The FINANCIAL — Duty free outlet Diplomat was opened by the Duty Free Alliance in Tbilisi last week specially for diplomats and expats in Georgia. Located at 74b Chavchavadze Avenue, it is the fourth duty free store operated by Duty Free Alliance in the country.
The next store for expats is going to be opened soon in the Tbilisi Downtown building.
The new duty free outlet is situated on 150 square metres and offers dozens of items of local and foreign origin. As Duty Free Alliance management says, the main objective of opening the duty free outlet was the creation of a supremely comfortable environment for the purchasing of various products for the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia.
“We wanted Tbilisi to join the chain of those cities where Downtown Duty Free and City Duty Free are operating,” said Jamal Hermassi, Duty Free Alliance Manager. “At the same time we wanted to improve the conditions of purchase for articles of personal consumption for diplomats and persons equated with them who are exempt from any liabilities under international agreements. This duty free outlet may also be used by those persons who are leaving the territory of Georgia,” Hermassi said.
“We are planning to extend our network of duty free outlets to all Georgian border checkpoints. Investments have already been channelled to the existing duty free outlets at the Red Bridge Sadakhlo and Sarpi portals,” Hermassi said.
“This is a Duty Free store specially for Diplomats and members of their families and international organizations that have accreditation in Georgia. Duty free goods at cheaper prices may be bought here,” said George Dadiani, Executive Director of Duty Free Alliance.
“This will hopefully become a place where diplomats will run in to each other. This will be a kind of diplomat’s club, where in addition to the exclusive shopping, expats can spend their time in the charming café on the premises,” Dadiani said.
In the duty free store Diplomat a whole assortment of world brands are represented together with Georgian products such as Georgian wine, mineral water and tobacco offered by local companies Chateau Mukhrani, Kindzmarauli Marani, Kakheti Traditional Wines, Bessini, Borjomi and Adjarian Tobacco.
“First of all we are really glad that our company is represented in Georgia. We have opened four stores already. We are looking and moving forwards in terms of our work here. The investment climate has improved much in Georgia. We have shops and checkpoints in different places here, as since the investment climate has become much better more people are crossing the country’s borders now,” Hermassi said.
“We may also open a “downtown” system soon. Thereby citizens of Georgia as well as citizens of foreign countries that are leaving our country can present a ticket and enter the downtown system, buy goods and receive them in the airport or at border crossing points. These products are much cheaper at duty free points; by about 40-50 percent,” Dadiani said.
The company Duty Free Alliance has been operating in Georgia since 2008. It is a member of German holding Duty Free International and serves customers at four points on the Georgian border.
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The world’s first Duty Free shop was established at Shannon Airport in Ireland by Dr Brendan O’Regan in 1947 and is in service to this date. Designed to provide a service for Trans-Atlantic airline passengers typically travelling between Europe and North America whose flights stopped for refuelling on both outbound and inbound legs of their journeys, it was an immediate success and has been copied worldwide.
Duty free shopping was in its infancy when two American entrepreneurs, Charles Feeney and Robert Miller, created what is now Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) on 7 November 1960. DFS started operations in Hong Kong and spread to Europe and other places around the globe. Securing the exclusive concession for duty free sales in Hawaii in the early 1960s created a business breakthrough for DFS, and the company was positioned to focus on emerging Japanese travellers. DFS continued to innovate, expanding into off-airport duty free stores and large downtown Galleria stores and grew to become the world’s largest travel retailer. In 1996, LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquired the interests of Mr. Feeney and two other shareholders and today jointly owns DFS with Mr. Miller.
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