OREANDA-NEWS. Basel Aero, a part of Russia's largest industrial diversified group Basic Element, announces the opening of the first duty free store, The Store Sochi, of a joint venture Nuance Basel in the domestic departures lounge of the Sochi International Airport.

Nuance Basel, a joint venture, established between Basel Aero and Swiss Nuance Group for the development of retail business in the airports of Sochi, Anapa, Krasnodar and Gelendzhik in October 2013, has opened the first duty paid store in Sochi airport's airside zone of domestic departures.

The Store Sochi covering an area of about 900 sq. m is designed in a way that all passengers who have passed preflight control in the sector A, proceed to the clean zone through the shopping area. The store can serve up to 100 customers per hour. It boasts a wide range of food products (snacks, chocolate, sweets), accessories (watches, scarves, handbags and briefcases), souvenirs including the official Olympic memorabilia as well as perfumes, cosmetics and soft drinks.

Architects and designers of the store have taken into account not only the latest retail trends, but also accessibility standards for passengers with reduced mobility. The shopping area features wide aisles between counters, wheelchair-friendly navigation throughout the shopping area. A special 80-cm cash desk for wheelchair users is located near the exit.

The Store Sochi's customers can enjoy a wide selection of sweets from the world's largest chocolate manufacturers in Chocolate Boutique. One of the biggest sectors of the new store is occupied by Fragrance Boutique that features leading perfume and cosmetics brands. The store's pricing policy is based on 10-20%-discount compared to the average prices in city's stores. Products offered in the store are certified and shipped from Nuance warehouses in Europe.

The store's construction and design was in progress from October 2013 through February 2014. The soft opening of the store with limited selection of goods was held before the start of the Winter Olympic Games.

Leonid Sergeev, CEO of Basel Aero:

“We have scheduled the store's launch for the final days of the Olympics since the shopping area is located in the departures lounge. Our main goal is to provide high quality service to passengers and offer the products by the world's top manufacturers at the affordable prices. The next step is the establishment of the duty free zone in the international departures area prior to the big international events in Sochi such as Formula 1 Grand Prix race.”