Duty-free sales in Norway in the first three months of the year increased sharply compared to the same period in 2019. According to figures from Global Blue, which among other things facilitates duty-free sales and refunds of VAT for foreign tourists, average sales have risen by 97 per cent. Increased tourism, the krone’s weak exchange rate against the euro and dollar and the return of Asians are some of the reasons.
In the first quarter, China is number one in terms of turnover
Geir Victor Svendsen
– As expected, Norway received a lot of visits from the Chinese in the first quarter of 2024. The country was closed until 8 January 2023 and when they opened up the entire infrastructure had to be opened again. It has taken time to train pilots, go through planes that have been on the ground for a long time, hire people in the travel industry and make it possible to travel again. Now in the first quarter, China is number one in terms of turnover, says Geir Victor Svendsen, CEO of Global Blue Norway.
The tourists who have visited Norway have shopped for higher amounts per buy. The number of transactions issued has increased by 24 per cent, while sales have increased by a whopping 145 per cent, due to high average sales.
Measured in turnover in Norway per countries, compared to the same period in 2019, China has increased by 237 percent, France 449 percent, the United States 106 percent, the United Kingdom 281 percent and Taiwan 559 percent.
Oslo reigns supreme as a tourist destination among Norwegian cities. Compared to 2019 figures, duty-free turnover in the capital has increased by 206 per cent in the first quarter. The corresponding figure for Tromsø in second place is 118 per cent and Bergen in third place is 110 per cent.
Shops at Steen & Strøm
Among the players benefiting from the influx of tourists is the department store Steen & Strøm in central Oslo.
– We have four times more customers from China than from the USA, which is the second largest. Many of them are particularly interested in good buys on luxury goods, says Steen & Strøm CEO David Wilkinson.
In the first three months of the year, the department store had a turnover of NOK 170 million, compared to NOK 148 million in the same period in 2019.
– It has been a record quarter for us, thanks in large part to the tourists, says Wilkinson.
Global Blue manager Svendsen says that a 76 per cent increase in the number of transactions compared to the same period in 2019 indicates that Steen & Strøm has had a good many more tourists at the department store in the first quarter of 2024 than in 2019.
– This is often indicated by the fact that it is a product mix that hits the tourists. In addition, more expensive goods are sold and average sales have increased by 22 per cent compared to 2019. Asians will be back in Norway in 2024 and account for as much as 23 per cent of the total traded at Steen & Strøm, says Svendsen.
The fashion stores around Steen & Strøm, such as Dior, Gucci, Moncler, Hermès and Louis Vuitton, also experienced good growth in the first quarter of this year.
– The year has started incredibly well, and we get a lot of turnover from the tourists, says Annette Lund, managing director of Promenaden Management, which operates and develops both Steen & Strøm and the surrounding buildings.
