Lotte Duty Free awarded 10-year Melbourne Airport rights

Lotte Duty-Free has inked a 10-year concession to operate duty-free shops at Melbourne Airport and will begin operating its 592 square-meter store on June 1.

The project marks the South Korean travel retail giant’s second-largest global airport operation after Singapore’s Changi Airport.

Lotte Duty-Free also plans to increase the Melbourne Airport store’s footprint to 5800 square meters and is eyeing annual sales of $243 million.

The Melbourne Airport store will offer cosmetics, perfumes, alcohol and cigarettes, fashion, and miscellaneous goods.

According to Lotte Duty-Free CEO Kim Ju-nam, the Melbourne Airport store will be a key hub for their global business expansion and market recovery.

In 2018, the business increased its presence in the Australia-New Zealand travel retail sector by purchasing five JR Duty-Free locations there. Since then, it has established stores at Brisbane, Darwin, and Canberra airports. Additionally, it has a store at Wellington Airport in New Zealand.

With store openings all year long, Lotte Duty-Free has been gradually growing its global business, including its downtown locations in Sydney and Danang. The business operates 13 locations in six different countries.

Due to the resumption of cross-border travel, the company reported a 340 percent boost in sales for its international division last year compared to 2021.

The market has seen heated competition with major players such as Dufry, Heinemann, and DFS.