve been saying for years. In Cyprus, a potential grand prize awaits. As we went to press the Hermes consortium, in which Aer Rianta International is a partner, was in the final stages of negotiation with the government to build and operate Larnaca and Paphos airports. After the financial closure period (probably four to five months), ARI-ME will move in via a newlyformed joint venture and take over the existing facilities. We re setting it up with Cyprus Trading Corp. This was agreed before we entered the bid, 50:50. The Chairman is Nicolas Shacolas; he s a tremendous man and one of the largest employers in Cyprus. He already works for many of the big brands. The idea is that we will go in and operate the retail areas for the duration of the BOT contract, which is 25 years. Duty free was hit hard by accession to the EU in 2004, but the airport business is still worth US$100 million, Sutcliffe points out. If it comes on stream as expected, and Qatar is renewed, then ARI-ME will be looking at a half-billion-dollar business in That s enough to ensure that John Sutcliffe s Irish eyes are smiling. Given the pioneering work the company has done in the region, and the hurdles it has had to overcome along the way, few would begrudge him that. The Moodie Report 97