​Six business opportunities to operate a retail store at Cape Town International Airport will be put out to tender as of Monday 14 July. These stores will be located in the International departures hall of the airport also known as the Duty Free area. This is the first phase of a three phase series of retail business opportunities being put out to public tender. Opportunities  in the Domestic Departures terminal in the Central Terminal Building as well as the International area will come on stream later in the year.

The International Departures area serves premium class travelers who generally have a much longer dwell time than Domestic travellers. The total retail area in the precinct is 2 150m2 and offers prime retail prospects. 
“During the last financial year 750 000 passengers were processed through this Terminal and during the same period sales of roughly R331 per passenger were generated,” said Deidre Davids, Communications Manager at the Cape Town International Airport.

The six premium opportunities to be offered in the invitation to bid include:
-           A jewelry store with a space offering of 67m2;
-           Curio and African Art prospect that offers a space of 257m2;
-           A books and magazines store that comes with160m2 space;
-           A sunglasses store with a space offering of 34m2
-           Open concept has two spaces with an offering of  34m2 each

“The operating hours are flight dependent and can therefore vary from time to time. During the summer season it is roughly an 18 hour day and in winter a 15 hour one. The average waiting time in the international departures area is around two hours which is significantly longer than any other area in the airport”, added Davids.

In March 2014, the airport hosted a Retail Business Opportunities Conference which kick-started the drive to create broad awareness on business opportunities at the airport with the main focus on small to medium business owners and entrepreneurs.  Stemming from the conference the airport has been able to put some of the recommendations received into practice. “We received a very clear message that the cost for tender documents was too high. We have reduced these significantly and in the past a tender document such as this would have cost R1500, but we’ve reduced it to R200. As a business we are very serious about the role we need to play in supporting small, medium or micro enterprises,” added Davids.

“If you are interested in tendering for the Duty Free area please remember to attend the management presentation and start the preparation of your bid early. You also have to ensure that the bid reaches the airport before the cut-off time; the day prior is the safest,” concluded Davids.

The airport continually aims to create jobs and business opportunities for the Western Cape region.  Continue to provide us with your feedback, visit www.airports.co.za.