Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) officially inaugurated its fully revamped commercial offering at its oldest terminal, T1, on Friday as it prepares to be privatised by the French government – with final bids due on 4 July, and a new majority owner in place as early as January 2017.

The event was a perfect opportunity for the airport operator, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur (ACA) – which also runs Cannes Mandelieu and Saint-Tropez airports – to give its first tours to local press and international duty free and travel retail media, and showcase its prowess in delivering retail and F&B facilities that punch well above the weight of a regional airport.

NCE – a 12m passenger gateway [5m in T1 and 7m in T2] – has been engaged in a full overhaul of its duty free and travel retail business since the end of 2014. The revamp has more than doubled the overall T1 retail area by +160% to 3,550sq m, and will double the space at T2 to 3,322sq m when completed in May 2017.

 

 

All that extra space for retail and F&B will have an influence on any investor in ACA given that non-aeronautical business is becoming more important for airports everywhere because the segment generally generates most of the profit. At NCE in 2015 non-aeronautical accounted for about 40% of ACA’s €242.6m/$273m revenue.

Filip Soete, Director of the Commercial Business Unit at ACA has the task of growing that revenue by +40% in the coming five years on the back of the big retail expansions. Yesterday he told TRBusiness: “We are very happy with the first results (in T1) especially in the main duty free store. And in F&B, with all the new concepts, we are exceeding our expectations and that’s a real surprise for us. Overall we are on budget.”

Due to tough conditions across Europe – with high spending nationalities like Russians and Chinese cutting their purchasing, as well as stringent security introduced in French airports after the Paris attacks [which forced all passengers at NCE to go through passport control including Schengen travellers] spend per pax at NCE has been a challenge, with fashion a casualty.

CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION

Given the circumstances, keeping to a budget that is +15% higher than the previous year is therefore a good sign that the revamp bodes well for the long-term. Together with an extensive and highly individual F&B offer, T1 has been creatively transformed from a dark and congested space with limited retail, to an open-plan, light-filled core with shops and F&B on the outside.

The airside commercial space has been doubled by incursions into what used to be landside areas, while airside pockets that had been used as offices have been added to the mix.

The passenger path has been totally overhauled. After going through a centralised security area, there is an orientation corridor where JCDecaux has an eye-catching digital installation [currently dedicated to Swatch Group brands] which primes travellers for their retail experience ahead.

Next they must enter the main multi-sensorial DF&TR store operated by Lagardère Travel Retail [which TRBusiness has written about extensively] before finding themselves in the main terminal.

Here the selection of shops starts with Swatch-owned retail fascia Hour Passion [with 12 watch and jewellery brands such as Breguet, Blancpain, Breitling, Chopard, Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot and Calvin Klein] before sweeping around to high-end boutiques [Baccarat, Versace, Hermes].

Noteworthy is the fact that two Hermès stores at the airport [the other in T2] marks out Nice as an important touchpoint to access the wealthy residents of the Côte d’Azur; the Versace store [directly operated] is the only one in the south of France; while the Baccarat boutique is the first in DF&TR globally. Its ornate crystal chandeliers at €12,500/$14,070 are proving popular with Russians, Japanese and some British travellers.

The path then opens out to a more mixed offer that includes further boutiques for Italy’s Max Mara, Longchamp, multi-brands The Fashion Place [featuring luxury ready-wear from Zadig & Voltaire, Boss and Pinko] and Riviera Chic [beachwear from iconic Côte d’Azur, brands Erès, Vilebrequin, Banana Moon or GAS], plus outlets including a Fragonard beauty and accessories store, and Saveurs de Provence [for Côte d’Azur gastronomy]. All these units surround the centralised seating.

F&B COMES INTO ITS OWN

A large F&B offer is also interspersed among the stores and it is key to leveraging the retail side of the business. At Nice, this dining offer has a genuine and authentic sense of place.

Soete says: “For me, F&B is part of the experience. Someone who’s had a good meal is happy and much more open to shopping.

“He or she may have a glass of rosé at the bar, like it and then buy a bottle in the shop for example, and perhaps some olive oil as well.

“The difficulty is that airside F&B is not easy to operate and it has to be really appealing. However, with F&B you can go much further with one-offs than with traditional brands to really offer a sense of place.

That strategy is paying off at NCE where tailor-made concepts such as highly-rated chef Thierry Marx’s La Plage and Pan Garni, and international chain brands like Starbucks, Pret à Manger and Joe & the Juice, sit alongside Côte d’Azur favourites: Chez Pipo from Nice, or La Tarte Tropézienne from Saint-Tropez [both partnered with SSP].

La Tarte Tropézienne owner, Albert Dufrêne, tells TRBusiness that the airport move is a stepping stone towards the internationalisation of the brand. With close to 30 shops in France already, the company is eyeing London and Dubai for new international locations.

Meanwhile, Steeve Bernardo, owner of Chez Pipo, famous in Nice Port for its ‘socca’ chickpea crepes/pancakes is now a regular face at the airport [only his second outlet]. He tells TRBusiness: “Taking the brand international was part of the idea of coming here.”

The terminal retail design, courtesy of London’s The Design Solution, has cleverly put the most attention-grabbing of the F&B offers, La Plage, on a mezzanine level, where its beach-style curtained four-poster loungers and ambient music turn passengers’ heads in the central area. It also has the effect of underlining the Côte d’Azur as part and parcel of the DNA of the airport thus creating a real point of difference.

NON-SCHENGEN CHANGES

Changes in the non-Schengen area are not as dramatic. A joint So Nice/L’Occitane concept continues the local theme in a space dedicated to the Provençal beauty brand on one side, and souvenirs with South-of-France flair and broad pricing on the other.

In an area that was previously office space, is one of two Relay travel accessories, souvenirs and news/books stores and an ice cream ‘parlour’ from Pierre Geronimi.

On the next level up. the VIP Riviera lounge has had a dramatic enlargement from 410sq m to 670sq m with a leafy ‘outdoor’ terrace added. Meanwhile in the Schengen area of T1, the Azur lounge boasts an extension from 250sq m to 400sq m with a plush library atmosphere.

Commenting on the completion of the T1 commercial offer, Dominique Thillaud, Chairman of the Executive Board of ACA, says: “Providing our clients with the most surprising experience in Europe is now a reality at Nice Côte d’Azur. The revamping of the airport of tomorrow is well underway, and our efforts continue to innovate and surprise. See you in 2017 for the completion of terminal two.”