One of the world’s busiest international airports, Amsterdam Schiphol, has had to remove misleading "local price" tags from the perfume shops at the KLM hub. And it has also adjusted offers on its website and in brochures following a probe by the Netherlands Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond).

The consumer watchdog found that passengers were, in its words, “being misled with fake discounts for perfumes, alcohol, and electronics” and is asking previous shoppers at the airport to come forward for possible compensation.

In April, the association investigated the prices of 10 perfumes at Schiphol’s beauty outlets operated at the time by retailer Kappé International, but owned by Royal Schiphol Group, the airport’s operator, following a 100% acquisition in January 2024. Researchers compared the scent prices with those at regular domestic online outlets. The Consumers’ Association said, “Schiphol touted the perfumes as cheaper than the so-called ‘local price’ but where the airport got that local price is not clear.”

Joyce Donat, a spokesperson for Consumentenbond told BeautyMatter “Our travel researcher noticed the incorrect prices, so we started a wider investigation. But it’s not the first time we saw fake discounts. In 2015 we reported similar violations.”

Schiphol was the fourth busiest airport in Europe last year, processing almost 62 million passengers and Royal Schiphol Group admitted that its own retailer, Kappé, had slipped up. The company told Beauty Matter “The retailer had not, in all cases, fully aligned its perfumery product prices with the most recent legal requirements concerning ‘was-now’ pricing. In response, price tags and price communications for perfumery products were immediately adjusted where necessary.”

Creating the Illusion of Savings

Among the perfumes investigated, the Consumers’ Association found that Schiphol sold a bottle of Hugo Man, from global beauty giant Coty for €30 ($35.40) and stated a local price of €70 ($82.29). However, at retailers Kruidvat and Trekpleister, the perfume also cost €30 “and the bottle was almost twice as big” according to the association.

A bottle of Acqua di Gio from Armani, made by the luxury division of the world’s biggest beauty house L’Oréal Group, cost €85 ($100.16) at the airport, but would, according to Schiphol, cost €104 ($122) locally in its promotions. In fact, it could be found at Douglas for €70.

Sandra Molenaar, Director of the Consumers’ Association, said in a statement, “According to the law, you have to explain how a price advantage is achieved. But Schiphol didn't do that. The rules are very clear—retailers are expected to know them and apply them correctly. Offers must be accurate. In a ‘was-now’ scenario, the ‘was’ price must be the lowest price that has been charged by the store prior to the promotion.”

Consumers’ Association’s researchers also uncovered fake discounts in the airport’s brochures and on the airport's website. There, the "was" price was not correct. For example, a Paco Rabanne perfume "was" €96 ($112) and reduced to €40 ($47), but it turned out that the scent cost €40 before the offer. “That is not allowed,” said the association. “The ‘was’ price must actually be the lowest price charged in the 30 days prior to the offer.”

A Credibility Issue

An expert observer of the global travel retail channel, Melvin Broekaart, commented on social media, “Royal Schiphol Group has come under fire for misleading consumers with fake discounts—not just once, but systematically across its fragrance offering. This is not just a pricing issue, it’s a credibility issue.

“When one of the world’s most respected airports gets caught using smoke-and-mirror pricing tactics, it damages global confidence in duty-free as a whole. Today it's Schiphol, tomorrow it could be any airport.”

Consumentenbond also slammed Schiphol for suggesting that there are VAT benefits to shopping at the airport. Despite tax-free shopping within the European Union being abolished in 1999, “the airport still promises a VAT benefit to all travelers on its site,” said the consumer protection group. Molenaar commented, “How exactly Schiphol does that is a mystery to us. Shops outside Schiphol simply charge 21% VAT and are still cheaper or, at most, as expensive as the airport.”

Compensation for Purchases up to Five Years Ago Possible

Shoppers who bought perfume at Schiphol Airport in the past five years and believe they have been misled are being encouraged by the Consumers' Association to claim for compensation or reimbursement in accordance with Dutch law. They can email a request with a receipt or bank statement to klantenservice@kappe.nl. Schiphol will handle these claims and the association said it would “keep an eye on this.”

Royal Schiphol added, “If a customer believes they have valid grounds to request the annulment of a purchase, they may submit their request by email, including an explanation and proof of purchase of the perfumery product. The retailer will carefully assess each claim and the outcome may vary depending on the specific circumstances of each case.”

The pricing storm comes just as there has been a once-in-a-decade major handover of duty-free stores at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Until April, Kappé International ran the beauty stores, while the rest of the duty-free offer was operated by Schiphol Airport Retail (SAR), a joint venture between the airport and German global travel retail Gebr. Heinemann.

From May, a new joint venture which has folded in Kappé International, took the reins and now has airport-wide control of the core duty-free retail operation at Schiphol. The joint venture (JV) is between Lagardère Travel Retail (70%) and Royal Schiphol Group (30%), and the 10-year strategic partnership covers the categories of perfume and cosmetics, sunglasses, tobacco, liquor, and chocolate.

In Lounge 1, the JV has just opened the airport’s largest ever shop at 1,500 square meters called Today Duty Free, led by beauty. The flagship retail concept, launched on July 1, is said to be “a complete makeover” of the airport’s duty-free shopping concept offering travelers “the best products, the best price, and personal service” according to Arthur Reijnhart, the Director of Schiphol Commercial. 

Royal Schiphol is keen to ensure it does not get caught out on pricing inaccuracies again and be tainted by further scandals. A spokesperson for the operator told BeautyMatter “Together with our new partner Lagardère Travel Retail, we are conducting monthly benchmark analyses on pricing to ensure full compliance and to prevent these issues from reoccurring.”

Broekaart commented, “The age of unchallenged ‘airport price leadership’ is over. If travel retail wants to stay relevant, it must embrace transparency, fairness, and real value—not just the illusion of it.”