Avolta Explained

Avolta AG
Former Name:
  • Weitnauer (1865–2003)
  • Dufry (2003–2023)
Type:Public company
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Juan Carlos Torres Carretero (board chair)
Xavier Rossinyol (CEO)
Industry:Travel Retail
Products:Consumer Goods
Subsid:Hudson, World Duty Free, Nuance, Hellenic Duty Free Shops, Reg Staer, Duty Free Uruguay, Duty Free Argentina, Colombian Emeralds
Location:Basel, Switzerland

Avolta AG (until November 2023: Dufry AG) is a Swiss-based travel retailer which operates duty-free and duty-paid shops and convenience stores in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and central tourist areas. The company, headquartered in Basel, employs almost 36,000 people and operates in over 65 countries worldwide. It is publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Retail brands

The company's retail brands are:

In addition, Dufry is also used as a brand name for some general travel retail shops.

History

The company owns stores at airports, railway stations and ports, and operates concessions onboard airlines and cruise ships.

By August 2017, the Chinese HNA Group, which declared bankruptcy in 2021, had acquired a 20.92% stake in Avolta, worth more than $1 billion.[1] According to the Dutch OSINT platform Datenna, HNA Groups's stake in Avolta led to a medium risk of state influence on Avolta by the Chinese government.[2] HNA Group's airport division was acquired by Hainan Development Holdings on 24 December 2021. However, HNA reduced their share to 3% in 2019.[3]

On 24 October 2023, Dufry announced it was entering a strategic partnership with Hubei Airport Group, a Chinese based air transportation support company. The deal allows Dufry to operate as the Terminal 2 master concessionaire overseeing 77 shops at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, China’s fourteenth busiest airport.[4]

Dufry's name was changed to Avolta AG on 3 November 2023, after a 99.8% approval by shareholders during an Extraordinary General Meeting convened[5] following the takeover of Autogrill.

Milestones

Location

Some of the principal locations of the company are:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What's Behind HNA Group's Stake Increase in This Duty Free Retailer? . 2024-02-16 . jingdaily.com.
  2. Web site: 26 April 2017 . HNA Group invested in Dufry . 2024-02-16 . Datenna . en.
  3. News: Aiolfi . Sergio . 2019-02-06 . Ende einer Geisterfahrt . 2024-04-18 . Neue Zürcher Zeitung . de-CH . 0376-6829.
  4. Web site: Davitt . Dermot . 2023-10-24 . Dufry/Avolta strikes breakthrough master concessionaire joint venture with Hubei Airport Group in Wuhan . 2024-02-12 . Moodie Davitt Report . en-US.
  5. Web site: Dufry shareholders approve the change of the company name to Avolta AG Corporate - EQS News . 2024-02-12 . www.eqs-news.com.
  6. Web site: 2023-02-06 . Transaktion – Dufry schliesst Übernahme von Autogrill ab . 2024-04-18 . Finanz und Wirtschaft . de.
  7. News: 2020-08-19. Dufry to buy rest of Hudson unit in $311 million deal. en. Reuters. 2020-08-20.
  8. Web site: Dufry AG Announces Closing of Hudson Ltd.'s Initial Public Offering Dufry . 2022-07-27 . www.dufry.com.
  9. News: Ward. Carol. Dufry To Acquire World Duty Free — Airport Revenue News (ARN). 13 June 2016. www.airportrevenuenews.com. Airport Revenue News (ARN). March 30, 2015.
  10. Web site: Dufry to Acquire Travel Retailer Nuance for $1.7 Billion. Mulier. Thomas. Roberts. Andrew. 2014-06-04. Bloomberg News. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150226103205/http://www.bloomberg.com:80/news/articles/2014-06-04/dufry-agrees-to-purchase-nuance-group-for-1-55-billion-francs . 2015-02-26 . 2020-03-02.
  11. Web site: Moodie . Martin . 2004-02-09 . Advent International to acquire majority stake in Dufry . 2024-02-28 . Moodie Davitt Report . en-US.
  12. Web site: Moodie . Martin . 2003-10-07 . Farewell Weitnauer, welcome DUFRY. New identity for Swiss company as it focuses exclusively on retail business . 2024-02-28 . Moodie Davitt Report . en-US.
  13. Web site: 2007-08-11 . Milestones & history . 2024-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070811151717/http://www.dufry.com/abt-milestones.htm . 2007-08-11 . live .
  14. News: İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen Uluslararası Havalimanı'nın duty free işletmesi Dufry'nin. Anadolu Ajansı.
  15. Web site: Dufry获得香港西九龙高铁免税经营权-看点快报. kuaibao.qq.com.

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