King Power wins airport management contract

By The Nation

 

 

King Power Suvarnabhumi has won the bidding to manage the commercial area at Suvarnabhumi International Airport with the highest offer, AOT senior executive vice president Vichai Bunyu said on Friday.

 

The winner will be approved on June 12,  he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30370331

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-31

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what a surprise.  This was a forgone result. So the outrageous over pricing will go on, with only naive idiots buying anything from this crowd. 

I'm just trying to think of anything I have bought in an airport, apart from over-priced food and drink.

7 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

King Power wins airport management contract

Quelle surprise 

3 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

what a surprise.  This was a forgone result. So the outrageous over pricing will go on, with only naive idiots buying anything from this crowd. 

 

haha, happens all over the world, some people think walking into an airport means they are going to get a good deal in the shops there. and maybe they will if they have researched the product they want and the price, but more often than not the shops stock a very limited product range and the prices are not competitive or a blatant rip off. i thought people knew this but clearly they dont.

 

a friend asked me to buy him some perfume for his wife at suvanabhumi, i warned him but he wouldn't listen; £50 at the airport, £29 on line in the uk for exactly the same product.

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm just trying to think of anything I have bought in an airport, apart from over-priced food and drink.

Just come back through Heathrow with a group of kids, you want to talk about over priced?

 

Try the Harry Potter shop, placed just after the carry on bag x ray check security point. 

 

Absolute goldmine for those running it. 

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by Bluespunk
Wording

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Just come back through Heathrow with a group of kids, you want to talk about over priced?

 

Try the Harry Potter shop, placed just after the hand luggage bag check in security point. 

 

Absolute goldmine for those running it. 

You must have a masochistic streak to be escorting kids through an airport. Herding cats comes to mind.

Not surprised -

But I never purchase anything at Thailand’s Duty Free. More expensive than going to a regular shop back home. Sometimes I will purchase men’s cologne from a flight’s sale catalogue ( depends on the airline). 

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by toenail

There is no such thing as 'Duty Free' at Airport shops; that vanished a long time ago and all the signs should be removed as it's misrepresentation.

King Power wins duty-free auction for Bangkok's main airport

 

 

Thailand's King Power won the auction to run the duty-free shops at Bangkok's biggest airport, authorities said Friday, priming the company to extend its monopoly over a concession worth nearly $2 billion a year.

 

The unlisted company, founded by the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha -- Thailand's fourth richest man and owner of Leicester City football club at the time of his death last year -- has held a monopoly over Thailand's duty-free industry since 2006.

 

That has prompted intense criticism from rivals including some of the world's biggest travel retailers, who have lobbied for the monopoly to be broken up saying a lone player limits revenues for Thailand's airports and could fuel corruption. 

 

The concession, administered by Airports of Thailand (AoT), is set to be renewed in 2020.

 

Duty-free sales in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport -- which attracted 51.5 million international visitors in 2018 -- generate an estimated $1.9 billion a year, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute. 

 

AoT said King Power won the auction despite competition from Korea's Lotte and Empire Asia Group, which partnered with Switzerland's World Duty Free Group.

 

The decision is set to be finalised on June 19.

 

King Power "proposed higher compensations than the current one AoT receives... we have finalised our negotiations," said Wichai Bunyu, AoT's senior executive vice president, declining to reveal how much each company bid.

 

Rival firms eyeing Thailand's lucrative duty-free market have lobbied hard to end the monopoly.

 

But King Power is supremely well connected -- late owner Vichai's funeral earlier this year was partially sponsored by the royal family and saw Thailand's political and business elite pay their respects. 

 

Rival bidders on Friday expressed dismay over the apparent lack of transparency in the award. 

 

"(AoT) didn't explain the reasons... I think we can do more to benefit the country," said Vitavas Vibhagool, CEO of World Duty Free partner Grande Asset Hotels.

 

A second duty-free concession at Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai airports is expected to be announced later this year.

 

Suvarnabhumi rakes in the lion's share of revenue from Thailand's airport and AoT earned $522 million in 2018. 

 

The death of Vichai in a helicopter crash last year raised questions over the ability of his youngest son, Aiyawatt, to maintain King Power's hold on its cash cow airport monopoly. 

 

But winning the auction suggests "that even without the patriarch, the conglomerate still has enough pull", said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak. 

 

At the time of his death in October, Vichai's empire was worth around $5.2 billion, according to Forbes, making him Thailand's fourth richest man -- a meteoric rise since his company started in 1989 with a single Bangkok shop. 

 

Last year, a Thai court rejected an attempt to sue King Power for hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid revenue to AoT -- a rare legal challenge issued by the company's rivals.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30370335

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-31

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Often I buy some drinks or at least candy for the kids at the airports while travelling. But never swampy, "tax-free" is more expensive than outside with the tax.

I will vote with my feet. I need a new pair of shoes anyway,

15 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

AoT's senior executive vice president, declining to reveal how much each company

had paid  him?

Many airports have different concessionaires for different duty-free products alcohol/tobacco/perfumes/electronics/gifts. But not Thailand, hub of monopolies.

 

And if King Power are bidding more, then who's going to be paying?

 

However, I did but a King Power membership recently, anticipating that they wouldn't be kicked out. I never buy their so-called duty-free goods but it's a great deal for using the lounge for five years!

worst duty free I was ever at in over 30 countries, isn't this the place they were running shoplifting scams years ago?

Absolute shocker.

3 hours ago, toenail said:

Not surprised -

But I never purchase anything at Thailand’s Duty Free. More expensive than going to a regular shop back home. Sometimes I will purchase men’s cologne from a flight’s sale catalogue ( depends on the airline). 

That's about the size of it.

Was there ever any other likely outcome....... 

Deleted. Pointless statement of the obvious.

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by Kaoboi Bebobp

I sometimes check the prices but I rarely buy anything of note in Thai airports.  So far as I can tell you save little if anything on the inbound compared to picking up at an in-town 7/11 or outbound compared to buying at home.  Usually just a drink or two to freshen up.  Recently I lost a pair of Bluetooth headphones and purchased another pair at Swampy before departure.  Six times the size, three times the cost, surprisingly ugly, and didn't even last long enough to survive the first flight.  The staff were friendly but the value was shit.

A part cigarettes...nothing...nothing is cheaper in Thai Duty free  (and other Duty free's in the Middle East or Europe as well).

8 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

generate an estimated $1.9 billion a year

How can there possibly be that many naïve people in this world?

1 minute ago, neeray said:

How can there possibly be that many naïve people in this world?

Some of this revenue is due to simple ignorance, but some of it is just basic food and drink.  Any food you pack is a liability when you land and you can't bring liquids through security so it's understandable.  Some of these purchases are influenced by boredom after arriving too early or waiting too late for a delayed flight.  Some of it involves unusual items that are rare or difficult to find outside of airport boutiques.  Some of it involves brands like Apple or Bose where there is little or no airport pricing penalty.  Some destinations have taxes so high that even buying at Swampy is break even or better.  Some cultures put so much emphasis on travel gifting that duty free becomes a practical necessity.  But yeah, sometimes it's nothing more than a fool being parted from his money.

2 hours ago, observer90210 said:

A part cigarettes...nothing...nothing is cheaper in Thai Duty free  (and other Duty free's in the Middle East or Europe as well).

Interesting statement. I bought cigarettes just once at duty free Swampy. Recognizing that they seemed darned expensive, next trip, I got them at 7/11 before leaving for the airport.

 

What a great marketing gig this is. Admirable.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The winner will be approved on June 12,  

This statement could have been made last year.

I would be interested to know about King Power lounges though?

I thought the monopoly would be ended?

2 minutes ago, Youlike said:

I thought the monopoly would be ended?

Money talks. The monopoly "no walks".

But King Power is supremely well connected -- late owner Vichai's funeral earlier this year was partially sponsored by the royal family and saw Thailand's political and business elite pay their respects. 

 

Says it all, monopoly and corruption continues.

Agree with the majority here, buying stuff at an airport. Why,  why would you? 

I never ever buy anything from the duty free shops. I do buy food and drinks and water to take on the plane, and it always rankles to pay the exorbitant prices.