Border, rail and marine stores planned in Canada

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Canada Border Services Agency announces four locations in the first Canadian border store tender since 2002 and possible rail and marine programme

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced a complete list of locations for what will be only the second border store tender in over 10 years. The last tender was launched in 2002 and included Douglas Crossing. Speaking at the annual Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) conference earlier this month, CBSA senior program officer Stan Mitchell told delegates about four locations due to be tendered shortly.

Paterson Crossing in British Columbia joins Clair and St Leonard crossings in New Brunswick in the tender. Store sizes will be modest, according to Mitchell. “Pigeon River Crossing in Ontario is likely to be the star of the show in terms of size. However, even this location will not be that big,” he told RavenFox.com. He emphasised that everybody, including newcomers to the industry, is welcome to bid for the concessions.

One tender will cover all four locations and winning bidders will be granted licenses for one store per location. The CBSA will fix a launch date for the tender once the crossings have been reviewed by the agency.

Mitchell also said that the CBSA plans to allow duty-free stores to be operated at rail and marine border crossings. “The plans for rail and marine duty-free stores will not be that expansive but would be a significant addition to the local travel-retail industry.”

Some delegates at the FDFA annual convention earlier this month were doubtful that the four new store locations would attract much attention, blaming deteriorating trading conditions on the Canadian border.