January 11 (SeeNews) - Swiss-listed duty-free retailer Avolta said that it has secured an exclusive master retail concession contract for the Bulgarian coastal airports of Varna and Burgas from their operator, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management.
The concession is awarded as an eight-year extension to its current contract, Avolta, which was created in late 2023 from the merger of Dufry and Italian motorway caterer Autogrill, said in a press release on Wednesday.
Starting January, the company will gradually add six new retail stores at the two airports, growing its total retail area by 630 square metres to a total of 2,707 sq m. It will also overhaul its ten existing stores and will introduce two new concepts across the retail space.
The expansion will be carried out in two phases, with all new additions to be completed by summer 2025, Avolta added.
As part of the contract, Avolta will also introduce a Hudson convenience store and an electronics and travel accessories temporary store to each of the two airports.
Burgas and Varna airports registered 83,347 passengers in November, 2.9% fewer than in the same month of 2022 and representing 99.5% of the traffic recorded in November of the pre-pandemic 2019, according to a recent monthly report from Germany's Fraport Group, the majority owner of Fraport Twin Star Airport Management.