World Duty Free Group, which initiated the first phase of its retail operations at Helsinki Airport in March, says it expects to be fully operational within six months with a total shopping space of 3,300sq m.

 

Speaking to TRBusiness, WDFG’s International Operations Director Pedro Castro (below) says: “We are on track to have all the retail outlets fully operational by January 2015. The first stage of our joint partnership involved us taking over the retail operation from Finavia in four stores. The second stage will see us refurbishing the store space over the next few months and taking on some additional retail space.”

 

WDFG is planning to open its speciality units between now and the beginning of October with a chocolate boutique and a multi-brand store (below) among the first to be lined up. However, passengers will have to wait until the end of the year for the main duty free units (main image above) which promise to take the retail offer to a new level. “The new walkthrough stores that will replace the current core category stores will be opened at the end of 2014,” says Castro.

 

‘A DREAM AIRPORT’

Castro has described Helsinki as ‘a dream airport for a concessionaire’. Qualifying that, he says: “Helsinki’s strategic location as a connector between Europe and Asia means it has a distinctive and very strong passenger profile. As the largest hub in this region it offers the fastest route between Asia and Europe and handles a high volume of Japanese and Chinese passengers, as well as Europeans.

 

“Asian pax in particular seek a more premium product offer and have high expectations of, and interest in, airport shopping. In terms of the retail space we have two walkthrough stores which are well located to capture pax flow. Finally the fact that Helsinki operates out of one building makes it very convenient for passengers and helps maximises footfall and dwell time.”

 

In WDFG’s favour is the fact that international traffic at Helsinki has been developing well this year. In the first half of the year, passenger volumes have shown an overall increase of +4.7%. In the second quarter international traffic increased by +5.1% compared to the same period in the previous year, while the number of passengers transferring from one international flight to another continued to rise: up +9.5% in Q2.

 

2015 AND BEYOND

A wider revamp of the airport is also in place under the control of airport operator Finavia. Vice President, Jukka Isomäki (left), tells TRBusiness: “The main part of the current project, during which practically all the commercial units will be redesigned, will be concluded by the end of 2015.

 

“Until that period we have, of course, a challenge to provide (our usual) services while units are temporarily closed one by one. So far things are going smoothly with the main constructions starting in August and lasting until spring next year.

 

[For a full update on Helsinki’s landmark retail renovation, including comments from Finavia, see our comprehensive Nordic Report in the August issue of TRBusiness, out soon.]