Avolta overcomes stagnant North American sales as global growth tops 5%
Global travel retailer Avolta today played down the continued weakness it’s seeing in North America, focusing instead on its solid organic global growth of 5.4%* in the nine months to September. This was slightly better than French competitor Lagardère Travel Retail’s 4.4% increase over the same period.
Avolta, the world’s largest travel retailer and leader in the $74 billion duty-free industry (2024 figures), revealed strong advances in all its geographic regions except North America, which was stagnant (-0.2%). In the investor call, the company focused on its solid financial fundamentals, which included multiple consecutive quarters of margin increases; reduced leverage (as a net debt/core Ebitda ratio); and to preserve returns for shareholders.
CFO Yves Gerster told the bank’s analysts he was “very satisfied” with the financial results, and CEO Xavier Rossinyol commented: “Of course we will have regions or countries that are weaker or stronger, but if we look at the full year, we will deliver results in line with or ahead of our outlook.” For the full year, Avolta expects organic growth of 5-7% and remains committed to underlying Ebitda margin improvement of 20-40 bps.
In the nine months to September, turnover reached 10.61 billion Swiss francs ($13.3 billion), with headline turnover of $13 billion. By region, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) had the best growth of 8.3% to 5.52 billion Swiss francs ($6.9 billion).
The shutdown in North America – where Hudson and HMSHost are key subsidiaries – generated 3.07 billion Swiss francs ($3.75 billion), meaning the EMEA business is now almost double its turnover. In other regions, Latin America performed well, up 7.4%, and Asia Pacific was up +5.4%.
North America: a touching holiday
Xavier Rossinyol: “Looking at the full year, we will deliver results in line with or ahead of our outlook.”
Volta
Growth trends this year mean North America’s share of Avolta’s sales has shrunk to 29.5%% from 32% in 2023, not helped by entrenched weak domestic traffic, as evidenced by September IATA data.
On the conditions, Rossinyol said: “Overall, in 2025 in the US we saw stronger duty-free, higher commodity prices and people with more disposable income being resilient in consumption patterns. But we also saw a specific slowdown at the lower end. There is a trend in food and beverage (F&B) and retail to focus on more affordable products.”
The good news for Avolta is that North America saw a rebound in October, with growth reaching 3%, which Gerster called an inflection point. Rossinyol elaborated: “In October, both F&B and convenience across the country seem to be trending towards higher consumption. The US consumer seems to be in a bit of a better mood and we’re watching that very closely as it will have implications for our range.”
Avolta has long-term concessions in the bag
October’s recovery bodes well for the rest of the year if it holds. In the medium term, North America may make an equally strong comeback, thanks in large part to a number of one-stop contracts for Avolta; John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Avolta has secured several long-term concessions at JFK, most recently at American Airlines Terminal 8, where the retailer will operate an expansive duty-free store, and has several retail concepts lined up. Rossinyol said: “Terminal 8 is a very big win. Together with other wins this year, it will make JFK one of our key locations in North America.”
At JFK, the CEO said, some operations will begin next year and some in 2027. The first full year that Avolta will have all, or nearly all, of its North American accounts incorporated will be in 2028, “although positive contributions will begin in 2026,” Rossinyol confirmed.
* All percentages are organic unless otherwise noted.