Aena S M E S A : starts the process to renew the duty-free shops at its airports

2 February 2022

In the coming months, the Spanish airport operator will define the future strategy of the tender and the commercial relationship model with the duty-free shops operator(s)

The goal is to maximise the value of this business by attracting international operators and incorporating new market trends

The tender to manage the duty-free shops at Spanish airports is one of the largest in the world in terms of value

Aena has launched the process of renewing the management of the duty-free shops at the airports in its network, which will come into force in November 2023. This tender is the largest in the world's airport industry in this area in terms of value.

As an initial step, the airport manager will select a consultancy partner to design the strategy for the tender and the contractual relationship with potential operators.

Through this consultancy partner, Aena will identify the optimum business model with the following objectives: establish the most suitable contractual relationship; attract the largest possible number of international operators; diversify the business; adapt the commercial activity to the changing trends that are taking place in terms of the type of passengers and the model; and drive the development and implementation of new technologies.

The amount of the contract that is now being tendered is 4.6 million euros, and it includes the preparation, drafting and monitoring the tender documents and the bidding process. Its duration will be up to 36 months.

This consultancy is distributed in several phases: an initial multidisciplinary in-depth analysis of the business of duty-free shops on a global level. In this phase, the future bidding and contractual relationship strategy will be established, in order to provide a framework and starting point; at a later stage, it will include the drafting of the tender documents and the consultancy services during the bidding process.

Aena currently has four contracts for the commercial services of its duty-free shops at 26 airports in the network, with 88 points of sale that amount to more than 43,000 m2. These contracts are due on 31 October 2023. The tender is planned for the last quarter of 2022.