Stena Line car passengers travelling to Dublin from Holyhead will now be able to take advantage of a new duty-free shop, constructed from a used shipping container.
North Wales Live reports that the new duty-free shop, owned and managed by Stena affiliate R&F Travel Retail, is based inside a 40ft shipping container at the port, where customers will be able to purchase their duty-free goods at the store before boarding, allowing them to load purchases directly into their cars.
There are plans to open another duty-free shop in Fishguard, Stena Line’s other Welsh terminal.
The Holyhead facility is the first of its type serving Stena Line customers ran by R&F directly rather than by the Ferry company themselves.
A statement from R&F said: “Welcome to (probably) the world's smallest border shop!
“Today we have opened the doors to a brand new border shop in Holyhead Port, giving ferry passengers travelling to the UK fantastic opportunities to shop duty-free products while waiting for their departures.”
R&F Travel Retail is a large retail and distribution company that counts Stena Line, TT-Line, and Finnlines amongst its customers. It provides design services for stores and was responsible for the shops onboard Stena Line’s E-Flexer class vessels, as well as the refurbishment of the onboard retail spaces onboard the Stena Line Irish Sea fleet.
R&F Travel Retail supplies a range of about 5,000 different lines across categories including alcohol and perfume/cosmetics to over 90 stores in Northern Europe.
The proposed duty-free store at Fishguard will also use a shipping container, which, according to Stena Line, is a quick and low-cost way to develop the new stores.
The container at Holyhead was already in place adjacent to the vehicle marshalling area, and so only the shop interior and branding had to be fitted.
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