It’s not quite Star Trek, but the revamped Aelia Duty Free ‘Next Generation’ stores – the first one piloting in Marseille and officially opened on Wednesday – are going high tech with the aim of giving passengers a high-service experience and enticing them to spend more. So far it’s working with sales up in double-digits as Aelia CEO Ambroise Fondeur tells Kevin Rozario in this exclusive interview.

 

What is different about Aelia Duty Free Next Generation and what is its scope?

It’s a concept we developed over the past 18 months which we are launching with a pilot at Marseille (below), and it will be the base for all our future developments internationally. It is based on the expectations of travellers, landlords and brands with the general idea of creating a memorable duty free experience.

 

It’s easy to talk in conceptual terms about a memorable experience, but what does that mean in practice?

“…the first results are very positive (with growth) in double-digits. It is completely in line with expectations and we think we can even improve on this performance as Marseille is a pilot.”

It relies on four main strategic pillars. The first two are Facilitation and Care. That means shopping has to be easy for the passenger, and that entails good visibility of the offer, easy understanding of the pricing and paying, and knowledgeable staff who are able to give advice on the products. To enable this we are equipping all out staff with digital devices [iPad minis] so they can access extra information to help customers. Care also involves a new service protocol that we are building with the staff.

 

The next two pillars are Here and Nowhere Else which means we want each store to be different and adapted to the airport, and finally the Art of the Gift. Gifting is a key motivation to buy at airports so we want to highlight this throughout the store. Also as a service, gift boxes [either free or paid-for premium boxes] are available at the cash desk, all with free gift wrapping.

 

What kind of information is on the devices?

On the iPad minis staff will be able to access product information, allowances depending on where the passengers are travelling, and price comparisons with the High Street. What is very powerful is that this is a platform that, over time, we will be able to build with the aim of further facilitating the travellers’ experience.

 

So will your pricing beat any High Street price?

Not ‘any’ but when it does – and it usually does – we can reassure the consumer that there is good value to be found in our stores. Any time we can show a true price difference we can communicate on it immediately.

 

 

Did you change the Aelia concept because the market’s become more competitive?

The reasoning goes back to the needs of the three stakeholders. From a consumer point of view the market is changing and customers today are much more demanding. Either they buy right away, or they don’t bother, typically. We are trying to adapt to these needs with a seamless and facilitated shopping experience.

 

“At the end of the day this retail concept has to sell more. It has to be productive in terms of sales per square metre.”

From the landlord point of view it is true that it’s become a much more competitive market. The sophistication of travel retailers has improved a lot over the past three years. So to serve the landlord and differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we needed a new conceptual platform going forward. Finally for the brands we are capturing their objective both in terms of image and volumes [sell-in and sell-out] with this concept.

 

So we really are adapting to all three stakeholders’ needs and to the evolving market.

 

Does ‘capturing their image better’ imply more personalised spaces?

Overall, we are developing a premium – not luxury – concept but it does not necessarily mean that brands will be personalised. We need to adapt the formula – and the positioning – based on the environment. For some flagship locations, yes absolutely there will be personalisation where appropriate. But for others, for example like Marseille, it is not personalised because it does not make sense to do that.

 

So there is no formula that says X brands will be personalised if you have Y square metres to play with?

No. It depends on the airport location, its traffic and its strategy, as well as on the space available. Marseille is a mid-sized 400sq m shop [up from 300sq m] with multi-categories so branded fixtures would not be the most efficient way to present the categories.

 

That’s a big 33% increase…

In proportion it is, but it remains a mid-sized store.

 

What sales uplift do you expect from the new concept?

What I can say is that the first results are very positive (with growth) in double-digits. It is completely in line with expectations and we think we can even improve on this performance as Marseille is a pilot. So it is looking very promising.

 

Is that high growth coming across the board or in specific categories?

Beauty (show above) has seen very high growth, as well as accessories and food/confectionery. But not all categories have the same growth potential and we have taken that into account in this project and we have leveraged the categories accordingly.

 

The next store will be Warsaw T1 in March… will there be any changes?

It will be different because Warsaw is a flagship format with 1,800sq m. So even though it’s the same conceptual base, the Warsaw store will have design features unique to the city. There will be personalised fixtures there.

 

After Warsaw what is the rollout strategy?

We will deploy the concept when we win tenders or when we renovate stores [of which there are more than 100 under the Aelia fascia-Ed]. We do not intend to roll it out across the board in a few months. So after Warsaw it will depend on the contracts we are able to win – and also where we may renovate.

 

So there is no fixed location after Warsaw?

There is the Nice tender coming up so that could be next if we are successful – as we intend to be. There is also the Abu Dhabi tender later in 2017. Renovations will depends on contract renewals and this is in line with what we do in travel retail where we have short and mid-term contracts, unlike the High Street.

 

How will you communicate the changes to the consumers at Marseille and Warsaw?

We want customers to feel the difference and I think they will feel it right away in the stores which are much more modern and contemporary. From a design point of view these stores will be very different with new materials and a lot more digital features.