Gebr. Heinemann, a leading global travel retailer, surpassed its key European competitors last year by achieving an impressive revenue growth of 81%. In comparison, Switzerland-based Dufry recorded a growth rate of 76%, while France's Lagardère Travel Retail saw an increase of 65.4%.
The company managed to achieve group turnover of €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2022 and returned to pre-crisis profitability levels despite only reaching 79% of its turnover from the year before the crisis began (2019). Moreover, the employee count at Gebr rose once again to reach a total of 7,344 individuals—an increase from the previous year's tally of around 6,700 employees—as more operations were ramped up.
A significant factor that contributed to Gebr's success was its extensive retail operations located within Istanbul International Airport—the company referred to this as "by far the strongest growth driver." Remarkably close to passenger traffic seen in pre-crisis times back in two years earlier (2019), Istanbul International Airport played a crucial role for both their performance and recovery.
Notwithstanding its achievements and considerable competitive edge over other market players such as Dufry and Lagardère Travel Retail, Gebr still maintains substantial reliance on Europe and Middle East/Africa regions when it comes down to revenues generated from these areas—75% derived from Europe alone while another record-breaking figure stands at about108% coming directly out from Middle East/Africa region concerning their respective turnovers for the same period dating back three years ago (2019).
In light of these results John Smithson*, Chief Financial Officer at Gebr., commented: “We are immensely proud that our strategic efforts have paid off resulting in higher-than-expected revenue generation figures which led us to outperform major European competitors. The focus on expanding our retail presence in airports like the Istanbul International Airport, along with the ongoing dedication from our employees, has been key to our continued success.”
Gebr's financial performance amidst an economically challenging environment is a testament to its sound business strategies and strong commitment towards achieving growth objectives despite hurdles faced by other industry players.
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.