Hamila strengthens its port business in Tunisia

Tina Milton

Hamila will open a second store at the Tunisian port of La Goulette in April

Hamila Duty Free has strengthened its business at the Tunisian port of La Goulette by securing a two-year contract for 300sq m (3,228sq ft) of space in terminal five. The retailer already manages a 200sq m (2,152sq ft) outlet at the port.

Hamila group sales manager Ghofrane Zitouni said: "We will convert the new space into a showroom and, in addition to the usual duty-free goods such as liquor, tobacco, fragrances and accessories, we will sell carpets, Tunisian leather, silver and souvenirs. The store will have a Medina theme and will be very animated. These are products sought after by cruise passengers as they look for exotic and traditional items."

The news comes as Hamila reported strong year-end results for 2006 in which sales were up by 20% on 2005. However, the company has yet to begin its inflight duty-free programme with Afriqiyah Airways owing to a “last-minute administrative complication”. The company expects operations with the Libyan carrier to begin in March.

The retailer began its catering contract with Nouvelair in November 2006 and plans to establish a distribution company in Algeria later this year. The company has already opened a distribution company in Morocco and is supplying Comanav and Comarit  ferry lines with Philip Morris cigarettes.

Zitouni also stated that the company plans to improve sales at its diplomatic stores by 30% driven by the opening of a new 2,000sq m (21,520sq ft) diplomatic outlet in Tunis in April.