DFS to bid for Changi Airport Group’s upcoming liquor and tobacco concession tender
DFS has announced its intention to bid for Changi Airport Group’s upcoming liquor and tobacco concession tender. The tender will be launched on 4 June 2019.
The retailer’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Brennan issued a media statement today in response to CAG’s press release on the upcoming tender.
In the statement, Brennan explained DFS’ and CAG’s agreement not to proceed with the two-year extension of DFS’ liquor and tobacco concession operations at Changi Airport. Instead, DFS plans to bid for the upcoming CAG tender that will be launched on 4 June 2019.
Explaining DFS’ decision, Brennan said: “DFS’ decision was based on our assessment that our investment plans for Changi Airport required a longer period to fully realize their impact. DFS instead intends to bid in the new concession tender, which is for a period of six years from 9 June 2020 to 8 June 2026.”
“DFS’ liquor and tobacco operations are recognized by customers, brand partners and industry peers as being among the very best in travel retail. We will continue to operate at Changi under the current concession until June 2020 and look forward to many more years of serving our traveling customers in Singapore.”
DFS’ Changi Airport luxury concession, T Galleria by DFS, Singapore, and its Singapore Cruise Center business are separate from the liquor and tobacco concession at the airport and thus, unaffected by the new bid process.
DFS and CAG has had a longstanding relationship ever since partnering in 1981. In 2014, DFS and CAG had unveiled their ambitious plans for an innovative, duplex store design that houses one of the world’s most extensive, curated selection of liquor and tobacco in any airport worldwide.
