Warner Bros. Consumer Products Appoints Dufry Authorized Licensed Retailer For Italy
(November 29, 2005 - Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) announced today that they have appointed Dufry, one of the world’s leading travel retailers, the company’s Authorized Licensed Retailer in Italy. As part of the agreement, Dufry has been granted the rights to open and operate Warner Bros. Studios Stores in airports and railway stations. The first Warner Bros. Studio Store will open in Rome on November 30th, at Fiumicino Airport.
A premiere entertainment shopping experience in a delicate environment, Warner Bros. Studio Stores offer a large assortment of exciting merchandise inspired by the glamour of the entertainment industry. The Studio Store in Rome will feature a selection of merchandise from WBCP’s top Italian licensees. The Studio Stores celebrate the range of Warner Bros. Entertainment characters from the irreverent humor of the Looney Tunes, the mystery of Scooby-Doo, the super hero appeal of DC Comics’ Batman and Superman, the chase and excitement of Tom and Jerry, the stone age humor of the Flintstones and much more.
“This partnership represents our continuous commitment to reaching fans of our properties in unique ways throughout the world,” said Pilar Zulueta, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “With Dufry’s dedication to our well-renowned brands and their commitment to enhancing customer’s experiences, we are sure that this new venture will be a success.”
“We embarked on this new business venture with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, to carry on our diversification policy regarding the traditional Duty Free stores, where Dufry is already the leader in Italy,” said Ernesto Marro, Deputy COO Italy, of the Dufry Group. “We wanted a dynamic store that would be fun for customers of all ages, a store able to catch the attention of airport passengers with its image and entice them to spend some time there while waiting for their departures. We are sure that this will be the first of a long string of projects we will undertake with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.”
“We are delighted to offer our passengers this new fantastic entertainment and shopping experience,” said Andrea Belardini, Executive Vice President, Business Unit Commercial of Aeroporti di Roma Company. “We strongly believe that the Warner Bros. Studio Store will enable us to move closer to our customer expectations. We are experiencing a continuous growth of families and children travelling from our airport, and no doubt we want to offer them novelties and excitement.”
“The opening of the first Warner Bros. Studio Store in Italy is a very important event for our company,” explained Maurizio Distefano, General Manager, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Italy, Agents Markets and Switzerland. “Today we are very excited, not only because of the uniqueness of this magnificent store under license with a partner such as Dufry, but also because of the excellent quality of the products featured in the store, all from some of Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ best licensees in Italy.”
The Warner Bros. Studio Store in Rome offers a unique and interactive entertainment experience by which fans of these beloved properties will come face to face with their favorite characters. Additionally, this retail environment will offer a diverse assortment of high quality merchandise inspired by the range of Warner Bros. personalities, including toys, games, apparel, accessories and much more.
The new store is made up of eight themed areas, as well as a main area comprised of multiple properties. The interior of the store is set up using three-dimensional thematic sets and projectors, which create a lighting effect that transforms and alters the surrounding environment so to create a magical atmosphere that enhances the customer’s experience.
About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
About Dufry
Dufry is specialized in retailing to travellers. At present Dufry operates more than 290 shops in airports, seaports, railway stations, border crossings, downtown areas and on-board cruise liners, ferries and airlines on four continents. Headquartered in Switzerland, staff worldwide Dufry employs more than 4,000 staff worldwide.
About Aeroporti di Roma Company
Aeroporti di Roma (ADR S.p.A) is the exclusive concessionaire company for the management and development of the Rome airport system: Fiumicino ”Leonardo da Vinci” and Ciampino “Giovan Battista Pastine.”
With an overall traffic of 30.675.578 passengers in 2004, assistance given to approx. 100 airlines and more than 140 destinations worldwide, ADR is today the leading airport management company in Italy and has reached sixth place in Europe.
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.
LOONEY TUNES, BABY LOONEY TUNES, and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
SCOOBY-DOO, TOM AND JERRY, FLINTSTONES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera.
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