All Dixons Travel stores to close after ban on tax free shopping

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• Andy S says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:20

  Apart from Boots I can’t remember last time I purchased any goods at an airport. I usually just go directly to the business lounge.

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    28 Apr28 April 11:44

    I used to get my shirts from Thomas Pink in T3 / T5. But since they were taken ver, their designs are, well…..

  • Mike says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:13

    The last time I bought any goods of value at an airport was when there were concurrent AMEX->Emirates and Emirates-Heathrow Rewards->Gift Voucher bonuses on.

  • Richard G says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:17

    I’ve used them a few times, mostly emergency last minute bits. Bit annoying that wont be an option going forward.

  • Red Flyer says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:58

    Made some big savings at Tiffany in T5 over the years for anniversary & birthday gifts.

    • Mark says:

      29 Apr29 April 08:20

      Same here. Purchased a very expensive engagement ring for a friend in T5. I collected the points he saved a four figure sum!

      Booked a 1 way avios booking to newcastle if I remember correctly. Purchased the ring and then asked to go back landside. Tiffany was always a straight 20% discount, it didn’t matter where you were travelling.

• Phil says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:23

  Thanks Brexshit!

  • Paul Pogba says:

    28 Apr28 April 15:25

    This has to be sarcasm at this point.

    • Bazza says:

      28 Apr28 April 16:51

      You would hope so but these angry remainers will never stop.

      • James says:

        28 Apr28 April 20:00

        Bazza and Paul, so easily triggered.

        • Whatever says:

          28 Apr28 April 21:49

          As is Phil, from the sound of it…

• George K says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:38

  I had a stack of Heathrow Rewards vouchers to burn a few years back and bought something of no consequence from Dixons at the time. Once I flew back (within the 14-day window), I realised that I didn’t really need it so I inquired as to a refund at a local Curry’s store. Clerk gave me a cash refund, as vouchers were showing as cash on the receipt.

  RIP

• HH says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:45

  There were rumours when the tax-free rule changed that high-end shops would maintain the same discount but absorb it themselves, to drive airport sales. Any personal experiences if this is the case at LHR T5?

  I’m particularly after a Cartier watch – it’s £5,400 in UK or £4,850 in Switzerland… But if they’d match the VAT-free price in T5 it comes out the clear winner at £4,500.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:23

    I genuinely doubt the margin is there

    • Nick says:

      28 Apr28 April 12:51

      The margin on a £4K Cartier watch will be £2.5-3k. So yes, they could if they wanted to.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        28 Apr28 April 13:55

        Isn’t the Cartier store actually run by Harrods?

        I’d also be dumfounded if Harrods make £2.5k-£3k profit on a cartier piece costing £4k retail including VAT theres about £700 of VAT to pay alone!

      • KBuffett says:

        28 Apr28 April 20:16

        Nick, I think your knowledge on this whole subject is lacking.

        • Matarredonda says:

          29 Apr29 April 09:15

          Brexit the gift which keeps giving.
          So more jobs gone.
          Anybody who thinks a retailer makes a margin of £2000/2500 on a £5000 purchase is in another world. Might be the gross margin without taking account of cost of sale.

  • kitten says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:51

    Cartier is one of the ones that generally would give you far less than the VAT off in dutry-free. Switzerland has often been the most practical – in high street places there – when I’ve looked.

    Same as France – you can much of the time do a better deal in the high street. Duty free stores tend to be overpriced, if anything.

    • HH says:

      28 Apr28 April 13:24

      Appreciate the advice, noted.

    • Sarah says:

      29 Apr29 April 10:38

      I bought a Cartier watch in T5 and got 20% off the retail price, which was the same as the price on their website. That seemed to be their standard discount, didn’t have to negotiate for it.

  • Mark says:

    29 Apr29 April 08:22

    Tiffany have always just discounted 20%

  • Sarah says:

    29 Apr29 April 10:38

    worth giving them a call to ask.

• IanM says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:48

  Never found Dixons at airports to be cheaper than high street, who tax free thing was a complete con, good riddance!

  • Andrew says:

    28 Apr28 April 13:11

    Indeed prices were far from being ‘tax free’. They’d typically be just below highstreet prices but still more than you could find online.

• Rivo says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:50

  I thought the “ban on tax free shopping” was for electronics and clothing?

  • sigma421 says:

    28 Apr28 April 11:59

    It’s for everything save booze and fags duty AIUI.

  • Blenz101 says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:09

    There is a difference in VAT and duty payable on ‘sin products’

    • Rob says:

      28 Apr28 April 12:14

      It is on everything. DUTY-free is still available but duty is only paid on alchohol and tobacco. Those prices will have gone up too because the VAT now needs to be paid even though the duty is still removed.

      • Rivo says:

        28 Apr28 April 12:55

        But there is nothing stopping retailers from extending what they were doing for EU flights pre-brexit and leveling a discount on high street / online prices in lieu of margin?

        As @sunguy says you were getting a circa 16% discount, which I got at Prada, Hermes and Watches of Switzerland despite not leaving the EU. The only exception to this was Rolex who did not discount on the RRP unless you were flying outside the EU.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          28 Apr28 April 15:01

          They were offsetting the loss on EU sales with the tax refund for those going outside the EU. The savings were usually cheaper than the actual duty plus vat saving.

          As you say they can still offer some discount but I doubt it will be on the same magnitude as before and ultimately if it’s cheaper in your destination you’d rather buy it there.

          This will hit U.K. tourism far more than U.K. residents leaving LHR on holiday/business.

• Andrew says:

  28 Apr28 April 11:57

  Even with the change in VAT, there must be a way to make decent money on distress or boredom purchases of electronics at Heathrow & other UK airports.

  • Rob says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:16

    Electronics are very low margin compared to clothing. Personally I was always nervous, even with a tax saving, of buying high value electronics in the airport and then having to take care of it over a holiday. For no cash saving I certainly wouldn’t risk it.

    • MrHandBaggageOnly says:

      28 Apr28 April 13:32

      I’ve purchased several high value items from Dixons over the past couple of years and used the excellent Collect on Return service, which means the items were safe, plus you pick up some bonus Heathrow Rewards points as well for using the service. You just have to remind yourself to actually make the collection, before you make a dash from the terminal! 🙂

    • mradey says:

      29 Apr29 April 07:17

      I saved over £1000 on a Leica lens at Dixons T3 three years ago. I think that particular discount included some ‘lets get rid of this product line’ as subsequent trips the Leica range were no longer for sale. [not an impulse buy – they had a website where you could see the prices and availability at the various terminals]

  • AndyGWP says:

    28 Apr28 April 12:18

    indeed…. I’d be surprised if there weren’t regularly selling an overpriced laptop charger, or set of headphones to someone who’d forgot to pack them. There mustn’t be enough in it to continue though

    • Lady London says:

      28 Apr28 April 12:58

      Boots should move into selling headphones, chargers and battery packs. They are pretty much consumable items anyway and the sort of “emergency I left my stuff at home” purchase also made in Boots.

      An awful lot of destinations you’d fly to, even for Business, would be a nightmare to replace any of the above easily and quickly as most other countries’ retail is not as comprehensive as the UK. Unless travelling to very few countries often you’re better paying a premium at the airport if you’ve left headphones, charger, or battery pack at home.

      • Sigma421 says:

        28 Apr28 April 13:13

        WH Smith at airports has definitely been moving in that direction.

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        29 Apr29 April 07:49

        Boots could well become the catch-all ‘things I forgot to bring or could not be bothered to bring through security’

  • LostAntipod says:

    29 Apr29 April 20:23

    Distress or boredom purchases was exactly how they made their money. I can recall looking at duty free for an SLR camera nearly 30 years ago and it wasn’t close to the full saving – I got it cheaper elsewhere.

• sunguy says:

  28 Apr28 April 12:12

  We got our engagement and wedding rings at Tiffany T5 – for a similar diamond, it brought the UK price down to roughly the same as the US store price at the time.

  Basically it was ~16% reduction in price…..a wonderful opportunity to make LHR Rewards points, pay in GBP and from a UK based store…..would be rather rubbish if this goes completely….

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