The Land of the Duty Free (classic)
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What is the history of duty-free shopping?
This episode originally ran in 2018, and it is likely to save you money and make you giggle in 2025.
This is Planet Money from NPR.
Hey, I'm just leaving a voice memo for myself. I'm in the Shannon Airport in Shannon, Ireland, on my way back to the United States, to New York. There is this picture wall, giant pictures of all the famous people who have come through here. So, you know, they have, like, John F. Kennedy, and there's Fidel Castro and Boris Yeltsin. And there is one photo that was sort of amazing. There's a picture of the president of Ireland, and next to him is someone called Dr. Brendan O'Regan. And he's sort of out of focus. You can see he's wearing a natty suit. He's got a nice little pocket square. And it says that Dr. O'Regan was the person responsible for this airport, for basically developing the Shannon International Airport.
And most importantly, he created the world's first airport duty-free shop. You know, the duty-free shop, the place where you get the perfume and the chocolates and all the liquor. First one was here. And before I get on the flight, I just wanted to rush quickly over and take a look at what was the world's first duty-free. A lot of scarves, a little jewelry. Where's the perfume? Hello, darling. How's it going? This is Jessie Baker. I'm buying sheep. Oh, they're adorable. Cliche, but my children don't judge. I think duty-free shops are supported on people who forgot to get gifts for their children.
I didn't forget. I've just been busy.
You getting them at the duty-free shop. Hey, no shame here. I bought chocolates for my kids.
You want 206 to New York?
That's my flight. I gotta go. Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Robert Smith, here with international jet setter and former duty-free addict Karen Duffer. This is true. Back in my corporate days, I did spend a lot of time and money in duty-free shops. It seems like these days we're locked in this epic battle between those who want free trade across borders and those who want to put up barriers. An early skirmish in this economic war happened at an airport along the banks of the Shannon River in Ireland.
Today on the show, we have the story of Brendan O'Regan, a former bartender turned entrepreneur who said, let the world have its crevasse tax-free.
Who was Brendan O'Regan and what did he do?
And we'll answer the question I know that I have asked over and over again. Are we really saving any money at the duty-free shop? The story of duty-free starts with a bit of Irish luck.
In the 1940s, when people were traveling from New York to London or Paris, they were in these propeller planes. And to refuel, they had to land in the first runway they saw after crossing the Atlantic. And that was Western Ireland, County Clare, along the Shannon River.
And so here was this former mudflat that all of a sudden became the grand gateway to Europe.
In the 40s and 50s, every famous person that crossed the Atlantic almost certainly wound up going through Shannon.
So movie stars, presidents, prime ministers, kings and queens, they all landed at Shannon.
They all had to land at Shannon Airport.
Brian O'Connell was a businessman in the region, still lives there. And he says that everyone realized pretty quickly that they needed to upgrade the local amenities for all these movie stars. In those days, the airplane ride from the United States was long and uncomfortable and bumpy. Sometimes it was even in these flying boats, basically planes that would land on water.
You were probably tired. You could be cold because, obviously, particularly the flying boats flew quite low over the Atlantic compared with planes today. So people were looking forward particularly to good food and good drink.
This is when our duty-free hero, Dr. Brendan O'Regan, enters the story.
Don't let the doctor part fool you. It is an honorary degree. Brendan O'Regan had been a bartender, a hotel clerk, a caterer. And when the Shannon Airport realized that all the movie stars were coming, they needed someone quick. They hired Brendan O'Regan to feed them.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the history of duty-free shopping?
0:00–2:35
2
Who was Brendan O'Regan and what did he do?
2:35–9:38
3
How did the first duty-free shop at Shannon Airport come to be?
9:38–11:30
4
What products were initially sold in duty-free shops?
11:30–15:21
5
How does duty-free shopping compare to regular shopping?
15:21–18:12
6
What tax advantages do duty-free shops provide?
18:12–20:12