Lotte Duty Free cuts ribbon on Melbourne Airport store

Lotte Duty Free began full operations at Melbourne Airport on Thursday.

Lotte Duty Free's Melbourne Airport store. The company held the opening ceremony for the store on Thursday. [LOTTE DUTY FREE]

Lotte Duty Free began full operations at Melbourne Airport on Thursday.

Taking over the management on June 1 from the previous operator, Swiss-based Dufry, Lotte Duty Free underwent one month of interior revamping before marking the occasion with an opening ceremony on Thursday.

The company obtained the business rights for the Melbourne Airport store in January after competing with six other duty-free operators.

The store will remain in operation until May 2033.

Currently occupying 3,592 square meters (38,663 square feet), Lotte plans to expand the store to 5,620 square meters by 2027, with a sales target of 300 billion won ($235.84 million) annually.

The Melbourne Airport store offers 390 brands encompassing cosmetics, perfumes, liquor, tobacco and accessories.

According to a report from Melbourne Airport Corporation, international travel numbers reached approximately 87.6 percent of the pre-pandemic levels witnessed in 2019, amounting to around 740,000 passengers in May. The addition of international flights is expected to drive a rapid increase in the number of travelers in the near future.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]