Hamila set for new downtown duty-free store

Kevin Rozario

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Tunisian retailer aims for second off-airport store in the country’s capital Tunis

Tunisian duty-free operator Hamila is preparing to open a 2,000sq m (21,520sq ft) downtown department store-style duty-free shop this spring near the country’s main airport Tunis Carthage.

According to Hamila Duty Free purchase and marketing manager Mariem Ben Cheikh, the new store will replace a smaller existing downtown outlet nearby and will offer the usual mix of beauty, liquor, tobacco, clothing, cigars and electronics plus large items such as furniture and white goods as well as supermarket products.

The store is expected to open in April and builds on Hamila’s growing Tunisian estate, which consists of six duty-free onboard ferry shops, three duty-free seaport stores and its existing downtown shop, as well as inflight operations on three Tunisian airlines. Sales from these businesses totalled about $50m in 2006, the biggest share coming from its airline business. Ben Cheikh added that the Algerian market would be a new expansion target in 2007, following the company’s successful entry into Libya last year. Hamila also has duty-free operations in Morocco.