James Richardson launched its renovated duty-free store in Ben Gurion Airport’s Terminal 1 on Wednesday, expanding its size by 220 square meters (2,368 square feet) to a total of 680 square meters (7,320 square feet).
The store, redesigned and refurbished, now features an enlarged checkout area with 28 registers, including three designated for loyalty club members and one for pre-orders. Despite the upgrade, the store remains significantly smaller than its Terminal 3 counterpart, which spans 3,000 square meters (32,292 square feet).
New sections have been added, including Korean cosmetics, niche perfumes (Molecule, Jo Malone) and haircare brands like Olayer and La Beauté. Due to space constraints, some brands available in Terminal 3, such as Essie nail polish and Elite chocolate are not sold in Terminal 1. Some products are also unavailable due to Passover preparations.
Prices have risen in line with the overall consumer goods market. A 360-gram (12.7-ounce) Toblerone bar, priced at $8.90 in 2020, now costs $13.90 — a nearly 60% increase over five years.
A 330-gram (11.6-ounce) M&M’s package is now $1 more expensive, though previous packaging was 400 grams (14.1 ounces). A 300-gram (10.6-ounce) Lindt Gold chocolate bar, which sold for $11.90 in 2024, is now $16.90 — a 42% increase, partly due to global brand price hikes.
Alcohol prices have also climbed. A 700-milliliter (23.7-ounce) bottle of Martell Cognac XO rose from $189.90 in 2024 to $225.90 — a 19% increase. A 700-milliliter bottle of Chivas Regal 25-year-old whisky saw a slight increase from $349 to $351.
Some beauty products also saw price hikes, such as Bay by Neta eyeliner, which went from $10 in early 2024 to $13. However, Victoria’s Secret Mist Collection Pure Seduction body cream dropped from $19.90 to $17.90. Some items, like Roberto Cavalli vodka and select perfumes, have not increased in price.
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Marketing VP Shani Inbar explained, “Chocolate prices have risen due to the ongoing global cocoa price surge but we’ve expanded our candy selection — including Haribo, Chupa Chups, Skittles, Jelly Bean, Jelly Belly and more — offering an entire wall dedicated to candies as an alternative.”
As always, duty-free promotions focus on bulk deals: three toiletry items for $12, two skincare or makeup products for $40, three perfumes or skincare items for $99 and two cosmetics products for $30, with a second item at 40% off.
Alcohol deals include 30% off a second item, as well as a "buy three, get one free" offer on select wines. Chocolate promotions include “buy four, get one free” or “buy five, get two free,” though the high prices make these less attractive.
Top-selling chocolate brands at the duty-free store include Kinder, Maltesers, Milka, M&M’s, Ragusa and Toblerone. In perfumes, Armani, Chanel, Creed, Dior, Maison Francis Kurkdjian and YSL lead sales.
Popular makeup brands include Benefit, Chanel, Dior, Einav Bublil (EB), Estée Lauder and MAC. In alcohol, bestsellers include Beluga vodka, Glenfiddich whisky, Molly’s, Macallan and Roberto Cavalli.
According to company data, 50% of Israeli travelers visit the James Richardson website before their flight to compare prices.
James Richardson has operated in Israel for 37 years and, since 2024, has been fully owned by Heinemann, which runs over 500 airport stores worldwide. The Terminal 1 duty-free store originally moved to Terminal 3 in 2004 after the terminal’s closure but reopened in 2017. It shut down during the Gaza war and has now reopened with its expanded layout.
The company recently won bids to operate duty-free stores at border crossings and the toy stores in both Ben Gurion Airport terminals, set to open this summer. It also runs four satellite stores and a store in the private aviation terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, as well as locations in Taba, the Jordan River border crossing, Eilat and onboard Israir flights.
At the store's reopening, Ben Gurion Airport director Udi Baroz said, “It was important for us to have the store ready before the summer season begins in a few days. International airlines will resume flights to Israel starting Sunday, with some returning next week and others in early June. While we're not in a full ceasefire, we have clear protocols for handling alerts and quickly returning to normal operations.”