Speaking at the launch of the Fashion Gallery today (July 16), AENA Commercial Director, Jose Manuel Fernandez Bosch told Doug Newhouse that the store is just one more example of AENA setting the retail bar higher than ever before.

 

He says that the historic seven-year deal with WDFG – struck in 2012 across 26 airports and 80 points of sale – is working out really well and AENA is extremely happy with it.

 

As for LSTR’s Fashion Gallery concept, he believes that the airport has never seen anything like it before and it represents a real quality step up and will be a challenge for all other retailers at Spanish airports to better.

 

 

He is also very encouraged by the fact that Madrid’s airport traffic has been improving consistently since January of this year. He said this has been a great relief to AENA since the recovery of all other Spanish airports began much earlier in November 2013 and there were previously concerns about Madrid.

 

As reported, Aelia Retail España opened its new 1,050sq m Fashion Gallery brand at Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 1, today.

 

AENA Commercial Director, Jose Manuel Fernandez Bosch.

 

MADRID TRAFFIC RECOVERS

The new outlet houses 21 leading premium brands from the worlds of jewellery, watches, accessories and prêt-à-porter within a multi-brand concept that has been designed specifically for the travel sector with a tried and tested brand name that has already proved successful in Singapore Changi Airport.

 

The LS Travel Retail-owned subsidiary company says that the brand umbrella provides a setting to allow each brand to showcase itself, while remaining free to express its own individuality’ in the a shop-in-shop ‘retail model’ that has become synonymous with the Fashion Gallery brand.

 

Adding his comments, Pedro Castaños Ruiz, CEO of Aelia Retail España told TRBusiness it has taken 12 months to put together the new Fashion Gallery and the retailer is now very pleased with the result. He said that the store – on a seven-year contract – is now aiming to specifically target BRICs customer nationalities who are the highest spenders in Madrid-Barajas Airport.

 

 

 

He also reinforced the comments from AENA’s Commercial Director, Jose Manuel Fernandez Bosch that traffic is now looking much more positive than it has for some time: “Passengers have been going up in all Spanish airports from January and February and this is good,” he said, adding that Aelia will be pleased if Madrid-Barajas can maintain a steady 3-4% passenger growth over the next four to five years.

 

“There has not been an offer like this in this airport before, so we have to discover if it will work,” he said honestly.

 

Aena Executive Chairman Jose Manuel Vargas (centre right) cuts the ribbon to open the store, assisted by Pedro Castaños Ruiz (centre left), CEO of Aelia Retail España/SGEL. Aena Commercial Director, Jose Manuel Fernandez Bosch (far left) looks on.

In the year to date to the end of June 2014, Aldofo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport handled a total of 19,527,729 passengers, representing a 3.2% increase over the same period in 2013. In 2013, it processed 39,729,027 passengers, a decline of -12.1% against 2012.

State-owned Spanish airports group Aena  reported net profits of €715m ($986m) in 2013 with its airports division profitable for the first time.