It’s official: Shannon Duty Free is to revert to its original title of Shannon Duty Free, adopted in 1947 when it became the first airport duty free shop in the world, but with a new brand and improved service offering. The launch event was a gala evening with a large attendance from trade and industry.
The relaunch sees the introduction of new signage and branding, a new supplier in the world renowned Gebr Heinemann, and new product lines and layouts are in the process of being implemented as Shannon Duty Free strives to establish a more effective, exciting and profitable retail outlet.
Established almost 70 years ago, the duty-free at Shannon Airport is the first and oldest duty-free in the world. This pioneering initiative in Shannon has spawned a worldwide industry with thousands of Duty Free Shops around the world now generating billions of euro in revenue annually.
Starting out from humble beginnings, Shannon Duty Free now offers an incredible 60 brands, including top names in Irish and European products.
Speaking about the relaunch at Shannon Airport, Neil Pakey, Chief Executive, Shannon Group, said: “Today’s relaunch of Shannon Duty Free won’t just be a starting point for a new era of high quality shopping at the airport, it will be a celebration of all that has gone before. We are so proud to say we invented duty-free shopping and we are excited to relaunch and celebrate this existence and what we believe is an exciting future for Shannon Duty Free.”
Shannon Airport offers its passengers 37 destinations with a hassle-free transition in minutes from the airport car park to start their duty-free shopping, not matched by many other airports.
In keeping with this tradition of convenience, Shannon Duty Free now offers all Europe-bound passengers to avail of its ‘Shop and Collect’ service, allowing passengers to browse the extensive duty-free offering, shop before flying, and then pick up purchases in the airport on their return.
The relaunch sees the introduction of new signage and branding, a new supplier in the world-renowned Gebr Heinemann, and new product lines and layouts are in the process of being implemented as Shannon Duty Free strives to establish a more effective, exciting and profitable retail outlet. In fact Gebr Heinemann are also the oldest in the world in their field of Duty Free supply making the new partnership a unique blend of histories.
Rose Hynes, Chairman of Shannon Airport, said: “Today we are celebrating the future and we build that future on an illustrious past. Shannon is the world’s first duty-free shop and is the world’s first free zone. We will be using the Duty Free to showcase and promote local and regional products – and I am also delighted to see so many local and regional artisans here who will have their products on sale in the Shannon Duty Free shop.”
She went on to say that Shannon is the greatest name in Duty Free.
Gunnar Heinemann, Joint Owner of Gebr. Heinemann said: “Gebr. Heinemann are very pleased to partner and supply Shannon Duty Free over the coming years. As the oldest Duty Free supplier in the world, we believe our partnership with Shannon Duty Free, the World’s First Duty Free shop, is both unique and exciting. It is a very important milestone for us in our business and in our efforts to further grow our footprint. We very much hope that our pioneering histories form the foundation of a great future together.”
