"Pittsburgh Airport Closes Duty-Free Shop"

Thursday, May 24, 2001

Pittsburgh Airport Closes Duty-Free Shop
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania


No more duty-free Chivas Regal for Uncle Basil in London.

The World Duty Free shop at Pittsburgh International Airport has closed,
leaving the airport without a store offering international travelers access
to liquor, cosmetics and other luxury goods free of sales taxes.

Pittsburgh Airmall manager BAA is looking for a new duty-free operator, but
can't promise a quick return of the service.

The loss of the shop -- a 2,000-square-foot space on Concourse C -- also
means World Duty Free Americas Inc. no longer has any operations at the
Airmall.

Until this year, the Maryland-based company ran several news and gift shops
under the name World News, in addition to the duty-free location. The gift
shops closed in March, laying off about 50. The duty-free store closed May
8, eliminating eight jobs.

The reasons for the split between World Duty and BAA aren't clear, although
the complicated relationship between the two companies may have been a
factor.

BAA PLC, the United Kingdom-based parent of the Airmall operator, bought
World Duty Free a few years ago. Contract stipulations regarding BAA's
ownership of stores at the Airmall may have played a role in the closings.

World Duty Free's leases expired in 1999 and had been extended on a
month-to-month basis. "For various reasons, they couldn't be renewed," said
Kim Seyler, business development director for BAA's Pittsburgh operations.

The gift shops were taken over by retailers WHSmith and Parodies, each of
which had existing sites at the Airmall. Seyler said both companies offered
jobs to the former World News employees.

It will take longer to bring back duty-free shopping. The perk available
only to travelers on international flights requires bonded employees and
tight controls to meet government standards. A limited number of companies
are involved in the business.

Seyler said BAA has started to make queries.

"It's a customer service. People who are regular international travelers do
look for that," she said. "The everyday person may not know it's available."

Basically, the goods are sold to customers who will not be using them in the
host country. That allows the store to waive sales taxes or other duties.

The most significant savings tend to be on luxury goods -- jewelry,
cosmetics, liquor and tobacco products -- so those dominate duty-free shops.

Anyone flying out of Pittsburgh who wanted to shop duty-free was required to
have been leaving the country, said Seyler. That applied to flights going to
London, Frankfurt and Paris, as well as those to Canada.

The store also could sell to passengers coming into the United States.

Seyler could not break out individual store sales. Last year, 833,251
international passengers passed through the airport, a 9 percent increase
over the previous year.

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