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Shopping Centers Today -> January 2004
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HAPPIER LANDINGS
Greater diversity of retailers venturing into airports
BY STEVE McLINDEN
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During the 1970s air travelers with time to kill would belly up to the bar or “dine” at an overpriced utilitarian restaurant. In the 1980s they found a few new shopping stops beyond the old duty-free outlet, including more-tasteful souvenir stands and a smattering of retail carts. Then, in the 1990s, the airport concourse started looking like a real regional mall, complete with national brands, casual dining, service kiosks and entertainment-infotainment venues.
Now almost anything goes — preflight and postflight.
There are pâté sandwiches at Philadelphia International Airport, a winery in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and a couple of offbeat bars (of the oxygen and sushi variety) to belly up to at not-so-blue-collar Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
In fact, business is so good at the Philadelphia airport’s Caviar Assouline that its owners are seeking a second unit there, says store manager Steve Joslin. Store selections range from caviar to foie gras to smoked salmon, available in sandwich, snack or gift form. “We carry a product range from 50 cents to several thousand dollars,” he said.
Truffles and olive oil, too, are haute sellers at Assouline, which became an urban favorite in Philadelphia’s Liberty Place before opening its busy airport locale. The branch also bolsters catalog and Web sales, says Joslin.
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| Caviar anyone? Caviar Assouline, Philadelphia International Airport. Not so long ago the only retailers vying for travelers’ dollars were magazine stores and a few food vendors. |
At Detroit’s airport, which has been cited by Airport Revenue News for its innovative services, travelers can chill at the Ora Oxygen bar after a wasabi experience at Musashi Sushi in the food court.
Over at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal A, an actual working winery was doling out samples to surprised travelers on a recent fall morning. La Bodega Winery operates as the only airport winery in the U.S., says Gina Puente-Brancato, co-owner of Puente Concessions, which operates La Bodega. She’s quick to stress that Texas is now the fifth-largest wine-producing state.
La Bodega, which opened in 1995, bottles four of its own private-label wines, including the new aviation-themed Kitty Hawk port, and offers 50 varieties of wine from 16 Texas vintners — all within a compact 40 square feet. The winery ships more cases than ever, especially so given tighter airline carry-on restrictions, Puente-Brancato says.
“The demogaphics of the wine drinker are very similar to the airline passenger; it’s a good marriage,” she said. “People seem delighted when they find us. In fact, we have had our best year in 2003.”
Pauline Armbrust, editor of Airport Revenue News, says airports continue to create “local flair” through distinctive themes that not only represent the culture of their region but also appeal to veteran travelers who now yawn at the more generic retail offerings.
Not surprisingly, Elvis Presley’s Graceland Gift Shop does a king-size business at Memphis International Airport. And at Las Vegas Gaming Supply in McCarran International Airport, high- and low-rolling patrons alike purchase slot machines, roulette sets and other gambling-related items as well as travel games and even chocolate casino chips.
Then there are the saucy offerings of KC Masterpiece Barbecue & Grill at Kansas City International, the fascinating Smithsonian National Zoo Store at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the District of Columbia and the esoteric Rine Chapeaux, known for its novelty hats and fanciful pins, at New Orleans International Airport.
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| Passengers at Dallas Fort Worth airport celebrating the fact that their choices these days extend beyond muddy coffee and stale doughnuts. |
Sometimes, plain common sense spawns a good retailing idea, heedless of geography. Basics, one of just a handful of drugstores operating at U.S. airports, opened recently at the new Terminal E in Boston’s Logan International Airport. Though Basics doesn’t fill prescriptions, it goes a step beyond the old sundry shop, serving up an assortment of over-the-counter medicine needs.
“It used to be our job to get people in and out of airports without distraction,” said retail development consultant Ian Thomas, chairman of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Thomas Consultants. “Now we have deliberately created this environment to make people comfortable. And once they are comfortable, they are ready to open up their pocketbooks.”
Thomas equates airport shopping to resort shopping. “People don’t go to a resort with a shopping list of what they want to buy,” he said. “But once they’re there, they see a bazaar with frenetic buying activity. And they often spend money they didn’t plan to spend.”
 | Current Issue October 2008 |