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Hellenic Duty Free Shops is a Greek travel retail company that has had since 1979 the exclusive right for selling duty free products at all exits of Greece, including air, sea or land.
The firm is a member of Folli Follie Group of companies, also comprised by the Folli Follie S.A and Elmec Sport S.A, retail companies. Hellenic Duty Free Shops possesses the two subsidiaries Hellenic Distributions S.A and Links of London LTD.
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The firm was launched in 1979 as a state-owned company, providing duty free goods to travelers passing though the Greek borders. Originally, there were only two shops at the old Athens International Airport at Hellinikon. The network expanded, and, in 1998, the firm was conceded the right of providing duty free products at all exits of Greece for a 50 year period, leading to further expansion. The company has become one of the largest Greek retailers in the Greek market, and the largest retail company listed in the Athens Stock Exchange.
In 1999, the European Commission decided on the abolition of duty free sales to passengers travelling within the EU. This directive created a new status for the travel retail sector and a great challenge for the company. The company took this event as an opportunity and introduced to its stores “travel value” goods: providing goods in reduced prices by absorbing duties and taxes.
In 2000, the state decided to privatize the company.
In 2000, Greece entered the Schengen Agreement, while in 2001 Athens International Airport(AIA) was transferred to its current location at Spata, Attiki. The new and improved airport was designed according to modern airport shopping center standards; today the firm operates 26 shops at that airport: 11 in the Intra-Schengen area, 9 in the Extra-Schengen area, 3 in the free zone and 3 in the arrivals area. In 2006, Folli Follie, acquired an additional 25% of the shares from Germanos S.A. The companies Links of London LTD and Elmec Sports S.A. was acquired in 2006 and 2007 respectively, while Hellenic Distribution S.A. was established in 2001.
In 2010, a three-way merger between HDFS, the Folli Follie jewellery and watches group, and the Elmec Sports clothes retailer combined the companies within HDFS.[7][8][9][10]
Today, the company operates a network of 90 shops at 45 locations at airports, border stations, and ports nationwide. Its shops are usually characterized by the blue colour with white and orange details.
In the firm's 2009-2011 investment plan, € 5.1 million was made available in 2009 to implement the ‘duty free mall concept’ at company level.[11] As part of this move, the perfumes, cosmetics and Folli Follie,[12] Hellenic Gourmet, Cava [13] and Luxury stores at Athens International Airport were revamped.[14][15][15] The Kipi Border Station was also redeveloped to provide a complete range of services and now includes leisure facilities, parking spaces and restaurants for travelers crossing the border. As part of this, the discount stores that operate at Kipi, Evzoni and Promachonas were also renovated, and now sell previous season’s clothing and footwear at reduced prices.[16]
New shops are planned for several of Greece’s ports, airport and border stations.[17] The company also inte3nds to develop beyond Greece's borders, so that the company can acquire an international foothold at international airports.
In the near future it intends to inaugurate two more departments. The first one is to be situated in central Athens; the second one is located in the centre of Bucharest, Rumania.