Avolta

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Avolta AG
Formerly
  • Weitnauer (1865–2003)
  • Dufry (2003–2023)
Company typePublic company
SIX: AVOL
IndustryTravel Retail
Founded1865; 159 years ago (1865)
HeadquartersBasel, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Juan Carlos Torres Carretero (board chair)
Xavier Rossinyol (CEO)
ProductsConsumer Goods
SubsidiariesHudson, World Duty Free, Nuance, Hellenic Duty Free Shops, Reg Staer, Duty Free Uruguay, Duty Free Argentina, Colombian Emeralds
Websiteavoltaworld.com

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[edit]

The company's retail brands are:

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

History[edit]

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 bacruptcy 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 acqured 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 Inernational 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[edit]

  • 2023: Name changed to Avolta AG[5] after buying Italian-based restaurant chain Autogrill. [6]
  • 2020: Hudson becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Dufry and is delisted from the NYSE.[7]
  • 2019: Dufry acquires a 60% stake of RegStaer Vnukovo.
  • 2018: Dufry's subsidiary Hudson Ltd. listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with its first trading day on February 1, 2018[8]
  • 2016: Renewal of existing concession contracts. Company is included in the Swiss Leader Index, compiled of the 30 largest Swiss Corporations listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
  • 2015: Acquisition of World Duty Free[9]
  • 2014: Acquisition of The Nuance Group[10]
  • 2012: Acquisition of 51% of joint venture with RegStaer Group in Russia. Acquisition of 51% of travel retail operations of Folli Follie Group in Greece
  • 2011: Acquisitions of retail companies within Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Martinique and Armenia, involve 21 duty-free shops split between ten airports
  • 2010: Merger of Dufry Ltd. with Dufry South America Ltd.
  • 2008: Acquisition of US based travel retailer Hudson Group with 550 shops in 69 airports and transportation terminals in the United States and Canada.
  • 2007: Acquisition of one of the main travel retail operator in the Caribbean based in Puerto Rico with 23 shops in Puerto Rico and other Caribbean locations.
  • 2006: Initial Public Offering of Dufry South America Ltd. (DSA) in December. Trading of the shares on the Brazilian and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Acquisition of the Brazilian travel retailer Brasif and its logistic platform Eurotrade.
  • 2005: Dufry becomes a publicly listed company – its shares being listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. Acquisition of the remaining 25% share capital from previous shareholders by a consortium led by Advent International Corporation. Change of logo / corporate design.
  • 2004: Consortium led by Advent International Corporation acquires 75% of outstanding share capital of Dufry. Focusing of strategy on travel retail – divestment of wholesale and non-strategic activities as Weitnauer Distribution (February).[11]
  • 2003: Name changes to Dufry.[12]
  • 1952: Start of duty-free retail business – opening of the first duty-free shop in continental Europe in Paris/Le Bourget.
  • 1948: Start of duty-free wholesale business.
  • 1865: Company founded as a retailer in Switzerland under the name of Weitnauer.[13]

Location[edit]

Some of the principal locations of the company are:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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

External links[edit]

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