Kerala - Kochi   

Duty-free business set to get fillip

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Cochin Duty Free shop is poised for expansion. The $5 million turnover is expected to increase by 25 per cent during the current year, according to Paul Topping, Managing Director of Alpha Asia, the duty free operator at the Cochin international airport. Electrical, electronics and IT related items would be added to the list of merchandise on sale, he said.

The volume of trade in Kochi is low in comparison to the trade at major international airports like Dubai.

The turnover at the Dubai Duty Free shop is more than $500 million, he said. He hoped to have sustained growth at the Kochi outlet.

In fact, the business at many of the duty free shops is improving, he said. Mr.Topping was speaking to reporters at the end of the two-day India Duty Free Workshop 2006, held here.

The increase in the number of air travellers and the opening up of the aviation sector have opened immense opportunities for the retail operators in the Duty Free segment. The experience in Kochi was encouraging, he said.

V.Suresh Babu, a senior official of the Cochin International airport, who was present, said the departure lounge at the airport would be expanded. This would provide additional space for the duty-free business. He said most airports in India were facing space constraints and the expansion plan at the airport would provide for the needs in the next 10-15 years.

Despite constraints on various fronts, the opportunities in the Indian aviation scene should not be overlooked, said John K.Kuruvilla, Chief Revenue Officer & Head Commercial, Air Deccan, who spoke earlier at a session on low cost airlines.

The Indian middle class population is more or less same as that of Europe. The Indian marketplace has the largest number of listed companies and India has the third largest shareholding population, he said, focussing on the commercial opportunities.

Deccan Air has grown largely out of a strategy to capitalise on the inherent strengths in the Indian economy. Low cost airlines would flourish in the years to come.

This would be the case not only in India, but in advanced countries like USA, he said. There are more than 100 airfields in India.

This is an opportunity for the low cost carriers. In fact, Air Deccan derives its strength from connecting smaller towns like Kanpur, Jabalpur, Kolhapur, Dehradun and Belgaum.

Dynamic pricing strategy and wide network have proved to be highly beneficial to the growth of the airline, he said.

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