Regional airports still opening duty-free shops despite EU ban
Poland's plans to join the European Union (EU) are not slowing the opening of duty-free shops at regional airports, despite the fact that the bloc bans tax-free shopping.
Regional airport Katowice-Pyrzowice intends to open a duty-free shop in the near future. The shops will follow in the footsteps of Gdansk-Rebiechowo, which opened its tax-free shopping section just two weeks ago, consisting of two shops run by Gdynia-based trading company Baltona. Both airports received permission to establish duty-free zones in October.
The regional airports are taking the view that Poland still has many tax-free shopping years ahead of it before the country joins the EU, which could be as soon as 2003.
"Until such a time, you can still do that," said Marek Wos, a spokesman for airport company Polskie Porty Lotnicze (PPL).
The duty-free shops hope to feed off the steadily growing number of passengers moving through regional airports. Wos said that more international flights have resulted in increased traffic at airports outside of Warsaw.
Stanislaw Debicki, vice president of duty-free shop operator Baltona, said he believed such shops still make economic sense, despite the likelihood of a future ban once Poland joins the EU.
"There is sense because up to 50% of passengers (departing from Poland) are flying to points beyond the European Union," Debicki said.
He said that airports at Stockholm or Copenhagen continue to operate duty-free shops just for that reason to serve passengers on their way out of the EU.
"It will be the same with us," Debicki said.
Debicki refused to say what kind of revenue the company hopes to generate at the new stores.
Baltona is not the only company getting into duty-free shopping, however. In August 1999, SAS Trading Poland signed a four-year agreement with PPL to operate three stores at Okecie Airport. Those three stores have already opened their doors. While the company has not entered into talks with airport authorities at Gdansk-Rebiechowo, Lars-Olof Corselli, general manager for SAS Trading Poland, did note that the company was interested in Poland's duty-free scene.
"We are looking at this opportunity," he said.
Cigarette and tobacco sales at airports in the EU may have gone down as a result of the ban, which took place in July 1999, but other products have maintained their popularity in retail sections in the airport, retailers said. "Perfume is still a good business," Corselli said.
Corselli said he was not that worried about Poland's tentative EU membership. "If we can do good business, there is nothing that can stop us," he said.
And for the time being, regional airports are keen to raise their profile in part by having all the services of a larger airport, such as duty-free. "Because turnover rises immediately," said Jaroslaw Sztucki, marketing manager for Wroclaw-Strachowice.
Wroclaw's regional airport already has direct flights to non-EU destinations, a trend that Sztucki said is likely to continue.
But getting actual permission to run a duty-free store is a painstakingly long process, requiring consultation from several government institutions. It was not until the end of 1998 that legislation was passed stipulating exactly to whom to submit documents for obtaining duty-free licenses.
In 1999, Wroclaw-Strachowice airport applied for duty-free licenses, but so far has not received permission. "It is still under consideration," Sztucki said.
Krakow's Balice Airport is also waiting for word on obtaining a duty-free license, something that could happen within the year.
