Pulling retail out of terminal slide

• Date: 23 April 2021
• Published date: 23 April 2021

Tom Bryne, general manager of The Loop Duty Free at Auckland Airport, said trading at the Irish retail chain’s three outlets in the international terminal was off to a good start this week following the bubble opening up on Monday.

While sales so far only accounted for 20-30 per cent of regular earnings, Bryne said it was a far cry from virtually no sales recorded last year.

“It’s been a very dark year for a lot of businesses and a lot of people and we are certainly one of those, so we’re absolutely delighted that the bubble is in operation,” Bryne told the Herald yesterday.

Australian travellers alone were not enough to provide the sales revenue The Loop is used to, he said.

“The transtasman movement between Australians and New Zealanders helps us a lot, but it certainly doesn’t get us out of the woods ... there’s still a big gap there, a lot of work to do before we can say we are in a good place.”

A big chunk of The Loop’s around...