End in sight for King Power dispute in Bangkok

Nicole Mezzasalma

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The legal decision regarding the retailer’s dispute with Airports of Thailand at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport is due on April 25, with the retailer expecting a favourable outcome

The final decision in the dispute between retail operator King Power International Group (Thailand) and airport authority Airports of Thailand (AoT) is due tomorrow (April 25), according to The Nation newspaper. The retailer is currently operating at the airport under an injunction from February 1 forbidding AoT to evict it from its commercial master concession and duty-free contract at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport, covering about 9,000sq m (96,875sq ft) of duty-free retail space and 21,000sq m (226,042sq ft) of commercial space.

King Power officials believe the outlook is positive since a new AoT board was appointed recently, which they hope will negotiate with the company to settle the dispute. The retailer’s duty-free sales at Suvarnabhumi airport amounted to Bt12.7bn ($403m) in 2007 and the target for 2008 is Bt20bn ($634.7m).