Duty Free giants sign ‘zero-tolerance’ declaration on illicit trade

Major players in the Duty Free arena have signed a new hard-hitting policy to combat illicit trade in the sector.

France’s Lagardère Travel Retail, with duty-free operations in more than 40 countries, has become one of the first signatories of a new zero-tolerance declaration on illicit trade, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft within the travel retail sector.

It joins the Swiss-based Dufry, Dubai Duty Free, Quatar Duty Free, the Hambourg-based Gebr.Heinemann, and ARI, headquartered in Dublin, as the initial GTR companies to take a stand via the new global agreement.

Together, the above companies account for around US$25 billion of travel retail sales (according to data from 2019), and rank amongst the largest duty- and tax-free retailers in the world.

Established by the Duty Free World Council (DFWC) and Tax Free World Association (TFWA), the declaration is designed to negate any concerns that the duty- and tax-free industry is in any way involved with the increasing trade of goods fraudulently labelled as duty-free.

By signing this declaration, retailers commit to taking a zero-tolerance approach to illicit trade within their own organisation. They also agree to ask their suppliers to do the same.

“There can be no room for doubt. We want to send a clear message worldwide – when you shop in a duty-free shop, you can do so with complete confidence,” said Sarah Branquinho, president of DFWC.

“There is no place in our industry for companies that engage in illicit trade, which causes substantial societal harm, and costs our industry significant lost sales opportunities…

“It can also cause our industry reputational harm when illicit or counterfeit goods are fraudulently mislabelled as ‘duty-free’ in an attempt to lend authenticity to the product.”

Continuing, Branquinho insisted that the duty-free industry “already boasts one of the most transparent, trusted and secure supply chains in the world” and added that ultimately, consumers should be aware that when they purchase goods labelled as duty-free outside of a licensed duty-free retailer, it is “very likely to be a counterfeit product”.

More retailers are expected to sign the declaration in the coming weeks and months, forming a collective stance with “enforcement bodies worldwide” to fight against illicit trade.