Avolta

Last updated
Avolta AG
Formerly
  • Weitnauer (1865–2003)
  • Dufry (2003–2023)
Company type Public
SIX:  AVOL
Industry Travel Retail
Founded1865;159 years ago (1865)
Headquarters Basel, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Juan Carlos Torres Carretero (board chair)
Xavier Rossinyol (CEO)
Products Consumer Goods
Subsidiaries Hudson, World Duty Free, Nuance, Hellenic Duty Free Shops, Reg Staer, Duty Free Uruguay, Duty Free Argentina, Colombian Emeralds
Website avoltaworld.com

Avolta AG (until November 2023: Dufry AG) is a Swiss-based travel retailer which operates duty-free and duty-paid shops and convenience stores in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and central tourist areas. The company, headquartered in Basel, employs almost 36,000 people and operates in over 65 countries worldwide. It is publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Contents

Retail brands

The company's retail brands are:

In addition, Dufry is also used as a brand name for some general travel retail shops.[ citation needed ]

History

The company owns stores at airports, railway stations and ports, and operates concessions onboard airlines and cruise ships.

By August 2017, the Chinese HNA Group, which declared bankruptcy in 2021, had acquired a 20.92% stake in Avolta, worth more than $1 billion. [1] According to the Dutch OSINT platform Datenna, HNA Groups's stake in Avolta led to a medium risk of state influence on Avolta by the Chinese government. [2] HNA Group's airport division was acquired by Hainan Development Holdings on 24 December 2021. However, HNA reduced their share to 3% in 2019. [3]

On 24 October 2023, Dufry announced it was entering a strategic partnership with Hubei Airport Group, a Chinese based air transportation support company. The deal allows Dufry to operate as the Terminal 2 master concessionaire overseeing 77 shops at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, China’s fourteenth busiest airport. [4]

Dufry's name was changed to Avolta AG on 3 November 2023, after a 99.8% approval by shareholders during an Extraordinary General Meeting convened [5] following the takeover of Autogrill.

Milestones

Location

Dufry operated duty free store at Melbourne Airport Dufry duty free store at Melbourne Airport.jpg
Dufry operated duty free store at Melbourne Airport

Some of the principal locations of the company are:

See also

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References

  1. "What's Behind HNA Group's Stake Increase in This Duty Free Retailer?". jingdaily.com. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  2. "HNA Group invested in Dufry". Datenna. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  3. Aiolfi, Sergio (2019-02-06). "Ende einer Geisterfahrt". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN   0376-6829 . Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. Davitt, Dermot (2023-10-24). "Dufry/Avolta strikes breakthrough master concessionaire joint venture with Hubei Airport Group in Wuhan". Moodie Davitt Report. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  5. 1 2 "Dufry shareholders approve the change of the company name to Avolta AG | Corporate - EQS News". www.eqs-news.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  6. "Transaktion – Dufry schliesst Übernahme von Autogrill ab". Finanz und Wirtschaft (in German). 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  7. "Dufry to buy rest of Hudson unit in $311 million deal". Reuters. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  8. "Dufry AG Announces Closing of Hudson Ltd.'s Initial Public Offering | Dufry". www.dufry.com. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  9. Ward, Carol (March 30, 2015). "Dufry To Acquire World Duty Free — Airport Revenue News (ARN)". www.airportrevenuenews.com. Airport Revenue News (ARN). Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  10. Mulier, Thomas; Roberts, Andrew (2014-06-04). "Dufry to Acquire Travel Retailer Nuance for $1.7 Billion". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  11. Moodie, Martin (2004-02-09). "Advent International to acquire majority stake in Dufry". Moodie Davitt Report. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  12. Moodie, Martin (2003-10-07). "Farewell Weitnauer, welcome DUFRY. New identity for Swiss company as it focuses exclusively on retail business". Moodie Davitt Report. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  13. "Milestones & history". 2007-08-11. Archived from the original on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  14. "İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen Uluslararası Havalimanı'nın duty free işletmesi Dufry'nin". Anadolu Ajansı.
  15. "Dufry获得香港西九龙高铁免税经营权-看点快报". kuaibao.qq.com.