What is Sales and Marketing Strategy of Dufry Company?

What is Avolta's Sales and Marketing Strategy?

A pivotal branding decision that significantly reshaped the company's trajectory was the rebranding of Dufry Group to Avolta in October 2023, symbolizing the merger of Dufry and Autogrill. This strategic move unified its travel retail and food & beverage (F&B) businesses under a single corporate identity.

Avolta's current market presence extends across 70 countries with over 5,100 points of sale, encompassing duty-free, duty-paid, convenience, and F&B sectors. This evolution highlights a significant shift from a traditional duty-free retailer to a comprehensive 'travel experience player'.

Avolta's sales and marketing strategy is crucial in maintaining its leadership within the dynamic travel retail and F&B industry. The company's diversified portfolio, coupled with a strong emphasis on customer-centricity and digital innovation, underpins its growth trajectory. In the first quarter of 2025, Avolta reported a robust CORE turnover growth of +8.2% at constant exchange rates (CER), reaching CHF 3,050 million, with organic growth of +5.3%. This strong financial performance, which continued into April 2025 with CER growth of +8.5% and organic growth of +5.7%, underscores the effectiveness of its integrated strategy.

The company's 'Destination 2027' strategy, which aims for an annual organic growth of 5-7% and a CORE EBITDA margin improvement of 20-40 basis points per year, further emphasizes the strategic importance of its sales and marketing efforts. Understanding the Dufry BCG Matrix can provide insights into how different business units contribute to this strategy.

Avolta employs a multifaceted sales channel approach, focusing on high-traffic travel locations worldwide. Their extensive network includes over 5,100 points of sale across more than 70 countries, encompassing airports, cruise lines, seaports, and railway stations. This broad geographical reach is central to their Dufry sales strategy.

Physical Retail Presence

Avolta operates a vast physical retail footprint, including duty-free and duty-paid stores, as well as travel convenience outlets. Following the merger with Autogrill, food & beverage establishments now represent a significant portion of their sales channels.

Omnichannel Integration

The company is actively enhancing its digital capabilities, notably through the expansion of its 'Reserve & Collect' service. This allows customers to pre-order items online for convenient airport pickup, integrating digital touchpoints throughout the travel journey.

Strategic Partnerships and Concessions

Securing long-term concessions is a cornerstone of Avolta's Dufry business strategy. Notable examples include an 18-year contract at New York JFK Airport and the acquisition of Free Duty in Hong Kong, significantly boosting their Asian presence.

Geographic Expansion and Sales Growth

The acquisition in Hong Kong in 2024 is projected to increase regional sales by CHF 250 million annually, adding access to an estimated 150 million additional travelers. This expansion underscores their Dufry global presence and resilience.

Avolta's Dufry retail strategy emphasizes a blend of physical and digital sales channels to maximize customer reach and engagement. In the first half of 2025, duty-free and duty-paid sales accounted for approximately two-thirds of their revenue, with F&B contributing the remaining one-third. This demonstrates a balanced approach to their Dufry business strategy, leveraging both traditional retail and the growing F&B sector.

Key Sales Channel Elements

Avolta's sales approach is deeply integrated with the travel ecosystem, aiming to capture customer spending at various points during their journey. Their Dufry marketing strategy focuses on convenience and value.

• Extensive physical presence in over 70 countries.
• Growth in F&B offerings following the Autogrill merger.
• Digital initiatives like 'Reserve & Collect' enhance customer convenience.
• Long-term concessions provide stable revenue streams and market access.
• Strategic acquisitions, like in Hong Kong, expand market share and sales potential.
• Focus on engaging travelers across their entire journey, from pre-trip to post-trip.
• Leveraging data for sales optimization is a key component of their Dufry marketing efforts for travel consumers.
• Understanding Revenue Streams & Business Model of Dufry is crucial to grasping their sales channel effectiveness.

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The company employs a comprehensive marketing strategy that blends digital innovation with a strong focus on customer experience. This approach aims to build brand awareness, attract new customers, and foster loyalty across its extensive global network.

Global Loyalty Program

The company's primary digital tactic is its global loyalty program, Club Avolta, launched in October 2024. By the first half of 2025, it had amassed over 13 million members.

Member Benefits and Data Insights

Club Avolta offers exclusive deals, priority airport services, and personalized recommendations. It also provides valuable data on customer purchasing behavior, integrating across various travel touchpoints.

Digital Engagement Expansion

The digital strategy focuses on creating new touchpoints throughout the travel journey. This includes expanding the 'Reserve & Collect' service and enhancing omnichannel engagement.

Data-Driven Optimization

Data insights are crucial for optimizing store concepts, F&B offerings, and product assortments. This data-driven approach is key to driving overall performance and understanding customer preferences.

Diversification and Insights

The company's diversification across travel retail, F&B, and convenience sectors allows it to generate unique insights from proprietary data points, offering a competitive advantage.

Technological Integration

There is a significant push towards integrating technology for enhanced in-store experiences and digital tools to boost customer engagement. The company aims for over 1,000 locations with digital activations by 2027.

While traditional media campaigns are less emphasized in recent reporting, the overarching marketing philosophy centers on a 'travel experience revolution.' This involves leveraging a holistic approach that combines retail and F&B offerings to create more frequent and meaningful interactions with travelers. The company's commitment to innovation and digital engagement underpins its efforts to redefine the travel retail landscape. This strategic direction is closely tied to the company's core principles, as outlined in their Mission, Vision & Core Values of Dufry.

Future Digital Activations

The company is actively investing in digital infrastructure to enhance customer interactions. By the end of 2024, 88 stores were slated to feature advanced technology.

• Expansion of digital touchpoints along the travel journey.
• Evolution of the omnichannel engagement and sales approach.
• Leveraging technology for improved in-store experiences.
• Utilizing digital tools to foster customer engagement.

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The company, now known as Avolta following its October 2023 rebranding from Dufry Group, positions itself as a unified 'travel experience player.' This new identity aims to move beyond traditional retail and food and beverage limitations, focusing on enhancing the entire traveler's journey.

Unified Travel Experience Player

Avolta's core message is to 'make travelers happier by maximizing every moment of their journey.' This involves creating a seamless and personalized experience that is as rewarding as reaching the destination itself.

Brand Differentiation

The company differentiates itself by blending a strong sense of place with global expertise. It enhances traditional travel retail and F&B by integrating hybrid and digital innovations.

Emotional Connection and Impulse Purchases

A key aspect of the Dufry sales strategy is creating emotional connections with travelers. This is achieved by integrating local products and a distinct sense of place into store concepts, aiming to drive impulse purchases.

Innovation and Future Focus

Through initiatives like 'Avolta NEXT,' the company fosters transformative ideas within the travel ecosystem. This focus on new ideas, technologies, and practices underscores its commitment to innovation in the travel retail sector.

Avolta's visual identity, including its logo, is designed to convey movement, energy, global reach, and inclusivity. The adoption of a softer purple hue in its corporate branding signifies values of inclusion and diversity, allowing for adaptation to specific airport identities or retail brands. While corporate communications now fall under the Avolta brand, consumer-facing brands such as Dufry, Autogrill, World Duty Free, and Hudson maintain their distinct identities. This approach ensures brand consistency across various touchpoints while leveraging the recognition of established consumer brands. The company's 'Destination 2027' strategy, which places the traveler at its center, guides its response to evolving consumer sentiment and competitive pressures, adapting its value proposition based on data insights. This strategic adaptation is crucial for navigating the complexities of the Competitors Landscape of Dufry.

Symbolic Naming

The name 'Avolta' derives from the Latin 'vol' for 'to fly,' reflecting its airport origins and ambition. It also alludes to 'volt,' symbolizing dynamism and energy.

Sense of Place Integration

A key element of the Dufry marketing strategy is integrating local products and a strong sense of place into its store concepts. This aims to create deeper emotional connections with travelers.

Hybrid and Digital Frontiers

The company enhances traditional travel retail by embracing new hybrid and digital approaches. This broadens its offering beyond conventional retail and F&B services.

Brand Consistency Across Channels

While Avolta is the corporate brand, consumer-facing brands like Dufry and Hudson retain their individual identities. This ensures brand consistency while leveraging established consumer recognition.

Data-Driven Adaptation

The 'Destination 2027' strategy emphasizes adapting the value proposition based on data insights. This allows Avolta to respond effectively to shifts in consumer sentiment and competitive threats.

Visual Identity Elements

Avolta's visual identity, including its logo and color palette, is designed to reflect agility, inclusivity, and global relevance, capturing movement and energy.

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A significant and recent sales and marketing campaign that has defined the company's brand and driven growth is the global launch of Club Avolta in October 2024. This initiative marked a pivotal shift from the previous loyalty program, unifying rewards across the company's entire network.

Club Avolta: A Unified Loyalty Program Launch

The Club Avolta loyalty program was launched in October 2024, unifying rewards across over 5,100 points of sale in more than 70 countries. This initiative aimed to maximize customer value and leverage proprietary data insights.

Program Objectives and Features

The program's objective was to provide a comprehensive, industry-first loyalty experience with exclusive member pricing, special product access, and instant rewards. The existing app was rebranded to facilitate the transition of members.

Club Avolta Growth and Impact

By the first half of 2025, Club Avolta saw a 30% growth, reaching over 13 million members. Loyalty members demonstrate a significantly higher average transaction value, spending three times that of non-members.

Strategic Alignment and Partnerships

The campaign unlocked over 150 member benefits, including partnerships with airlines and exclusive experiences. This aligns with the company's 'Destination 2027' strategic objectives, focusing on digital transformation and increasing spend per passenger.

This strategic move is a core component of the Dufry sales strategy, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing customer engagement and driving sales through a data-driven approach. The success of Club Avolta highlights the effectiveness of Avolta's customer engagement strategy in airports and its digital marketing efforts for travel consumers. Understanding Marketing Strategy of Dufry provides further insight into these initiatives.

Member Acquisition and Retention

The automatic transfer of existing members and the appealing benefits of Club Avolta have been key to its rapid growth. This approach ensures a seamless transition and immediate value for loyal customers.

Data-Driven Sales Optimization

Leveraging proprietary data insights is central to the Club Avolta strategy. This allows for personalized offers and a deeper understanding of customer behavior, directly impacting sales optimization.

Enhancing Spend Per Passenger

The program's success in increasing the average transaction value of loyalty members by three times that of non-members directly contributes to the company's goal of increasing spend per passenger.

Brand Partnerships in Travel Retail

Partnerships with airlines like Singapore Airlines and Finnair add significant value to the loyalty program. These collaborations enhance the overall travel experience and reinforce the brand's presence in airports.

Digital Transformation in Retail

The rebranding of the app and the seamless integration of loyalty benefits showcase the company's commitment to digital transformation. This is crucial for modernizing the Dufry retail strategy.

Competitive Sales Tactics

By offering exclusive pricing and experiences, Club Avolta employs effective competitive sales tactics. This differentiates the company in the travel retail market and attracts a broader customer base.

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