New Asunción store lifts Bright Star sales

John Gallagher

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Paraguayan travel retailer reports sales growth of more than 55% in the first half of 2007

Paraguayan retailer Bright Star has reported sales growth of more than 55% in the first half of the year compared with the previous corresponding period, driven by the opening of its new 130sq m (1,399sq ft) departures outlet at Asunción International airport.

Duty-free business manager Christian Rasmussen told RavenFox.com that the new shop had allowed the company to focus on the fragrances and cosmetics categories and freed up space in the original departures store to work more efficiently with other product categories. He added that the general passenger trend at the airport had also boosted sales, with strong traffic on board the biggest carrier TAM Mercosur, the introduction of new services by Aerosur and the reintroduction of flights by Brazilian carrier GOL.

Bright Star’s relationship with regional carrier TAM Mercosur has also flourished this year. Rasmussen said: “Our programme with the Paraguayan flag carrier has also performed well with sales growing by just over 40% in the first six months of 2007, compared to the previous year.”

Rasmussen said he was optimistic that the growth would continue, He said: “The early signs are that passenger traffic and sales will continue to grow. We have relaunched our web page and in July we introduced our Star Points loyalty programme. This will reward the frequent travellers who shop with us. The new store will allow us to bring in new brands and manage traditional and non traditional categories in a more dynamic way.”