Following a competitive tender launched earlier this year, Aelia Group has been selected as sole operator of the liquor, tobacco and perfumes & cosmetics stores at Nice Côte d’Azur airport. Aelia already operates a number of stores at the airport including the LTPC store in terminal 1, and will now take over the LTPC business in terminal 2 when the existing operator’s contract expires in December 2009.

Nice Côte d’Azur airport is to undertake ambitious plans to improve the commercial environment in both terminals, extending the LTPC store in T1 to 350sq m and creating a new 250sq m store in T2 module 1, catering for Schengen traffic. Aelia will also take over a further 240sq m of LTPC retail space in T2 module 2, including a store for non-Schengen passengers. In total the LTPC business at Nice Côte d’Azur is expected to be worth more than 150m euros over the course of the contract.

Commenting on the development, Aelia chairman and CEO Jean-Baptiste Morin said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this tender and I would like to thank the commercial team at Aéroport Nice Côte d’Azur for placing their trust in us. We look forward to continuing and indeed strengthening our partnership with them.

“The airport is already a great place to do business thanks to its progressive attitude and very interesting customer profile, and with improvements to the retail area imminent, this is a fantastic opportunity for Aelia. We have a great team in place at Nice, headed by our director of regional operations Pascal le Droff, and they will ensure a seamless transition that ensures the best results for the airport and its customers.”

Traffic at Nice Côte d’Azur in 2007 reached 10.4m passengers, representing growth of nearly 5% on the previous year. The airport is France’s largest outside Paris.