Spanish airport operator AENA is updating the management of the duty-free shops in its airports.
With the proposed changes due to come into effect in November 2023, AENA has launched a tender which it claims is the largest, value-wise, in the global airports sector.
As an initial step, each airport manager will select a consultancy partner to design the strategy for the tender and the contractual relationship with potential operators. Through this partner, AENA will identify the optimum business model with the following objectives: to 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 €4.6m, 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, including 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. A later stage will involve 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 to expire on October 31, 2023.
