Page 12 - Special Issue Asutil Conference 2025

INSIDER

Renderings of the P&C area of the new Luryx store in the Dreams Park at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

Top Brands’ LATAM expansion enters Brazil with new Luryx store in

Foz do Iguaçu by John Gallagher

Panama-based Top Brands renovations at the airport, but construction Marcelo Montico, CEO of Neutral
International has expanded rapidly in was re-started in May 2022 when the - Luryx in Uruguay, is heading up the
the Latin American duty free segment in Paraguayan government permitted the project, which is expected to open by the
recent years. Even though initial expansion airport to resume normal operations. third quarter of this year.
coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, Top Brands, under the Luryx fascia, “The store is located within the
the company, owned and managed by the quickly completed several temporary Dreams theme park, a big retail and
Yahoros family, has continued to look refurbishments and coordinated a soft entertainment complex just outside the
for growth opportunities throughout the opening of the duty free stores. center of Foz do Iguaçu. Location is
Americas. By November 2022, the totally especially important in retail and in Foz
renovated 1,200 sqm walk-through store do Iguaçu there are very few accessible
Neutral in Uruguay was fully operational and suppliers report options; in practice, you have to pick a
In 2019, Top Brands took a giant step that sales are going well. location at an established shopping mall or
with the purchase of Neutral Duty Free, the decide to do something a little different,”
largest duty free chain in Uruguay, marking Iquique expansion Montico tells TMI.
a significant development in their regional In January this year, the company “Our Company has had a lot of
growth. Neutral operates eight duty free further expanded its Latin American success selling to Brazilian consumers
stores in all six Uruguayan border cities footprint by acquiring the 1,200 sqm Mega who travel to the border duty free stores
where duty free retailing is permitted. Since Shopping from the Paraguayan Vierci in Uruguay and we had already started to
the acquisition, Top Brands has continued group. Mega Shopping is the biggest single look at Foz de Iguazú as a possible place to
to invest in the retail stores they operate on retail operation in the Zofri Mall at Iquique establish a new operation, when the current
the Uruguayan border with Brazil. Free Trade Zone in Chile and has been opportunity came up. We are convinced it
Over the last few years, the company rebranded under their Luryx retail identity. is an excellent location, and the park will
has performed ahead of the market; total bring us shoppers, and we will bring people
revenues in Q1 2025 were 33% ahead And now Brazil to spend time in the park as well.”
of the same three months in 2024 and However, a bigger acquisition was The new 2,700 sqm store will be
considerably ahead of the figures reported only a few weeks away and at the end housed on two retail floors. The attractive
in 2019 pre-pandemic, Neutral CEO of February the company announced layout is being designed to maximize all
Marcelo Montico confirmed. He expects the acquisition of a downtown duty free categories.
2025 will be a particularly good year for operation in Foz do Iguaçu from a group of “Many brands are investing in
the Uruguayan operation. Brazilian and international entrepreneurs. merchandising units, and we are sure that
At the same time, Top Brands signed an all categories will look really exceptional
Asuncion concession exclusive contract to open a new duty free when we open. Shoppers will have a
In December 2019, Top Brands won store at Dreams Park, located just outside wonderful experience with us – there will
a ten-year concession at Silvio Pettirossi the center of Foz do Iguaçu, situated on the be more than two hundred video screens,
airport in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion. main highway from the city to the Brazilian we will even have videos of the waterfalls
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the side of the Iguazu waterfalls and adjacent so shoppers will remember where they are!
company to stop work on major store to the borders of Argentina and Paraguay. It will be a complete multi-sensorial

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