Fashion gets a boost at Fukuoka

Andrew Pentol

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Duty-free operator Fukuoka Airport Building Co has reduced the gifts offer to make room for fashion products

Airport company Fukuoka Airport Building Co, which operates duty-free at Fukuoka airport, has reduced its gifts offer to make more room for fashion products. The current 1,250sq m (13,454sq ft) outlet sells a range of categories including cosmetics, fashion, fragrances, jewellery and tobacco. Expansion plans for the existing shop as well as those for a new store are under consideration.

Fukuoka Airport Building Co general sales manager Yuji Kitaoka, whose comments were translated by buyer Mutsoko Higashikawa, told DFNI: “The location of the Tiffany boutique in front of immigration, which used to be the area for gifts, has a high level of visibility and was best suited for the Tiffany brand. Gift sales, however, are increasing and we will look at ways to expand the current area.”

The fashion category accounts for 11% of the company’s total business, with sales of ¥600m ($5.7m) a year. Cosmetics sales represented 23% of the total in the company’s last fiscal year, which ended in March.

“Cosmetics is the strongest category because we provide our customers with leading brands such as Chanel, Shiseido, Lancôme and Estée Lauder that are available in duty-free shops worldwide,” explained Kitaoka. “Also, 60% of our customers are non-Japanese and from South Korea, China and Taiwan, where sales in the local markets are dramatically increasing, and this is having a positive effect on sales in our shop. The high-profile profit promotion in front of the main shop is also pulling in more customers, with the content changing once every two weeks.”

Kitaoka also said regulations concerning liquids, aerosols and gels and the strong Japanese yen were important factors affecting the market. She concluded: “The conditions surrounding us are not favourable, but we try to overcome them by doing our best to meet customer needs and increasing our sales through a trial-and-error approach.”