Retail outlets at Kolkata airport hopeful as international flights resume – Times of India

With international flight operations resuming two years after the pandemic hit tourism all over the world, retail shops at the Kolkata airport are expecting to recover losses with a boost in sales. As more and more flights to and from Kolkata resume, retail and F&B brands
are expanding their presence at the international terminal by opening new outlets and updating their stocks in the hope of better
business.
Though they are expecting the footfall to go up drastically, food outlets have decided not to stock up on too many items at one go. They will instead gradually update their stocks based on how the demand fluctuates.
A popular Kolkata bakery, which has a total of seven stores at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, started operating six of them when domestic flights resumed. The one at the international terminal has just resumed business. “With air traffic increasing, we expect more people to turn up and relish our products, but we are taking things slow. We strictly follow the COVID protocols and stick to the guidelines,” said the bakery’s executive chef, Vikas Kumar.
A chain of sweet shops, which currently has a retail store at the domestic terminal, is also planning to expand to the international section. “On many occasions, international flyers go to the domestic flank just for our shop. So, we will be catering to them in our new store at the international terminal very soon,” said Subhajit Ghosh, director of the brand.
Raaj Vashish, regional manager of West Bengal and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands, Trifed, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, said that their shop Tribes India is strategically located at the arrival section of the airport. “That way, we get both domestic and international passengers as customers. However, across all the airports we have a retail presence in, the sale has always been better at the international terminals. This is because in most cases, the NRIs and foreigners buy souvenirs in bulk from our shops to take back a slice of India with them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kolkata airport director C Pattabhi said, “Several shops at the international terminal have opened, but many more are yet to open. We are yet to collect data on the shops.”