Duty free shops have announced disastrous state of affairs

Duty free shops in Russia face new challenges.  Due to the sanctions imposed by a number of countries in the form of the closure of airspace for the Russian Federation and the mirror response of our country, retail outlets have lost their customers.  In addition, the changed exchange rate made the cost of goods less attractive for the remaining passengers.

“Opora Russia” organization, which supports small and medium-sized businesses, drew attention to the problem.

The public organization soon intends to initiate a discussion of the situation in the Government of the Russian Federation with a proposal for concrete measures of assistance.

According to Fatima Dzoblaeva, Executive Director of the Eurasian Duty Free Association, the industry she represents is in a difficult position and needs support. In March, the demand for goods in duty free stores decreased by half compared to the first two months of 2022. At the same time, the industry has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic, and government support measures have bypassed it.

As tools that could help in this situation, the head of “Opora Russia” calls tax holidays, exemption from paying rent, as well as grants and loans on preferential terms.

At the beginning of this year, there were 240 duty free shops in Russia, most of which are located at airports. The outlets are owned by four dozen different companies, RBC reports.