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Vinumport Duty Free creates new border store concept

Published: 18/05/10

Source: ©The Moodie Report

By Dermot Davitt

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US/CANADA. A new entrant to the US–Canada land border business, Vinumport Duty Free, has opened the first of six border stores along the frontier after acquiring the chain previously known as Git N Go Duty Free. The company plans to develop a new, upscale model for the border business, built around rare and exclusive wines and other luxury products.

15 years of experience: Vinumport Duty Free President Thomas Pillsworth
Vinumport Duty Free President Thomas Pillsworth, who previously spent 15 years in the retailing, importation, brand management and sale of wines in North America, completed the acquisition of Git N Go from previous owner Les Matthews on 1 January.

On 1 May he re-opened the first of six stores that were previously operated by Git N Go, at Champlain, New York. A second store, at Rouses Point, will open on 1 June, with other stores to follow, probably on a seasonal basis. These are located at Chateaugay, Mooers, Trout River and Fort Covington, all in New York State.

“I want to develop a different kind of duty free store, styled more like a high-end wine boutique," Pillsworth told The Moodie Report. "Through my years in the wine trade I have access to many brands that you won’t find at other duty free stores on the borders, plus I plan to develop a much wider range than you traditionally see in those stores. I already have 100 wines listed, and ideally I’d raise that to 250, plus 100 or so liquor brands.

“Of course you have to have the major international staples, but I’m also interested in up-and-coming wine and spirits brands, especially those that are already making an impact in this region. I can’t compete on price with other retailers such as Duty Free Americas [the Champlain outlet lies close to a DFA store –Ed] so I want to be different. I can also offer Canadians far better prices than they’ll find at home. I have access to top-class wines that will sell for C$100 a bottle, which in Montréal or Québec retail through the SAQ [the Société des Alcools du Québec monopoly –Ed] at C$250.”

Wines & spirits will lie at the heart of the range, noted Pillsworth. “I have seen many of the large duty free stores, both in North America and beyond,” he noted, “and in many the environment is very sterile. I want to create a boutique that is known for excellence in certain niche categories. We will do a select range of brands – maybe only two or three – in cigars, sunglasses, watches, and maybe no more than ten brands in fragrances & cosmetics, but all at the luxury end.”

After leaving his previous role in the wine trade on 1 May, Pillsworth is now devoting his full attention to sourcing products to stock the Champlain store. He plans to host a grand opening on the weekend of 12 June, to coincide with the Montréal Formula 1 Grand Prix, which will be a major regional and international attraction.

Thomas Pillsworth can be contacted at tom@vinumport.com. The retailer’s web address is www.vinumport.com


Vinumport opens the first in a series of US/Canada land border duty free stores

On May 1, Vinumport Duty Free opened the first of six duty free stores along the US/Canada border. The opening of the company’s first location came about after Vinumport’s acquisition of Git N Go Duty Free. The store is located in Champlain, New York, as are the other five locations acquired from Git N Go. The second of the six stores, located at Rouses Point, is slated to open on June 1 with the other four locations opening in due course.

While Buffalo is generally the first location that comes to mind when thinking of New York land border duty free locations, Vinumport Duty Free’s President Thomas Pillsworth asserts that his stores will be a completely different concept: “I see huge potential for Vinumport Duty Free as we’re located fully five hours from Buffalo; it’s really a completely different area of the state. We’re very close to Whiteface Mountain and as such, I really want to give the stores the feel of an outpost duty free store, with plenty of wood and an Adirondack feel.”

While Pillsworth previously spent 15 years in the wine business in North America and plans to sell a generous helping of world wines at the stores (the current location boasts 100 different wines and Pillsworth has plans to incorporate hundreds more), travelers will also find Gurkha cigars, high-end spirits, watches from Curtis & Co. and Oris and sunglasses from Serengeti and Bolle.

“Gurkha features a range of cigars from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Costa Rica,” says Pillsworth. “It’s generally considered one of the top ten cigar brands in the world, but still with some very accessible entry-level offerings. I’m also looking at selling some accessories to complement the categories, such as crystal stemware and cigar accessories.

“Essentially I want to create an environment where shoppers can find an assortment of niche luxury goods,” concludes Pillsworth. “Indeed, I’m selling these products because of their quality; because I myself have fallen in love with them.”


New US border store chain makes debut

Joe Bates

18-May-2010
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The first Vinumport Duty Free store opened in the beginning of May on the US–Canada border

A wine importer has purchased a chain of six duty-free stores on the New York State/Québec border for an undisclosed sum, with the aim of turning them into high-end shops specialising in wine but also selling other products including fragrances and watches.

The largest of the six Vinumport Duty Free stores is located in the border town of Champlain on Route 87, the main interstate between New York City and Montréal. It is the only one of the six stores to have competition in the shape of Duty Free Americas (DFA), which operates an outlet on the same crossing.

The Champlain shop opened at the beginning of this month, and the second store at Rouses Point, located a 10-minute drive to the east of the Champlain crossing, will open on June 1. The other stores, three of which only opened seasonally under the management of Git 'N' Go, are also to be refurbished.

Thomas Pillsworth, an experienced importer of fine European wine, told DFNIonline he acquired the Git 'N' Go chain from its owner for a "bargain price". "At 65 all the old owner wanted to do was to retire to Florida and get away from all these cold, snowy winters,” he said. “He was finding it hard to find anyone to take them over and was slowly shutting them down one after the other."

Pillsworth is targeting consumers from Montréal and Québec with high-end European wines that are not found in the province's state-run liquor monopoly, the Sociètè des Alcools du Québec (SAQ). He claimed his wine prices were 30–50% lower than at the SAQ, and that Québec had one of the highest rates of per capita wine consumption in the world.

Vinumport Duty Free will also stock wines from New York state and a more limited range of specialist spirits, micro-brewed beers, cigars, glassware, watches and fragrances.

He added that he planned to refurbish the outlets in the local rustic Adirondack architectural style. "I'd like the stores to look like Adriondack-style outposts with lots of exposed wood inside and out."

Pillsworth plans to travel to Europe in the summer to source more product lines for the shops and is particularly interested in talking to suppliers that have been unable to gain listings either with DFA or SAQ.
Thomas Pillsworth
tom@vinumport.com

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