EMEA Buoys Avolta In H1 As U.S. Is Hit By ‘Trump Effect’ And Grinds To A Halt

A customer browses the Avolta wine and spirits offer at Boston Logan Airport.

Kevin Rozario

Stores in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) helped Avolta to deliver organic growth of 5.7% (like-for-like 4.9%) in the first half of 2025, offsetting flat sales in North America (down 0.2%) as passenger traffic has tumbled due to the Trump administration’s policies and high-profile travel detentions. The travel retailer’s total H1 sales hit Swiss francs 6.6 billion ($8.14 billion), with the stock closing 1.9% up on Thursday.

EMEA—Avolta’s biggest region, covering 34 countries—saw 9.2% organic growth, generating sales of 3.34 billion Swiss francs ($4.1 billion) while revenue in North America, encompassing the United States and Canada, stood still at 2.05 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion).

The differing performances in the two regions, which account for 81.5% of Avolta’s sales (EMEA 50.5% and North America 31%), have affected the split in the company’s business lines. The duty-paid business, which is strong in the U.S., has shrunk to 28% from 31% in FY2024, and the duty-free business has grown to 39%, from 36% last year.

In a statement, Switzerland-based Avolta said the performance in North America “remained broadly in line with the prior year due to softer passenger traffic in the United States.” The retailer’s smallest regions of Latin America (making up 12% of revenue) and Asia Pacific (6.5% of revenue), had organic growth of 8.1% and 5.1% respectively.

In its half-year results, released last week, French rival Lagardère Travel Retail also noted that the air traffic slowdown in the U.S. had negatively impacted revenue there by 1%. The company generated H1 revenue of €2.9 billion ($3.3 billion), up 5%.

Trump’s policies and several border incidents have led to more than a dozen countries issuing travel advisories for the U.S., turning travelers off, and impacting the airport retail channel.

Both Avolta and Lagardère have to brace for further impacts. While many markets around the world are breaking tourism records, visitor spending this year in the United States could plummet by $12.5 billion versus 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

In North America, Avolta has, nevertheless, continued to grow its commercial footprint, adding sizeable contracts at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, including a 10-year deal to refurbish the Terminal 5 dining experience. The region also saw key openings at newly refurbished Vancouver and Toronto duty-free stores.

Loyalty and new business

While the United States suffers, Avolta has emphasized its strategic transformation of both its food and beverage (F&B) and retail concepts, as well as on data gathering through loyalty schemes. In an investor call this afternoon, Avolta CEO, Xavier Rossinyol, said: “In June, Club Avolta reached 13 million members, and is recruiting about half a million every month. We are therefore getting more and better, data, and are improving our performance thanks to that.”

New business development in the EMEA region has included an increased footprint in Denmark with five new F&B stores, and the launch of other F&B concepts in the United Kingdom (with Alembic), Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (LOAF), and at Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport (Früh bis Spät). In Latin America, Avolta secured a nine-year retail contract extension across four big Mexican airports, as well as a five-year agreement to expand operations at Guadalajara Airport, the country’s third busiest airport.

Rossinyol said: “Across the regions over recent weeks, we have observed a more stable environment. We look forward to the second half with cautious optimism and reaffirm our outlook.” Avolta is targeting organic growth of between 5-7% and is hoping to deliver 20-40bps of core EBITDA margin improvement.