Canadian airport duty-free posts 13.3% sales rise

Lorna Strickland

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The country's airport business shows encouraging growth in the ten months to October 2004

Canadian airport duty-free stores posted a 13.3% sales rise from January to October 2004, according to figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency. Sales for the ten-month period this year reached C$141.2m ($118m) compared with C$124.6m ($103.8m) in the same period last year.

Key categories showing growth included beer, tobacco and fragrances and cosmetics, sales of which increased by 326%, 24% and 11% respectively. Souvenir sales showed good progress along with domestic confectionery and fashion.

Canadian airport duty-free is dominated by The Nuance Group, whose key locations are Toronto and Vancouver, and Aer Rianta International-North America, which operates in Montreal, Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg and Ottawa.