BIG FIVE DUTY FREE: Blue Skies Ahead for Big Five Duty Free

“As more and more people take to the skies to begin travelling again, we look forward to welcoming you into Africa’s leading duty free stores.” So begins Big Five Duty Free’s heartfelt address to its loyal and longstanding customers, who have had to endure the interminable wait entailed by the pandemic and the resulting halt to travel of most kinds, with air among the worst affected.

It has been a long hard stretch for all concerned, not only those whose travel plans and dreams have been forced to be shelved but for the airport industry as a whole during this lengthy shutdown. Finally, airports are returning to their former glory as air travel surges once again, a welcome development for airports and airlines, travel and tourism. Although caution remains, and future plans remain unpredictable, there is positivity as people learn to deal with the unexpected.

The relaunch puts Big Five Duty Free firmly back in the spotlight and perfectly positioned to offer its unrivalled range of wares – liquor, a wide selection of cosmetics, perfume and skin care, confectionery and tobacco as well as accessories, watches and timeless jewellery among them. It will in turn provide just the opening brands and companies looking to reach a receptive audience have been sorely lacking over the last 18 months and more. 

“Big Five offers attractive promotions and comfortable and convenient shopping – making this environment your one stop shop,” the company states. “Well trained staff with extensive product knowledge, who speak a number of languages, are waiting to serve you.”

TRULY TAKING OFF

Even back in 2019 airports in Africa were paying much closer attention to travel retail, as they came to the realisation that aviation charges alone could not come close to offsetting rising capital investment costs to fund terminal infrastructure developments.

“Fortunately, we have observed a paradigm shift during the past few years,” ACI Africa Secretary General Ali Tounsi told TRBusiness, “and African airports are become more and more revenue conscious and turning gradually to non-aeronautical revenue streams because of the higher profit margin, greater financial stability and sustainability as well as the capacity to withstand traffic volatility to some extent.

“It is encouraging to note that new passenger terminal infrastructure being set up in Africa recently enables significant duty free and travel retail areas, thus underlying the growing importance of this revenue-generating stream in African airport business models.

“Commercial sales can be a stable source of revenue that can help recover operating costs and reduce a reliance on aviation taxes for future airport development.”

This focus on travel retail brings enormous befits to the customer, too, affirms the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA). “The value proposition that duty-free also offers is that certain products and sizes or volumes are different to those sold in premium stores at normal shopping malls,” the organisation explains. “For example, alcohol at a duty-free store would be sold in one-litre bottles, compared to 750ml at a normal premium store.”

In the lucrative South African market, Big Five Duty Free is known as one of the true forefathers, as we learned from one half of the Big Five husband-and-wife management team Chris Harilaou. “The business was originally established by Marina’s father, who started it at grassroots level at a time when duty free simply wasn’t present in South Africa.

“It’s fair to say that he was the pioneer of the duty free business here, helping to construct its foundations in the country’s airports and setting it up to grow into the industry we have today.

“We see the duty free environment as similar to a fashion brand,” Harilaou expanded, “in that we believe it is essential to keep strong foundations to the brand, but equally important to keep changing and providing something innovative, new and exciting for the consumer. We have to keep up with the different markets and niche products which are evolving on a yearly basis.”

TAKING BACK TO THE SKIES

Pre-pandemic, ACSA recorded 248,519 aircraft landings at its airports during the 2019/20 financial year. This nose-dived to 86,434 during 2020/21, reflecting the massive, albeit somewhat anticipated decline in the number of passengers travelling by plane; those who did were struck by the emptiness of formerly bustling airports.

Fortunately, this is changing fast, with ACSA recently reporting a renewed surge in air travel, and group CFO Siphamandla Mthethwa reported as proclaiming the worst to be overs following increasing numbers of passengers due to the government’s relaxing of local lockdown regulations. With this finely balanced as new Covid strains are examined, the industry waits with anticipation.

If new issues are managed correctly, the coming months are set to herald a return to well-populated airports. The UK has particularly strong links with SA and is the country’s biggest source of tourism outside Africa – on average more than 400,000 Brits visit each year.

“The growth in passenger numbers will be fuelled by leisure travel, especially between now and January,” stated Mzi Deliwe, deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group (PMG). “More than 300,000 British citizens have booked to come and spend Christmas in South Africa – and that’s only the UK. There will also be more business travel, given that a lot more people are vaccinated and feel safer to travel.” Of course, these plans now seem to be under threat as authorities investigate the B.1.1.529 variant. Thorough and effective planning is vital.

With the coming resurgence in air travel both domestic and international, and bustling airports ready to resume, as long as recent hurdles can be overcome, Big Five Duty Free will employ every ounce of the expertise and dedication that Marina Harilaou described. “In order to keep people coming back we offer value for money and are as competitive as possible,” she says, “alongside a range of promotions which are in effect on a continuous basis in the shops. We do extensive marketing and place a real priority on service to our clientele – we have a lot of repeat customers, particularly on the business side, which has seen our strike rate increase in the airport itself year on year.

“We have tried to grow a business within the duty free market that’s recognised as a brand across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome our African visitors who in turn spend a lot of money with us, and we strive to look after them, and as a result they recognise the brand.

“They know they will receive genuine products at competitive prices, and with the highest level of customer service. That’s really been our main focus and driving influence: to provide an A-grade shopping environment that’s as competitive as any other duty free operator worldwide.”